I visited the special little town of Washington, NC recently and was inspired by the beauty and history that abounds in this quaint little town. From the boardwalk along the water front that allows you to view sailboats and small islands, to the funky full of fun antique shops and delicious restaurants "Down On Main Street" is very popular and rightfully so .
I normally write my own piece discussing the subject , but chose to use Billie-Jean E. Mallison's description I asked her to provide. Please take time to visit Washington , NC and the newest museum you will be glad you did.
Historic Port of Washington Project in Washington, NC on
the Pamlico River.
Some of our staff enjoyed meeting talented Lorri Lee
Keck-Chambers and charming male companion and photographer, when they visited
recently. We are an all-volunteer organization made up of amateur local
historians and we love to chat oral history with locals and also visitors from
out of town who may drop in.
The Historic Port of Washington Museum is about “old but
fun” like the little town of Washington, NC where it is located in the heart of
its historic downtown which fronts the Pamlico River. We are a small private
museum, new, just getting started, and we celebrate the Maritime history of
Washington; address is 132 S. Market, between Main and Water Sts. above the
Chamber of Commerce which sets almost on the water. Washington was the first
town named for General George Washington during the Revolutionary War, was
settled at the western edge of navigable waters if sailing west from the Outer
Banks of NC through the Pamlico Sound. Museum features a 4 ft x 10 ft painted
mural of the Washington waterfront circa 1880-1920, including depictions of
local Fowle family shipping empire’s warehouses and sailing ships that plied a
circuit between the West Indies, Washington NC, and Europe, as well as “Sharpie”
sailing schooners the work boats of the Pamlico, and the Atlantic Coastal
Railway terminal, and steamboats made or repaired in Washington NC
shipyards.
April 2016 will feature a Lifestyles Exhibit--Entering
the 20th Century in Washington, NC, re: what life was like at an
extremely prosperous time for the port of Washington; Exhibits depict everything
from the beginning of public education in North Carolina in Washington as well
as the beginning of the “Jim Crow” era, to ladies and home fashions and a manikin
costumed in a 1910 empire waist
dress, to what people were reading and wondering about, and the new progressive
amenities the town boasted like telephone, electricity, running water, and who
had the first automobile. We also plan a steam engine demonstration at the last
of April.
We are open Saturdays, 9:30 am – 1:30 pm.
Washington is a lovely place to walk on the boardwalk
and look at the river and boats and lovely homes on East and West Main Street,
as Lorri Lee Keck-Chambers told us when she visited the Museum and Project.
Washington also has a Civil War history and a new
Underground Railroad Museum which highlights the port’s important position in
the circuit African American slaves took in seeking to escape.
Billie-Jean E. Mallison
Volunteer Coordinator
Historic Port of Washington Project
2/29/16
Look for this lady in your travels about town, and don't forget to visit the Estuarium while you are there.
North Carolina Estuarium
