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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  North Carolina's First Town, Bath. Photo by M. Stroud, courtesy of HMdb.org

  • Monument Name

    North Carolina's First Town, Bath

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Colonial History

    Local History

  • City

    Bath

  • County

    Beaufort

  • Description

    The Bath marker consists of a bronze tablet attached to a massive unfinished, irregular shaped boulder on a single base of the same stone. Although the tablet is dated 1918 it was not received in Bath for its erection and dedication until early 1919.

    Images: Plaque

  • Inscription

    BATH, ORIGINALLY THE INDIAN TOWN OF / PAMPTICOUGH, WAS SETTLED BY WHITE MEN / ABOUT 1690 AND INCORPORATED IN 1705. / IT IS THE OLDEST TOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA. / ITS FIRST COMMISSIONERS WERE JOHN LAWSON, / JOEL MARTIN, AND SIMON ALDERSON. HERE WAS / FOUNDED IN 1700 THE FIRST PUBLIC LIBRARY / IN THE COLONY. ST. THOMAS CHURCH, BUILT / IN 1734, IS THE OLDEST CHURCH IN THE STATE. / THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MET IN BATH / IN 1744 AND 1752.

    ERECTED 1918 BY / THE NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION / AND / BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY.

  • Custodian

    Town of Bath

  • Dedication Date

    Circa February 1919

  • Decade

    1910s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    35.477550 , -76.813940 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      "Colonial Bath," The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed July 31, 2017) Link

      “Bronze Tablet for Bath,” The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, NC), January 30, 1919

      “Bronze Tablet for Oldest Town in North Carolina,” The Lenoir Topic (Lenoir, NC), January 24, 1919

      “Historic Bath,” North Carolina Historic Sites, https://historicsites.nc.gov, (accessed July 24, 2019) Link

      “In the Intracoastal Waterway the Migration Is on,” Cape Gazette (Lewes, DE), April 28, 2017 Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Bronze, stone

  • Sponsors

    The North Carolina Historical Commission and Board of Commissioners of Beaufort County

  • Location

    The marker is located in the median of the 100 block of N. Main Street at the intersection with Carteret Street, in Bath, NC.

  • Landscape

    The marker stands on a grass island, surrounded by small bushes and seasonal plants, in an area of single family homes.

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