Author: Stan Deatherage | Published: November 13th, 2009

Gateway to the United State's Second Largest Estuary, The Pamlico Sound, Washington, North Carolina is Gaining on its Past

  Washington, North Carolina is my town. I have lived other places, but Washington, as the western most incorporated municipality, sitting at the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 17 and U.S. Hwy. 264, in my home county of Beaufort, is my home. It is the county seat of Beaufort, which is one of the oldest counties in North Carolina, established in 1712; with the village of Bath as the county's oldest town, as it is also the oldest town in all of North Carolina, which was one of the original 13 colonies in the United States of America.



  That makes this area, at least by United States standards, a region that has been a viable entity for some time, with traditions that exist today as they existed over 200 years before our time here - and I've been here a good while.


       Click map to enlarge to a much larger map of northeastern North Carolina.

  The City of Washington was once known as the Forks of the Tar (Tar River), but was reincorporated in 1776 as Washington in respect to the wise general that was given charge of the Continental Army by the Continental Congress in 1775. Obviously, there was little Tory influence running scared in this Beaufort County port in these patriotic times.

  George Washington, from neighboring Virginia, had spent some time in Forks of the Tar as a young surveyor, before his service in the French and Indian War, 1754 -1758. The young surveyor was tasked with the mapping the Great Dismal Swamp, which runs from an area just a few miles north of Washington all the way into the Tidewater of southeastern Virginia, south of the James River.

  The City of Washington still prides itself on being the original Washington, incorporated long before our Nation's Capital on the northern banks of the Potomac River. Washington, Georgia, the second oldest Washington, was incorporated in 1780.



  Washington, the sleepy river town that I grew up in the 1950's and 60's, was once a bustling harbor in the 18th and 19th centuries, when wind sailing sloops and ketches would haul their stores to the waterfront docks, where they would be transferred to barges to ship up the shallower Tar River to Greenville, Tarboro and Rocky Mount. Later in the 19th century these goods would be transferred to the railhead and depot on Gladden Street to be transported by railcar in all directions.



  The jagged seawall and multiple docks along the Pamlico River (the Pamlico River abruptly begins as the Tar River ends at the US Hwy 17 bridge), have long sense been removed in the rush for "urban renewal" that was so prevalent in the 1970's. Today, the long sweep of a concrete bulkhead has replaced the saw tooth waterfront, but one feature has changed from that sleepy town of my youth to the bustling waterfront mecca of yesteryear. You can now meet people in quaint shops along the downtown, or in restaurants and bars that are open longer into the evening than anyone of any age would care to remember.





  Somewhat reminiscent of Washington as a harbor town, when multiple saloons occupied the storefronts, where sailors could have a drink or three, and meet those special ladies, today's Washington has many portals where libation is readily dispensed. For some unknown reason towns that want to thrive as an extension of their water resource: as a harbor for the shipping industry, as shipbuilders to sustain the shipping industry, as a port for sailors, and other lovers of watercraft; including human powered vessels, or the precious water views of waterfront residences; must support public dispensaries of spirits. It worked in the 18th and 19th centuries, and it will need to remain an integral component within the commercial fabric of any downtown Washington on the water renaissance.



  Scullers finding calmer waters a necessary accessory pictured here on the waterside of Havens Wharf: Above. Kayakers finding their way to the wider waters of the Pamlico River, just east of Washington's waterfront, after visiting with friends along Washington's public docks: Below.





  Looking southeast from across a small rail bridge fording Jacks Creek leading out to the Pamlico River from East Main Street: Above. From that same vantage point looking east toward the mouth of Runyon Creek as a flock of geese head out searching for sustenance: Below



  Since Washington elected to build the public docks on the waterside of the public walkway, the slow resurrection of downtown Washington was begun. It will a slow process to make the downtown commercial district vital while preserving what significant historic architecture that remains, but visit downtown Washington on a sunny warm day or a weekend night, and you will witness a bustling collection of folks doing their best to enjoy these public spaces, often in huge populations during local festivals: Music in the Streets, The Washington Summer Festival, Smoke on the Water and the weekly farmers' market.



  One of the most popular public spaces downtown is the renovated Turnage Theater that serves as a stage to many great local acts as well as international, national and regional productions that keeps plenty of culture trucked in for the folks within the region that enjoy the performing arts. Below are pictures of the Turnage Theater, below: exterior along the north side of west main street, the interior before a show, traditional music of local legend, Mike Cross, entertains a substantial crowd.







Along the west side of Washington's downtown waterfront, beginning in from the North Carolina Estuarium Exhibit and Museum is Washington's boardwalk, which is over 1/2 mile roundtrip. Along those boards separating part of Washington's drainage basin from the Pamlico River, walkers enjoy an example outstanding natural views of the nature within our estuary, along with many panoramic water views and sunsets upon the Pamlico River. Below I am showing a plethora of those views, in my picture, and I hope you enjoy this parting shot until we explore all of Beaufort County in subsequent volumes within this periodical.







  Mother Mallard Duck, with her ducklings sitting upon a retaining wall: Above. Looking westerly along the boardwalk and Washington waterfront with a variety of lily pads in the foreground: Below.









  Wildlife finds a way to carve out some nutritional territory: Above. Sunsets on the Pamlico River, compliments of downtown Washington walkways: Below.

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