Port of Bath
Beaufort County, Beaufort County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Port Of Bath. Colony's first town, incorporated March 8, 1705. Home to first port of entry, 1716; exported naval stores.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Incorporated on March 8, 1705, Bath was North Carolina's very first town, a small but ambitious settlement on the Pamlico River. In 1716 it became home to a customs port of entry, shipping out the tar, pitch, and turpentine — the naval stores — that the region's pine forests yielded in abundance. For a time it was the colony's commercial front door.
Why it matters
As North Carolina's oldest town and early port, Bath marks the beginnings of organized colonial commerce in a colony that grew slowly and against the odds.
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Themes & tags
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