Tuesday, June 16, 2015

A Visit to Edenton (part #1)

                         Well, folks, brace yourselves!!

I am about to expound on our wonderful overnight trip to Edenton, North Carolina. Of course, I had already made reservations before I discovered that we were due for a hotter than hot heat wave. So, we had to curtail some of the outside activities that we had planned. But, we'll go back, that's a certainty. 

The trip was to celebrate my friend Leslie's 85th birthday. I wanted to do something for him that would be out of the ordinary and I think I pulled it off. 



First of all....

This post will be about our visit to the harbor. It's right at the bottom of Broad Street, If you are on Hwy. 32 you can't miss it, cause you'd run right into the Albemarle Sound if you didn't stop at the cannons.


Penelope Barker's house sits on the left. The house was moved some time back to this location. You see, the powers that be wanted to build a mall or store or some such nonsense where it sat. So the house was offered to anyone who wanted to move it. I am thrilled that someone saved it from destruction. It is now the home of the Edenton Historical Commission and serves as a visitor's center. That's me (below) and my car... in front of the center.






Thomas and Penelope Barker had the house built in 1782. Good thing the sign stated that or I would have never known! 

It's owner's great claim to fame was this:

Penelope Barker was strongly opposed to 'taxation without representation' so she organized the Edenton Tea Party on Oct. 25, 1774... before Boston's tea party ever happened.  It was one of the earliest organized women's political actions in U. S. history.


That is Penelope in the portrait above.


Leslie and I enjoyed wandering through the downstairs of the house, electing not to climb the stairs to the upper levels. Besides, we stayed cool with the air conditioning (for free) while we waited for check-in time at our bed and breakfast.

The surrounding grounds were quite interesting as well. I'll post about those in a couple days. Be sure to check back to catch that post. 
                                                                             Hugs to you all.
                                                                                        

6 comments:

  1. Happy birthday to your friend Leslie! And you looked beautiful in your red and white stripe top!

    I've never heard before of Penelope Barker so thank you for bringing us her story.

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  2. Hello, wishing a happy birthday to your friend, Leslie! You do look nice in the stripe top! I am glad you had a great outing!

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  3. Sounds like a fun getaway with a friend. I love reading about history...always something new to learn.

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  4. Go Penelope!!! Wow...I am so proud of her activism, and would love to find out if there is a book about her. The house looks gorgeous! Glad they saved it. You and Leslie both look great, Mom! So glad you went! Can't wait to see more!

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  5. How nice to discover Penelope. Last Fall Lee and I drove down to Edenton, but got there too late to see the Museum. We just sat in a nearby park and looked out over the sound. Such a delightful little town. We'll have to go back for another visit. Have a great

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  6. what a great trip! i bet he had a wonderful birthday!

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I hope you will visit often and leave a comment when you do. My blogging friends always put a smile on my face.