Bath, Day Two

When we visited Bath on Monday, we learned about George Whitefield and the curse he placed on the town.  This short phrase (above) about him appeared on the historical marker.  It mentions nothing about the curse.  Dan was curious whether or not the video we would see Tuesday about the town of Bath would mention either. Surprisingly, they not only mentioned Whitefield, but his curse on the town as well.  We all got a giggle at the end of the video when it mentioned that while Whitefield's curse that the town "remain small" came true, the residents liked it that way. I guess that's one way to put a good turn on it.  Dan had scheduled a couple historical house tours in Bath after the video.  We toured the houses and checked out the gift shop before leaving the town.

The Palmer-Marsh House

 The Bonner House

The beautiful view from the Bonner House.  Bath Creek and Back Creek meet at that point of land and run into the Pamlico River.  Riley, Lindsey, Victoria, Elizabeth, Calleigh, Skyeler, and Colin.

Riley, Lindsey, Victoria, Elizabeth, Calleigh, Skyeler, and Colin enjoying the breeze off the river on a sweltering hot day.

Carolina House

There are few hotels near Bath, North Carolina.  Dan had called around trying to find one that would fit our group.  He wasn't having any luck so he tried this Bed & Breakfast.  We were able to book the Bed & Breakfast for the same amount as the hotels would have cost.  All of us were pretty excited about this!  

The Carolina House Bed & Breakfast

Skyeler was thrilled to find a piano at the B & B.  This particular piano came all the way from Germany where it was used as a teaching piano for students.  

Riley and Colin having breakfast.

Tori and Elizabeth on the front porch.

The group with our hosts, Peter and Toni.  We were sorry that we had only a short time to spend here.

Monday Fun!

Dan said these kids can have fun with a paper bag  :) I think it's true!  Here are some miscellaneous pictures from our Monday travel day ...

We arrived in Richmond not knowing exactly where to park.  This parking spot seemed available and it was just down the street from St. John's Church.  It wasn't till after we all got out of the van that I noticed we had parked between a Porsche, a Jaguar, and a Mercedes :)  The van doesn't look out of place at all *grin*

Dan modeling a hat in the gift shop at St. John's Church.

Tori eating Fruit by the Foot.  

After checking into our Bed & Breakfast we went to get some dinner.  The restaurant (the only one in town) was quite full and we needed a buzzer.  It was shaped as a lobster.  They thought it was hilarious.  Tori named him Larry.

Waiting for dinner

 Dan, Tori, and Colin

Calleigh, Riley, Lindsey, Elizabeth, and Skyeler

This crab was across from the walkway that went along the Pamlico River in Washington, North Carolina.  It was a beautiful mosaic pattern. I was trying to get a group picture, but, well, when an opportunity arises for silliness, this group seizes the moment!

Finally, the silliness ends (for the moment, at least) and I can take a group picture.

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!

Chesterfield Courthouse and Jail

When last I posted, you might have been wondering what Patrick Henry had to do with our Baptist History Tour.  In Chesterfield, Virginia we find the Baptist significance of Patrick Henry.  This monument is placed at the site of the Chesterfield Courthouse and Jail.  Here John Weatherford and six other Baptist ministers were imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. The Church of England was not pleased with these ministers and tried to stop them from preaching.  They assumed that throwing them in jail would stop not only their preaching but the Baptist movement from growing.  They assumed wrongly.  John Weatherford continued to preach from his jail cell and people continued to come and hear him.  Despite the attempts to hinder his listeners, like hornet's nests, snakes, drunken men on horseback, and a brick wall built in front of his cell window, Weatherford's church grew.  Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison defended these seven preachers in court and won their freedom.  The original jail and courthouse are no longer there.  Only this monument and the historical marker below remain.  

Riley, Calleigh, Skyeler, Lindsey, Victoria, Elizabeth, and Colin in front of the monument.

The courthouse as it is today.

The jail as it is today, built in 1842.  

 The group listening to Mr. Dan.  

The historical marker placed along the side of the road in front of the courthouse.

Below are the fun pictures we took at the site of the jail.  Some of the kids look a little better in the stocks than others :)

 Calleigh

 Riley

 Tori

 Elizabeth

 Lindsey

 Dan

 Colin

 Skye

St. John's Church

Our first stop was St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia. I have to admit that I felt a little like Benjamin Gates in "National Treasure." St. John's Church is where Patrick Henry gave his famous speech that ended with the quote "Give me liberty or give me death." Dan printed out the whole speech for the kids to read and went over some key points before we walked over to the church. The speech is spectacular and really shows Patrick Henry's belief in the Almighty God. As an interesting side note, not related to our tour, Edgar Allen Poe's mother is buried in the cemetery of St. John's Church.

One of the many monuments that has Patrick Henry's name on it. The glass above (not pictured) has the last part of his speech. It did not photograph well.

St. John's Church. Our tour guide told us that it sits on the highest point in Richmond and before the buildings and trees grew, you could see the James River in the distance from this spot.

Our group inside the church. The church has had a couple additions since Patrick Henry's time. The teens are sitting in the part of the original church. You can see the beautiful stained glass windows in the background. They were added at a later date.

A little hard to read on the blog, but Exodus Chapter 20, the 10 Commandments. are listed here.

Another tablet stating Patrick Henry's involvement and importance.

The tablet is on the wall above the pew where it is said that Patrick Henry was wont to sit. It really was a different feeling knowing that we were standing where he stood. That history had taken place on the very ground we were treading. I'm not sure that I had ever had that feeling before. It was incredible, really making the history come alive.

A nice gentleman took a picture of our group. We are standing in front of the original part of the church. Just through those doors is where Patrick Henry argued for our liberty and freedom from England.

You might wonder what this had to do with Baptist history. Well, learning about Patrick Henry here set the stage for our next stop in Chesterfield, Virginia. Unfortunately, this is all I have time for tonight as it's almost midnight and we have an early start to our morning. I will try and get our trip to Chesterfield and then our next stop, Bath, NC up as soon as I can!

On the Road Again

Our youth group is hitting the road again, only this time we are not headed to church camp. After much prayer and deliberation, Dan felt he was being led to put together a historical trip. Specifically, a Baptist history tour. The teens were excited. Our pastor was excited. Even the parents were excited (oh...wait...they were excited that we were taking their kids away...just kidding!). There are always smiles at the beginning of every trip. It is yet to be seen if they will look this way upon our return! Our first stop will be Richmond, Virginia. Saddle up!

Front row: Calleigh & Victoria
Middle row: Elizabeth & Skyeler
Back row: Colin, Lindsey, & Riley