HISTORIC BATH

Historic Bath is a North Carolina historical marker in Beaufort County, dedicated 1970.

Beaufort County · dedicated 1970 · State Historic Site Visitors Center in Bath

Bath, the oldest incorporated town in North Carolina, was established in 1705. By the 1708 the town consisted of twelve houses and a population of fifty people. Among the early inhabitants were [John Lawson, F-3], Surveyor General of the colony and author of A New Voyage to Carolina, the first history of North Carolina; [Christopher Gale, B-5], the first Chief Justice of the colony (1712-17,1722-24, 1725-31); Governors Thomas Cary (1705-06, 1708-11) and [Charles Eden, A-10] (1714-1722); and the pirate [Edward Teach, B-47], known as “Blackbeard.” The early history of Bath was disturbed by political rivalry, yellow fever epidemics, Indian wars, and piracy. After this period of turbulence ended, the town entered an era of peaceful development. It was a trade center, exporting naval stores, furs, tobacco; seat of government for Beaufort County; and in 1744 and 1752 the meeting place of the General Assembly. The political and economic importance of Bath declined after the Beaufort County seat was moved to the town of Washington in 1785.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

This marker is part of the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, run by the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources jointly with the N.C. Department of Transportation. Marker texts and locations are the program's own, as the Department publishes them.

HISTORIC BATH

More markers nearby