Slow down at a historic inn in Edenton, N.C. VisitNC.com

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Paris has the Eiffel Tower; London has Big Ben. Edenton, North Carolina touts a teapot.

On the edge of the town green, in front of the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse, stands a 250-pound bronze teapot, mounted on a Revolutionary War-era cannon. The kettle honors 51 uppity women who staged what was one of the first organized women’s protests in the United States.

In 1774, Mrs. Penelope Barker held a tea party for 51 women, who sent a letter to England’s King George declaring their boycott of English tea and fabrics. Their letter of rebellion provoked a British satirical cartoon ridiculing them for being “treasonous” and suggesting they stay out of politics and tend to their wifely duties.

Edenton, population 4,800 today, has other claims to fame:  It’s the second-oldest town in the state and the colonial capital. President James Monroe dined in the Chowan County courthouse in 1819. The Edenton Cotton Mill supplied cotton to U.S. troops in World War I. And the town has the last remaining square, screw-pile lighthouse.

But the best part of Edenton is its friendly, small-town feel.

Nestled into the western end of Albemarle Sound 70 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, Edenton is “one of America’s prettiest towns,” per Forbes.com.

“Edenton is a quaint town that is an architectural masterpiece, boasting hundreds of 18th- to 20th-century homes,” according to the tourism director of Chowan County, Erienne Dickman.

“There are a variety of reasons to visit Edenton, but it is the small-town charm, gorgeous waterfront view and people that will make you want to come stay time and time again.”

Many historic buildings

Edenton has many well-preserved buildings, water-oriented recreation and walkable streets lined with attractions and eateries.

Historic preservation is a priority here. Sir Walter Raleigh explored the area in the 1580s. The town was North Carolina’s state capital until 1792, when state government operations moved to the more central Raleigh.

And so the town has two National Historic Landmarks, five buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, and countless grand homes with inviting verandas, in Victorian, Georgian, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Queen Anne and Federal styles.

Locals even relocate buildings to save them. The Roanoke River Lighthouse was moved three times to escape demolition. Its screw-pile design is named for the supporting “screw” on its base, twisted into the river bottom.

Now located on stilts in Edenton Harbor, it has been restored to its 1886 interior, housing the keeper’s furnishings and tools, including a crank radio used to communicate.

Another rescued building, the 1758 Jacobean-style Cupola House, was slated for commercial development until a group of residents stepped in a century ago. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house has an eye-catching cupola that enhances ventilation.

Inside, the first floor is decorated with Prussian blue, Georgian wainscoting, mantels, pediments and moldings. Its much plainer second floor was probably quarters for enslaved people.

Museums and boat tours

The Penelope Barker House, built in 1762, displays the Brits’ cartoon demeaning the “traitorous” Edenton women and has exhibits of other “women of distinction.”

One is Inglis Fletcher (1879-1969), a novelist who traveled to Africa alone in 1928 on a six-month trek — then a norm-breaking adventure for a white woman. She described her adventures in her book, The White Leopard.

Edenton will soon open the Hayes Farm to the public, a complex including the 1817, Palladian home of the state’s first U.S. senator, James C. Johnston, and
enslaved workers’ cottages.

The Mill Village Museum tells the story of the Edenton Cotton Mill, 1898 to 1995, where at its peak, 100 workers made cotton into string in hot, dusty conditions. The mill is the heart of Mill Village, once 70 modest bungalows where workers lived. Exhibits describe close-knit village life, and artifacts like the last batch of yarn made there.

Albemarle Sound is an ever-inviting backdrop. Since the town is 70 miles from the ocean, waters are usually calm and breezes soothing. Cruising on the tour boat “Liber-Tea,” visitors can learn tidbits about the invading Union troops’ shenanigans during their Civil War occupation and sailors hiding rum in cypress trees.

In the 18th century, the town docks bustled with cotton and tobacco shipping. In 1842, Harriet Ann Jacobs, born into slavery, hid in an Edenton attic for seven years, then disguised herself as a sailor and sailed north to freedom in New York, where she published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent.

Eclectic shops

A not-to-be-missed retail hotspot is Byrum’s True Value Hardware, with a variety store wing and shelves bulging with hammers, sillcocks, gardening supplies, craft supplies, decorations, North Carolina sports memorabilia, sewing notions, Pyrex dishes, bike helmets and more.

Shoppers can also buy wedding presents, like fine china and crystal. Jean Byrum Brown, granddaughter of the store’s founder, keeps a worn cardboard box under the cash register containing a bridal registry — a bunch of stapled-together, three-by-five-inch index cards, one for the bride and one for the groom. She gladly wraps gifts. If a purchase is too large to wrap, Brown will put a bow on it.

Along the main street, Broad, handmade signs promote coming events, such as a wild game cookout, spaghetti supper and pork chop fundraiser. The thoroughfare is lined with mom-and-pop boutiques selling hand-painted furniture and décor. Feathers Boutique, a women’s clothing store has a “preloved” section and racks for curvy figures and “working mamas.”

Edenton moves at a slow pace. Pam Johnson is a repeat visitor.

“We stumbled across Edenton by happenstance 20 years ago. Every year since, we have made it a tradition to stay overnight,” she said. “The town’s Colonial architecture, coupled with trendy shops and restaurants, is what keeps us coming back.”

If you go

Edenton is located four and a half hours south of the D.C. area. Amtrak has trains from Union Station to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, where several companies rent cars for the two-hour drive to Edenton.

For lodging, elegant B&Bs in former homes near downtown have a comfortable, genteel aura.

Many restaurants specialize in fresh seafood and farm-to-table vegetables. At the Edenton Bay Oyster Bar, crispy-fried oysters, fried oyster salad and oysters with homemade pimento and ham top the menu, and creamed collards hit the spot.

For lunch at the Old Colony Smokehouse, pitmaster Adam Hughes offers pork, beef, chicken, turkey and sausage, smoked on wood coals, as well as made-from-scratch desserts.

To work off your excesses, you can do the twist at Edenton Bay Trading Company’s Saturday Vinyl Night, where rock and roll is played on vinyl records.

Edenton’s July 4 celebration is a popular annual festival.

For more information, go to visitedenton.com. Pick up free travel guides at the visitor center, the 1892 Zeigler House or the Penelope Barker House.