We have tried to keep you updated about the many efforts of the Washington Harbor District Alliance but feel like it is about time to “change gears” and reflect on the history of our beautiful downtown waterfront. After all, if you do not know where you have been, it is hard to know where you are going to go.

This will be a series of articles that we hope will help both our young and old readers alike get better acquainted with their town.

The Washington waterfront is one of the most beautiful scenes we may see and will often remind you of a postcard; and at times, it’s taken for granted by us locals. Its uniqueness, coupled with the Pamlico River, is a drawing card many small towns only wish they had to build on. But, did you know that at one time it was one of the most industrious shipping and ship-building ports on the East Coast? All along Main and Water streets are plaques designating famous people and families that helped make Washington’s waterfront the haven we see today.

Our waterfront was a flourishing and thriving port where boats were loaded with turpentine, tar, naval stores, sugar and tobacco to be exported to England, West Indies and up to the northern cities. There were as many as 10 wharfs that lined our waterfront to receive ships and send loaded ships back out to foreign locations. It is said that flat boats would travel the Tar River to Washington to unload from Nash, Edgecombe and Pitt counties. They would unload and then return to the wealthier counties to our west.

Washington rapidly grew into one of the leading ports of trade because of families like the Blounts, Myers, Marsh, Havens, Fowles and many other shipping and warehouse businesses. These families were the leaders in the boat-building industry up until the onset of the Civil War.

Our unique ability to get to the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean through navigable water was a boon for foreign trade, and Washington grew and prospered because of this.

The onset of the Civil War brought many changes to our hometown, just like it did many small southern communities. Because of our proximity to the Atlantic, we were a critical and important link for the Confederate Army and a town the Union Army had to capture. Let me conclude this article for today and we will pick back up with this series at my next writing, beginning with the Civil War in Washington.

We do hope that everyone enjoyed celebrating our two holidays and now only one left in 2016: New Year’s Eve. Please enjoy, but be safe in doing so!

Thank you also for supporting our local merchants and helping them have a prosperous end to the fourth quarter. Remember to shop local if possible and remember your generosity is appreciated. With that, I hope you will shop, dine and play in our beautiful Washington, North Carolina, and if you have time … take a walk with the H-ROB!