Full disclosure. We didn't go to Bath. We were on our way to New Bern, the Outer Banks and Manteo, NC when we passed the cutoff to Bath. It turns out we could have made a loop, but we didn't see it on the map on time.
Bath was incorporated in 1705 and was North Carolina's first port of entry. By 1708, it had 12 houses and 50 people. The merchants traded in furs, tobacco and naval stores. In those first years, they went through the Indian wars, piracy (Blackbeard - more about him later) yellow fever, and severe drought in 1711. Pretty rough start. But the worst thing that happened to them was a curse.
A man named George Mansfield came to visit in 1747 and 1762, urging all of the town's residence to repent. It got so they hated to see him coming - to the point that even the church wouldn't allow him to preach. Finally, after numerous visits and no success, he gave up. Just like the disciples of old, he drove his wagon to the outskirts of town, removed his shoes, shook out the dirt and put a curse on the town. He told onlookers the Bible said the town would be cursed for its hardness against the Word.
He is quoted as saying, "You shall remain now and forever, forgotten by men and nations until such time as it pleases God to turn the light of his countenance again upon you."
Today, the town of Bath remains almost entirely within the same boundaries as it was laid out by its primary founder John Lawson. It had a population of 249 in the 2010 census and in 2005 celebrated its 300th anniversary.
It's a great little tourist town, and a launching area for all kinds of water activities in the summer. But, maybe its biggest claim to fame is the fact that Edna Ferber wrote "SHOWBOAT" based on her experience there aboard the Showboat Floating Theater when it visited Bath Creek in 1925. SHOWBOAT went on to become one of the greatest broadway musicals of all time and lots of memorable songs we all recognize!
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