New History of Bath Documents Three Centuries of N.C.’s First Town
By Maury York
Bath, the oldest town in North Carolina, is celebrating its 300th birthday this year. To commemorate this milestone, the North Carolina Office of Archives and History has published Bath: The First Town in North Carolina, written by Alan D. Watson with the assistance of Eva C. (Bea) Latham and Patricia M. Samford.
This well-documented book, which contains 153 pages, 37 illustrations, tables, and several sidebars that add flavor to the narrative, continues a century-old tradition of historical publications marking anniversaries of the establishment of Bath. In 1905 Lida T. Rodman of Washington published a handsome historical calendar that included photographs of historic sites and artifacts associated with Bath and the area’s Colonial heritage. Fifty years later, Dr. Herbert R. Paschal, chairman of the Department of History at East Carolina College, wrote A History of Colonial Bath for the Historical Bath Commission. Still useful today, Paschal’s book recently was digitized as part of the North Carolina History and Fiction Digital Library (http://www.lib.ecu.edu/ncc/historyfiction/), developed by East Carolina University’s J. Y. Joyner Library.
The Office of Archives and History chose wisely in selecting an author for its new history of Bath. Professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Watson has spent much of his productive career studying North Carolina during the Colonial period. The author drew upon his former research and scholarly writings to place Bath in the context of the colony’s settlement, political development, economy, and social conditions. Of special interest are Watson’s discussions of Bath’s role as a port, the impact of such political upheavals as Cary’s Rebellion, the devastation resulting from the Tuscarora War of 1711-1713, and the place of African Americans and women in Colonial society. Watson gives ample attention also to religious developments, including the Rev. Dr. Thomas Bray’s gift in 1701 of a library for St. Thomas (Anglican) Parish and the construction of St. Thomas Church in 1734-35.
Since Bath’s importance dwindled quickly after the American Revolution and the establishment of the town of Washington, Watson devotes little attention to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In an epilogue, he, Latham, and Samford briefly summarize the economic ups and downs of this long period. The authors single out key events, including author Edna Ferber’s visit in 1925 to experience the James Adams Floating Theater, the restoration of St. Thomas Church during the 1930s, and the celebration of Bath’s 250th anniversary in 1955.
Watson’s new book, as well as previous commemorative publications, are available in the Verona Joyner Langford North Carolina Collection at ECU’s J. Y. Joyner Library. Area residents are encouraged to visit the collection, which recently mounted an exhibit featuring interesting sources on the history of the state’s first town.
Maury York is North Carolina Librarian in the Verona Joyner Langford North Carolina Collection.
