Bath

Understand

Founded in 1705, Bath is North Carolina's oldest town and first port of entry. It was first settled by French Huguenots who made their way south from Virginia. They initially had to contend with yellow fever outbreaks, droughts, pirates, and incursions by Tuscarora Indians. Between 1705 and 1722, it was the capital of the colony of North Carolina before it moved on to Edenton and New Bern. In 1711, Thomas Cary tried to usurp the governorship that had been transferred to Edward Hyde in what became known as Cary's Rebellion, an affair that sort of dogged effective governance in the colony for a while.

The actual Blackbeard lived here in 1718 until he was seized for privateering and executed. And also George Whitefield, the noted Methodist evangelist, came to Bath during the Great Awakening but got such a cold reception that he removed his shoes on the outskirts of town and placed a curse on it, which almost seems to have come true given the way Bath has had a sleepy character up till it became a retirement and tourism haven in the late 20th century.