Another story of unusual in-
terest about old homos is that
i of “Myrtle Bower." in Edge¬
combe County, built in the 1820’s.
Home of the Hart family for gen¬
erations, down its shady avenue
rode the gentry of a century ago.
and along the same came the ma¬
rauding army, or parts of it. of the
notorious Sherman in 1865. The
fine old home was spared the torch
because its mistress had the pres¬
ence of mind to divert the invad¬
ing Yankees by serving them hot
beaten biscuits dripping with but¬
ter and golden syrup.
The house is an excellent exam-
^f Greek Revival architecture.
rve the large window and door
openings, and the center hall.
There is space everywhere to allow
a free circulation of air. Provisions
for entertaining on a grand scale
were important. The classic portico
with its huge columns lends added
elegance to this house of fine work¬
manship and of skillful handling
of materials available.
From the handsome portico it is
easy to visualize a leisurely and
graceful life, the life of the storied
ante-bellum days of the Old South.
One notices that the proportions of
"Myrtle Bower” arc good, fenestra¬
tion quite correct, and the interior
well arranged.
The benches on either side of
the original front porch invite one
in to rest. These are of graceful de¬
sign. substantially built, and are as
solid as on the day they were origi¬
nally placed there. The columns
measure 52 inches in circumfer¬
ence. They are among the finest in
the state. The floors, now mellow
with age. are broad and beautifully
grained long-leaf pine, as are the
columns supporting the portico.
The house required three years
to build, was entirely hand-tooled,
and most of the work was done by
slave labor. The timber was cut on
the plantation and sun-dried. The
achitect was the same man who
built the famous Carr home
"Bracebridge Hall," and a number
of other fine old Edgecombe County
homes.
It is interesting to know that
Myrtle Bower was built on the
original site of the first home of the
Harts in North Carolina. The com¬
pass was in the hands of Benjamin
Hart, one of three brothers who
came over from England about
1750 to seek homes in America. It
was Benjamin Hart who laid off
the old town of Tarboro.
Built in 1818
In 1818 the colonial house
burned, and the present home re-
THE STATE. June 28. 1947
Myrtle Bower
This olil Edgecombe County home,
\vhi«‘li for many years belonged to
the Hart family, has had an interest¬
ing history of events connected
with it.
tty HARRY Z. TICKER
placed the original Hart home. The
owner at that time was the third
generation of Harts to own the
1. 300-acre estate, and one of the
most beloved sheriffs the county
has known. In appreciation of the
worth and integrity of Spencer Lee
Hart I. hundreds of friends con¬
tributed money toward the erection
of the new home, Myrtle Bower,
which became the focal point and
gathering place for the family and
their friends until a few years ago
when the land, like so many other
Southern plantations, dwindled,
was divided among heirs, and final¬
ly passed from the original family
altogether.
It was Mrs. Spencer Lee Hart II
who found that hot biscuits, butter
and syrup could turn a marauder
into a docile creature. Batch after
batch of beaten biscuits were re¬
quired to feed Sherman’s ravenous
troops who had been sent to Myrtle
Bower to destroy the Hart menage.
To save the family mansion from
the torch. Mrs. Spencer Lee Hart II
rolled up her sleeves and joined
her cook in the kitchen. Although
the old family cook fussed and
fumed, and threatened to scald the
Damyankees with a cauldron of
boiling water, her mistress re¬
strained her by force, and was am-
6
у
repaid in that her home and its
rishings. together with three of
her favorite horses, were spared
to her.
Spencer Lee Hart III was the last
of the family to own historic
Myrtle Bower. He married a sister
of Governor Elijah Daughtridge.
After his death, his widow was
married to Dr. Walter Galloway, of
Wilmington. After Dr. Galloway
died she sold the old estate to Wil¬
liam J. Eason. Mr. Eason is a mod¬
ern and successful farmer, and to¬
day he owns all of the original
acreage.
Mr. Eason married the former
Virginia Watson, of Springfield,
Mo., who came to Edgecombe
County as a home demonstration
agent about twenty years ago. Mrs.
Eason has been particularly inter¬
ested in the history of Myrtle
Bower, and has a scrapbook of
clippings pertaining to its past
glory. She has interviewed the few
surviving members of the Hart
family, gleaning from them many
stories and family incidents of the
old days.
Perhaps the most pertinent data
27
