I drove up from New Bern with a friend of mine a few years ago, and they let us look around the old rectory. It's still in fine shape, like many of the other buildings in Bath. Just a great little town.

I can never get over how many Depression era pictures show buildings that haven't seen paint in a long, long time. It's all the more striking because mixing linseed oil and white lead wasn't as expensive as today's paints. We might say that's what "Depression" means.

This house is at 200 South Main Street in Bath. The front porch has been downsized, probably to conform with original construction.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church was built in 1734 and is the oldest remaining church building in North Carolina. The current rector doesn't live in the old rectory, but it is apparently still owned by the church.

Bath historic district:

Quite the pile stored under the extension, behind the chimney.

Evangelist George Whitfield was so frustrated by the people of Bath refusing to come under the conviction of God that he went to the edge of town, took off his shoes and knocked the dust from his feet. He then cursed the town, saying that it would never grow past the small village that it was and would be forgotten by men and nations alike.

Bath never grew past a small village and while the rest of North Carolina thrived and prospered, much of Bath remains the same today as it was 250 years ago.