BATH — Area residents who have not yet visited Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge Traveling Exhibit in Bath are reminded the display’s limited local run ends Saturday.

The exhibition, a N.C. Department of Cultural Resources project currently touring the state, has been featured at Historic Bath State Historic Site since mid-June. The display showcases artifacts recovered from Blackbeard’s ship, the remains of which rest at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off Carteret County.

The exhibit brought a boost in attendance to the town, with visitation figures up more than 1,200 over last year during the same time period, according to Leigh Swain, Historic Bath’s site manager. Among that number are quite a few local residents wanting a glimpse into the fascinating life of a pirate.

“We are seeing a lot of locals who are interested in coming anytime we have something new or different to show them,” Swain said. “There are also people who come just because they love pirates!”

The exhibit helps historic site staff tell the town’s story, since Bath was once home to the notorious pirate before his death off Ocracoke Island.

“I believe it helps people understand that the historical pirate figure was real when they get to see actual artifacts and items with concretions still attached to them from the ocean floor,” Swain noted. “As people see the size of the vessel, they understand that the Queen Anne’s Revenge didn’t come into Bath waters due to its large size. After visiting the exhibit, people come out asking questions about the pirate’s time in Bath and I believe they are able to retain the information better somehow after seeing the exhibit.”

While visitors have certainly enjoyed the opportunity to view the artifacts, Historic Bath staff members have appreciated the exhibit as well. Swain confessed to being especially fascinated by some of the more minute artifacts in the collection.

“Time and again, I have gone into the room to gaze at several brass straight pins,” she said. “It makes me wonder, would a pirate tack up a fraying pants leg? It makes them more human, somehow, in my mind. I can’t imagine how such small, humble items were still waiting to be found on the bottom of the ocean almost 300 years later.”

The Queen Anne’s Revenge exhibit can be viewed this week between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the Historic Bath Visitor Center. Once it is packed up when the center closesSaturday, the exhibit will move on to Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson, according to Swain.

*For more information about Historic Bath State Historic Site and its events, call 252-923-3971 or visit www.bath.nchistoricsites.org.