Bath has long been a small, rural town. While it began with promise as North Carolina’s first incorporated town, it never
became the major port its founders hoped it would be. Still, during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, many wonderful
structures were built that still remain, including St. Thomas Church, the Palmer-Marsh House, and the Bonner House. However,
by the early nineteenth century, Bath had been surpassed by the town of Washington, further up the Pamlico River. Bath became
one of Beaufort County’s many farming crossroads. However, it’s place in early North Carolina history, including its historic
structures and graveyards, made the town a place people continued to visit.
