Record #:

22901

Author(s):

Kammerer, Roger

Abstract:

Located near Belvoir along the Tar River, Bensboro was once the ancestral home of the Atkinson family of Pitt County. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Benjamin Atkinson made it a thriving commercial center with his store and consistent transporting business. When he died on February 2, 1816 at 63 years of age, his businesses were divided and sold. However, the 1,500 acres of plantation were not sold. Ben Ashley Atkinson inherited the land and tried to use the plantation as the cocoonery for a Greenville Silk Company. Peyton Ashley Atkinson took over Bensboro on October 1, 1839 after his father Ben Ashley died. Peyton married the very prominent Susan Virginia Streeter of Greene County on July 27, 1843. This marriage caused Peyton Atkinson to run two plantations in two different counties: Bensboro in Pitt County and Streeter in Greene County. By this time, Bensboro was apparently a beautiful place with its lush trees and rich furnishings. After Peyton died on February 2, 1863, Benjamin Streeter Atkinson took over the plantations. He was elected to serve in the state legislature. However, debts and economic recessions caused Bensboro to become disarrayed. Bensboro burned in 1895 and Susan Streeter Atkinson died on December 4, 1895. Thus, Bensboro finally was lost forever.

Source:

Greenville Times / Pitt's Past (NC Microforms), Vol. Issue , Nov 11-24 1987, p12-13, por

Subject(s):

Pitt County--History--Towns; Plantations--Pitt County