These Small Towns in North Carolina Have the Best Historic Districts
So much of North Carolina's history survives in its small towns, in the courthouses, churches, and old commercial blocks of their historic districts. Bath, the state's oldest town, dates to 1705 and still centers on a few colonial streets by the water. A 15-acre town common in Tarboro, laid out in the 1760s, is one of only two originals left in the country. Others wear their history in smaller details, like the granite sidewalks of Mount Airy. These are the towns where the state's past is easiest to walk through.
Mount Airy
Mount Airy goes by Mayberry to most people who visit, since it was the model for the fictional hometown in The Andy Griffith Show. The Andy Griffith Museum lays out the actor's life and career. Around town are a replica of Wally's Service Station and Floyd's City Barber Shop, which still has the barber chair Griffith used.
The town built its early 20th-century downtown on the local granite trade. Its granite sidewalks give it the name Granite Capital of the World. The largest open-face granite quarry in the country still works the edge of town.
Pittsboro
Pittsboro is the seat of Chatham County, built around a historic district of buildings from the late 1700s to the early 1900s. At its center is the Chatham County Courthouse, a brick structure from 1881. The Pittsboro Roadhouse books live music through the week.
On the edge of town, the Carolina Tiger Rescue shelters lions, tigers, and other wild cats. Pittsboro also makes a base for the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, a short drive south.
Tarboro
Tarboro grew up along the Tar River, with the Town Common at its center. The 15-acre green was set aside in the 1760s and is one of only two original town commons left in the United States, the other being Boston Common. The Tarboro Historic District around it takes in antebellum and later houses from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Blount-Bridgers House, a Federal-style mansion, now serves as a museum and gallery of regional art. Calvary Episcopal Church, its Gothic Revival design begun before the Civil War and completed in 1867, is one of the most striking in the state.
Bath
Bath, named for the city in Somerset, England, is the oldest incorporated town in North Carolina. Founded in 1705, it centers on a few streets by the water and a historic district small enough to see on foot in an afternoon. St. Thomas Episcopal Church, built in 1734, is one of the oldest churches in the state. The Palmer-Marsh House dates to 1751.
Bath is best known for its link to the pirate Blackbeard, who lived in the town for a time before his death in 1718. The Bath Historic Site tells the story of the town's early settlers, pirates included.
New Bern
New Bern was founded in 1710 where the Trent and Neuse Rivers meet, the second-oldest town in North Carolina. Its landmark is Tryon Palace, the Georgian mansion completed in 1770 as the home of royal governor William Tryon, with formal gardens and the North Carolina History Center on the grounds.
Downtown New Bern has the centuries-old Christ Church and a Masonic temple that claims the longest continuous use in the country. The town is also the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, mixed up by pharmacist Caleb Bradham in 1898.
Salisbury
Salisbury, founded in 1753, took its name from the English city near Stonehenge and grew into a hub of the Piedmont. Its historic district preserves buildings tied to both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, including the site of the Salisbury Confederate Prison.
The standout is the Dr. Josephus Hall House. Built in 1820 as classrooms for the Salisbury Academy, it later became the home of Dr. Josephus Hall, the chief surgeon at the Confederate prison. It survives today with its period furnishings intact.
Beaufort
Beaufort, settled in 1709, is the third-oldest town in North Carolina and has one of the best waterfront historic districts in the country. The Beaufort Historic Site, a 2-acre complex in the middle of town, gathers several restored and furnished period buildings, including the 1829 Old Jail.
The Old Burying Ground, a colonial-era cemetery, shelters the graves of settlers, sailors, and soldiers under live oaks. Beaufort also figures in the story of Blackbeard, whose ship the Queen Anne's Revenge ran aground off the inlet here in 1718.
Hillsborough
Hillsborough was once a political and cultural center of the colony, a past still visible in its historic buildings. The Orange County Courthouse, built in 1845, remains in use, its clock a downtown landmark. The Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail follows one of the first NASCAR tracks, now a wooded walking path along the Eno River.
The Burwell School Historic Site preserves a 19th-century girls' school on grounds first built in the 1820s. Other sites around town connect to Revolutionary and Civil War events.
Centuries in a Few Blocks
North Carolina's historic districts pack a lot into a few blocks. Beaufort still has its colonial waterfront and a graveyard full of sailors and soldiers. New Bern has Tryon Palace and the drugstore counter where Pepsi began. Salisbury carries the Piedmont's Revolutionary and Civil War history in its downtown streets. Each district is small enough to see on foot and old enough to be worth it.
