Small Coastal Towns

Edenton: The South's Prettiest Small Town

A visit to Edenton is a step back in time, and because of this timeless quality it has been called the "Prettiest Town in the South". Lovingly restored Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival and Queen Anne style homes combined with a delightful waterfront make this coastal jewel a favorite of visitors to North Carolina.

Edenton was settled around 1685 and originally incorporated in 1715 as the Towne on Queen Anne’s Creek. It became Ye Towne on Mattercommack Creek, and then the Port of Roanoke. Finally, in 1722, it was named in honor of Governor Charles Eden. In 1728, the town was established as the Colonial capital of North Carolina. With its bustling port and thriving plantations, it soon became the cultural and economic capital as well.

An early German traveler described Edenton as “consisting of not more than 100 framed houses, all standing apart and surrounded with galleries or piazzas.” The piazza was a full-length porch, an architectural feature borrowed from the West Indies. The porch helped capture the breezes from the sound to keep the home cool.

You can almost hear the clarion call to Revolution in these historic streets. This was the setting for the Edenton Tea Party in 1774. More than 50 of the town’s leading female citizens signed a pledge to stop using East India Tea, as a show of support for their Boston cousins. Events like this thrust Edenton onto the Colonial stage.

Eventually, politics moved inland to Raleigh and commerce moved to Elizabeth City with the opening of the Dismal Swamp Canal, so the town has retained its 18th century charm. You can see this charm in homes like the Barker House, built in 1782. It was the home of Penelope Barker, who participated in the Edenton Tea Party, and her husband Thomas. Today, the Barker House serves as the visitor center for Historic Edenton’s tours.

There is the famous Cupola House, built in 1725, and named for its central cupola that was used as a lookout to identify the ships entering the harbor. Your trip to the cupola begins on a Chinese Chippendale staircase and continues past wavy glass windows. The house is a visible and familiar landmark for boaters regularly cruising north in the entrance channel.

Chowan County Courthouse, built in 1767, is thought to be the oldest courthouse in continuous use in North Carolina. It, too, has a distinctive cupola, which was used to watch for fires.

Unfortunately, one of the area’s most famous landmarks was taken out by an ice floe in 1918. A stately cypress stood in the middle of Edenton harbor, and had been there long before European settlers first set foot ashore. A curious custom was established that whenever a ship of trade called at Edenton the captain would place a bottle of his best rum in a hollow place at the base of the tree. Ships leaving for foreign ports would stop at the tree and all hands would drink to a safe voyage. The old cypress became known as the Dram Tree. Ships whose crews failed to drink or failed to place a bottle there – the legend goes – were doomed to disaster.

We don’t for a minute believe that the rum had anything to do with earning Edenton its nickname. Go see for yourself.

Want to know more? Check out the ultimate source for Cultural Resources in North Carolina, NCDCR.

added: December 22, 2008

updated: December 7, 2010