The farmer and mechanic., 1915-06-22

of being the frs, city Of that
in this country. In all but ~, ST..
of the Union, some city ma, H.. f..
which was named after tn. t,.,..,
president of the United Stat.
the North Carolina city has th. 4
tinctlon of being the original Wash.
ington''
The present site OF Washln.f,.,.,.-
once a large forest. inhabited j., ID,
dlans They erected their ttu.,. 49,.
the banks of the Pamhco ril.r ..t
lived a peaceful and contert45 w..
devoting most of their atteft,.. -
fishing and farming. The SuI -
rich and the climate excellert fnr Via
| raising of such crops as the lrGt.as
undertook. Their peaceful hft was ,.
| but short duration, however. Ter !
| band of white men. who had received
a charter from the Lords Prct.r}.-.~s
soon found their way up on the Pam
| liCo river, We're enchanted with th.
spot occupied by the Indians ana tro-
ceeded to make it their HON, Tho
| Indians were satisfied to sell tb.lo ia
land for a few beads and Other tr5ul-
cts.
Clearing Away and Building Homes
The whites began to clear away the
land and build homes Some att.p,r.
was made at finding gold. but this was
soon found to be protitleSS task and
| after a while, practically eNpr<,na
occupied themselves with farming.
When slavery became popular. some
of the largest and finest plar.t.ti,nS
in the State were located at N4~l.rc-
ton.
The land on which the town was
located, was originally owned hy Col
James Bonner and "a Mr.. Young Cen
eral Blount laid off the streets of the
city and was an important factor IN
1.-THE early development Of the citN The
part which was first laid off was gwen
the name of Water street. because If
its close proximity to the banks of the
PamlicO. 1t bears the name TODAY
Other streets were gradually added
and the growth of the city was rapid
from it's earliest days.
AS the population increased,
churches were built, the first one be-
ing the Episcopal church. which. how
ever, was open to WorshiperS Of other
denOmina tions. The Methodist rhur
was the next one erected after which
followed the Baptist, the Presbyterian
| and the Catholic The Ac.4d'ruy'
was the first school of which theTt IS
: any record 1t was taught by ii Pro-
fessor Howard. The second tearher
was Mr.. Hitchcock and the third Mss
Sanford.
Trade With the West Indies.
| Trade in the early days was carrled
on between Washington and tbs West
Indies. The principal exports were
tar, pitch, turpentine, lumber ana
shingles The imports consisted ~
: sugar, coffee, salt, molasses and fruits.
! This trade grew extensively and many
ships sailed up and down the Iamhco
with their valuable cargoes
Travelling was done principally ny
means of stage coaches, drawn ~
four horses Early routes ran from
. Washington to New Bern, Tarhoro'
! Plymouth and Greenville, three or
| four times week. A trip 81 any
Z great length was a distinct adventure
and the traveller was the center 81
! interest and admiration.
: When the Revolutionary war bf'"T
! out many of the men Of WaShIh& On
|, enlisted in the army to protect thti
n homes. Among them was Coz. Ja'it'
e Bonner, the founder Of Washington
whose grave may be seen at the -,
e ent Episcopal church graveyard Al1tl
:, the war Washington became "
/, prosperous People from the
5, rounding counties went there /"
itheir produce and buy Their t'v"S
+ Washington became a great tTaoH-s
center and many wealthy men '"-"'
+ it their homes.
i Fort Once Where Now Depot
y During the war OF 1912, fcit Y"
y created to protect the town fr"ii
e british warShipS 1t was tUlt ~ '
7, present site of the Norfolk -S"ulh'
l. depot. The first bridge acrose
s, Pamlico was built by private ih@' ~,
d uals in 1884. A heavy toll WaS 81" r.
re ed to all those who desired -
Is it. This bridge remained stahditN
many years, before it finally W.
l. ruins and another one was pun i,
l. At the outbreak of the wal. ~
II ington had a population OF at''''
1t 500 and was a flourishing ano F'',.
20 priSing little town. IT was lh
IS that the city suffered one OF rs