As I continue my quest to explore towns across North Carolina, I decided to visit Edenton, a small riverfront town with lots of historical significance.

Edenton was an important part of the Civil War Trail, and the Chowan River was a boundary between Federal and Confederate territories and the site of the three-hour Battle of the Albemarle Sound on Edenton Harbor.

For history buffs, there is a 50-minute trolley tour that leaves from Penelope Barker House Welcome Center. The cost is only $12.50 per adult, and it departs several times a day. The tour takes you on a journey past the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse; the 1886 Roanoke River Lighthouse; and The Cupola House, built in 1758, among other historical sites.

Roanoke River Lighthouse.

The Cupola House.

An interesting bit of women’s history: The Edenton Tea Party in 1774 was one of the earliest organized women’s political actions in U.S. history. Fifty-one women formed an alliance to support the cause “taxation without representation” and boycotted all British tea and cloth.

Famous abolitionist Harriett Jacobs was born into slavery in Edenton around 1813 and escaped through the Maritime Underground Railroad. She wrote about the harrowing tale of her life as a slave and her escape in the book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, under the pseudonym Linda Brent.

When you have had your fill of history, visit stores along Broad Street, then grab a bite to eat at The Herringbone on the Waterfront. The restaurant is housed in a former icehouse on the waterfront. The decor includes antique tools of the trade from local farmers and fisherman. We were there at lunchtime, so we enjoyed a bread board with sundried tomato bread, whipped butter and smoked salt, and pizza from the wood-fired oven. All delicious!

If you’re there on a Saturday, be sure to check out Edenton Farmers Market, where you can buy fresh produce and locally made crafts such as pottery, macramé, leather goods and unique artwork created with a sewing machine.

— Tracey Cullen, art director