]> Eastern North Carolina Digital History Exhibit Bath Tricentennial 1955-07-06Governor Luther Hodges to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-07-06Governor Luther Hodges to William Blount Rodman 1955-07-08William Blount Rodman to Governor Luther Hodges 1955-07-12Edmund Harding to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-07-22Edmund Harding to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-07-27Paul. A Johnston to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-09-07William Blount Rodman to W. B. Midgett 1955-09-09Edmund Harding to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-09-13William Blount Rodman to Edmund Harding 1955-09-14To Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-09-24M. David Samples to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-09-26Mrs. Inglis Fletcher to David Samples 1955-09-28M. David Samples to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-10-04M. David Samples to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-10-05Junius D. Grimes to William Blount Rodman 1955-10-07Mrs. Inglis Fletcher to Ruth Coltrane Cannon 1955-10-10M. David Samples to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-10-11William Blount Rodman to Edmund Harding 1955-10-13Mayor Aubrey Lee Brooks to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher 1955-10-13Edmund Harding to William Blount Rodman 1955-10-17Mayor Aubery Lee Brooks to William Blount Rodman 1955-10-28Edmund Harding to Mrs. Inglis Fletcher As the 1955 250th anniversary of Bath’s founding came, the town of Bath realized that it hadn’t made any plans to commemorate the event. In May of that year, the people of Bath decided they needed to plan some sort of celebration. The mayor of Bath, B. A. Brooks, called on Edmund H. Harding of Washington, North Carolina, to chair a committee to plan for a pageant. Harding made ambitious plans which were helped along when in July the North Carolina General Assembly agreed to form a state Bath Commission to help plan the event as well as provided some $2500 of the $4000 Harding estimated the celebrations would cost. (The final cost actually ended up being $17,039.) In early October, having called on many prominent citizens in the state as well as locals from throughout Beaufort County, the pageant, Queen Anne’s Bell, and attendant events were a success. Along with the locals, people such as Governor Luther Hodges, Secretary of State William Blount Rodman, and best-selling historical novelist Inglis Fletcher played roles in the pageant.