Bath, Day One

After visiting Richmond and Chesterfield, Virginia, we hopped in the van ... well, I wouldn't call it "hopping," more like a slow crawl seeing as how these kids wouldn't win any awards for getting in and out of the van at a quick pace ... and drove to Bath, North Carolina.  Our guided tours and historical video were scheduled for Tuesday morning, so we took this opportunity to walk around the town before heading to the Bed & Breakfast.  Bath is the oldest town in North Carolina.  

These monuments tell about the history of Bath.  I will post a small portion from this monument in the "Bath, Day Two" post.

The kids in Bath.

The picture above the historical marker is the St. Thomas Church.  As you can see on the sign, it is the oldest church building in North Carolina.

The church building was open to tour.  Dan had planned on giving his historical lesson on Bath at the Bed & Breakfast later, but the kids all wanted him to do it inside the church building.  They were very attentive.

Dan's lesson was on George Whitefield.  Whitefield was a traveling evangelist who preached the Gospel both in England and the Colonies.  He made thirteen trips across the Atlantic Ocean.  Thirteen!  That's quite a number for the 1700's!  You might wonder why Whitefield was able to freely preach the Gospel when others like Weatherford were getting thrown in jail.  Whitefield wasn't a Baptist.  Whitefield was also filled with the power of God.  At this point you might be wondering what does this have to do with Bath.  George Whitefield visited Bath, North Carolina, preaching the Gospel.  The community of Bath was not receptive and wanted nothing to do with Whitefield or his God.  They had a profitable venture going on with another famous historical figure ... Blackbeard the Pirate ... and they were happy with their way of life.  Whitefield left the town and upon gaining the other side of the river asked God to curse the town never to grow.  Whitefield's Curse, as it came to be known, worked.  The town of Bath didn't prosper from that time forward.  


You'll need to remember Whitefield and the town not prospering for future posts!