RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON, N.C.
Written by
Mrs. Lucy Wheelock Myers of Washington,
N. C. for the Woman’s Club of Aurora, N. C. [in 1916, 100 years ago.]
Of the
early days of Washington,
I know very little. I have heard Miss Patsy Blount say that when her father Mr.
John Gray Blount came here to settle he found already a flourishing tho’
scattered settlement. The members of this settlement belonged mostly to the
Bonner family.
These were
prosperous people living in comfortable style in large hip-roofed houses,
located within sight of each other, mostly outside of the present limits of the
town, on the low hills surrounding it.
One
residence, however, and that I suppose of the most influential and prominent
member of the family, was located on the bank of Pamlico river, facing it on
what is now Water Street—this
was the home of Col. James Bonner. Later this house passed out of the
possession of his family and was occupied as a tavern and known as the “Old
Mulberry Tavern.” It took its name from the double row of Otaheite Mulberry trees
standing on each side of the walk leading from the gate to the entrance. This
building stood I think until after the War between the States— and was then
burned down when a warehouse next door was destroyed by fire said to have been
set for the purpose of getting insurance on the warehouse. The Mulberry Tavern
was a two story house, with double piazza across the front making both upper
and lower piazzas. I remember going to this house when a small child with my
mother to have some dresses made. It was then occupied by a Mrs. Pugh, born
Whitecar, whose daughter married a Northern man, a Mr. Hamilton, who built the
house now occupied by Mrs. Wynne on Main
Street in front of the Mulberry Tavern lot.
Lucy Wheelock Myers' Home
The house
in which I now live stands in “Bonner’s Old Part” of the town—on a part of Col.
James Bonner’s farm. I have heard that a fence ran about on the line of Bonner street and
that when Col. Bonner would be at home on a furlough from the Continental army
he would have a half-witted negro servant keep watch-sitting on this fence, for
any suspicious looking parties which possibly might be British or Tories. If
the negro saw signs of danger he would gobble like a turkey which was the
signal agreed upon and the Colonel would retreat to a place of safety.
My earliest
personal recollections of the town is of its beautifully shaded streets—the English
elms which in that day were used almost exclusively for shade-trees, here
forming a perfect arch the whole length of the streets. I have been told that
persons who visited the town before the War preserved that picture as their
foremost recollections of it.
 |
Main Street, Washington, NC in 1915, about the time this stsory
Picture found at: Lithographic Designs, Washington, NC
http://lithicdesigns.com/towns/washington.shtml |
Another
characteristic was its closely fenced yards. All back yards had high, close
board fences which shut out all view of gardens, kitchens, and out-houses — of which there were necessarily many (the
smoke-house a very important one.) on each lot, —as every family kept many
servants—cooks, house servants, laundresses, stable and lot boys, most of whom
lived on the lots. These fences had closely barred gates with locks and chains,
and were usually locked at 9 o’clock at night, after which time negroes were
not allowed on the streets without a written permit from their owners. These
permits they were required to show to the watchmen who were called the patrol.
The negroes had a derisive song about this beginning — “Run, nigger, run, the
patroller catch you!” Ever if it were necessary to send a servant for doctor in
haste at night, he dared not venture on the streets without this permit.
River Traffic
Some of my
most vivid recollections have to do with the water traffic, both on the upper
and lower river—and at sea.
In fact, in
early days, water communication was the principal way of keeping in touch with
the outside world, except by stage-coach for the passengers, and by large
canvas-covered wagons for the inland traffic by road. In my childhood a great
event of the day was the passing through of the stage-coach from New Bern to Plymouth
and the reverse trip. These stage coaches were almost as large and heavy—and as
gaily painted — as a circus band wagon of these days. The driver felt his
importance and took great delight in blowing at the foot of the bridge a large
horn to herald its approach, and would come into town dashing and cracking his
whip over the four or sometimes six horses required to draw the heavy vehicle.
In these
days, too, there was only one small steamboat plying on the upper river, but
great quantities of products from the rich counties of Pitt, Edgecombe and Nash
were freighted down on the flat-boats, consigned to middlemen here called
commission merchants, to be shipped away on sea-going vessels. These merchants
found this business very lucrative—and were among the wealthiest and most prominent
men of the town. Among them I recall Mr. E. F. Havens, Mr. W. A. Willard, Mr.
S. R. Fowle, Mr. G. H. Brown, Mr. John Myers. The flat boats brought a very
important part of the trade of the town. These boats were propelled by
man-power, they were poled along by negroes, who walked along a plank footway
along the side of the boat, as they walked they chanted a most peculiar
mournful song. These flat boats came down the river piled high with bales of
cotton, barrels of tar, pitch and turpentine, bags of corn, sides of bacon,
stacked up like bricks, staves and shingles. The making of the barrels was an important
industry here, and the town was dotted with noisy cooper shops. These barrels
were used by the large distilleries located here.
The
commission merchants, many of them owned large sea-going sailing vessels — two
and three vessels which traded along the coast northward to Baltimore,
Philadelphia, New York and Boston, and southward to the West Indies. All the
ice we had in these days was natural ice, brought from Maine on these sailing vessels. I can well
remember how interesting it was to watch the stevedores unloading the great
blocks of ice and storing them away in the two big ice houses owned by Mr. B.
F. Havens and Mr. John Myers. Then still more interesting was the coming of
vessels from the West Indies, with sugar, molasses, oranges, tamarinds, limes
and a treat of sticks of sugar cane for the children—with also an occasional
monkey or parrot for sale.
 |
Haven's Warehouse in Washington, NC. " The warehouses were constructed in the early mid-nineteenth century. The warehouses are rare survivors of a once common building type in port towns. The buildings lie within the boundaries of the Washington Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places"
The picture was found at North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office
http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/SHPO-N-95-9-185 |
Foreign
sailors who came on these vessels were one of the bug-bears of the little
children in my day. They were a drunken, noisy crowd, swaggering about the
streets making things very disagreeable when they were in port. Many of them
were Portuguese who looked very outlandish with their long hair and the big
gold hooped ear rings they wore.
Mr. Louis Labarbe
The block
on which Mr. Jonathan Havens’ oil mill stands was closely built up with stores
kept by merchants who did large business. On the side of Mr. Jonathan Havens’
mill (the lot and the buildings on it belonged at the time to Mr. Macon Bonner)
Mr. Louis Labarbe carried on a business. Mr. Labarbe came here—a small orphan
boy—whose parents had been murdered by the blacks in a negro insurrection in, I
think, the French West India Island of Martinique. He and a little negro or
mulatto boy managed to elude the frenzied blacks and made their way to a ship
from this town which was lying in harbor. The captain treated them kindly and
brought them with him. Mr. Lewis Le Roy (who married Miss Palmer, a
granddaughter of Sir Robert Palmer) took charge of the little Labarbe, raised
him in his family—and Mr. Labarbe grew up to marry Miss “Peggy” Le Roy,
daughter of his benefactor. The little negro was sold and bought by my great
grandfather, “Parson” Bowen and became a trusted and valued servant in his
family. My Grandmother (Elizabeth Bonner, nee Bowen) always spoke of him as “good
uncle Phil.”
Other
refugees from these insurrected islands found their way here and had much
influence upon social life and manners in Washington.
Mr. Chapeau
One of
them, a Mr. Chapeau, a very accomplished gentleman, taught here the French
language and dancing—especially the stately minuet—for which the young ladies
had a skirt especially made opened on the sides, so that in one of the figures
they could catch up the skirt with the tips of the fingers and hold it out at
arms-length. Mr. Chapeau married a Miss Singletary, a sister of the Rev. Mr.
Singletary, a clergyman of the Episcopal church. After order was restored to
the French West
India Islands,
Mr. Chapeau went to France
and recovered a portion of his estates. We own some silver which belong to Mr.
and Mrs. Chapeau—marked with their initial “C” which was bequeathed to Miss
Patsy Blount by her life long friend Mrs. Chapeau.
The
founders of the town early made provision for the education of the young.
Shortly after the founding of the town, they built a school house where the Graded School
now stands—this building was on the extreme upper end of the town and was
surrounded by huckleberry ponds.
The Le Roy
house remembered by many was the residence of one of the most cultured and
prominent families of this section. Mrs. Le Roy after the death of her husband
and son became much reduced in circumstances and took boarders for a living.
She was a very noted housekeeper—and high bred lady. Her daughters—three in
number, were educated in a convent and were very accomplished, —fine musicians,
linguists and needle-women. The only descendants of this family that I know of
are the children of Mr. Amos Labarbe, son of Mrs. “Peggy” Le Roy Labarbe, who
live in Asheville,
N. C.
[Washington
Progress (Washington, NC), 6 Apr 1916, Page 1]
Main street 1915 found on Lithic Designs, Washington, NC http://lithicdesigns.com/towns/washington.shtml
