Founded in 1771 by Col. James Bonner and originally known as “Forks of the Tar”, Washington was renamed in 1776, becoming the first incorporated town in the nation to honor the Revolutionary War hero and first President of the United States.

For the first one-and-a-half centuries of its existence, Washington was a vital sea-going trading port, particularly during the Revolutionary War, when most other harbors on the east coast were blockaded and the swift ships that plied the rivers and sounds of Eastern North Carolina were able to slip through. As commercial traffic shifted to highways in the 20th century, the river assumed a new importance as a recreational mecca and a sportsman’s paradise, and Washington’s reputation as a tourism destination began to grow.

Today the city boasts modern medical and educational facilities while preserving many of the historic and architectural treasures that give the city its unique character and charm.

Washington NC: Area Information

Senator Bob Martin Eastern Agricultural Center – This modern facility, located about 20 miles north in Williamston, is one of the finest show arenas for horses on the East Coast. The facility currently has the capacity to handle shows of up to 360 horses, with additional capacity to handle 160 more horses expected to be available by the beginning of 2005. The facility is planned to host horse shows with 600-700 mounts by 2006.  The equestrian center already stays booked approximately 46 weekends each year, some weekends featuring multiple events. Each horse shown in a typical show brings three or four humans, including riders and caretakers. Current shows have 1200-1600 attendees not counting spectators and a significant number come from a multi-state area. As this facility expands, attendance for major events is expected to swell to more than 8,000.

East Carolina University Athletics – ECU is an NCAA Division I-A school in all major sports. It competes in Conference USA in football, baseball, and basketball. Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium averages more than 30,000 fans for home football games and can accommodate capacity crowds of 45,000 or more for games with state rivals such as UNC-Chapel Hill and N. C. State University.  In addition, both the basketball and baseball programs attract thousands of fans to home games, with a much heavier home schedule than for football games.  ECU is aggressively pursuing major sports programs that will be ranked nationally on a consistent basis. 

Historic Bath, once a colonial capital and the oldest existing town in North Carolina, having been settled in 1690 and incorporated in 1705, features a number of restored colonial homes and is only 12 miles east of the city. New Bern, also once a colonial capital and site of the restored Tryon Palace, is 35 miles south of Washington. Aurora, 25 miles southeast, is home to the Fossil Museum, a treasure trove of prehistoric artifacts recovered from the nearby PCS Phosphate mine. At least eight championship golf courses are located within a 30 minute drive, and dozens of other historic sights, ocean beaches and other attractions can be reached in just over a two hour drive. 

Washington NC: Annual Events

The East Carolina Wildlife Arts Festival is held in late-January at the civic center, and includes the North Carolina Decoy Carving Wildlife Championships. Craftsmen from throughout the Eastern United States come to display and sell their artwork, attracting thousands of wildlife enthusiasts during the course of the festival Exhibitors.
 

Music in the Streets - a monthly festival of musical variety featuring musicians from the local area and surrounding cities, is sponsored by the Historic Washington Downtown Merchants Association and the Beaufort County Arts Council.  Held on the third Friday of each month from April through December, the events fill Main and adjoining streets with crowds that have averaged more than 5,000. In addition to musical acts, magicians and other street performers entertain the crowds.

The Annual Washington Summer Festival is a festive extravaganza that draws tens of thousands of visitors to the city every summer, many from surrounding states. The entire downtown and waterfront area becomes a massive carnival, with rides, musical performances, exhibitions and street vendors captivating the crowds.  
 

The Fine Arts Show and Sale is held by the Beaufort County Arts Council each autumn in the Washington Civic Center. Artists from across North Carolina and throughout the southeastern states bring their works for display and sale, and hundreds of art patrons are on hand to view and buy.

Smoke on the Water is a festival held each October on the Washington waterfront that focuses on all things  gustatory.  The festival features contests for producing the best barbecue, chili, pies and other treats, and the competition is fierce. Challengers come from throughout the Down East region to demonstrate their culinary prowess, with elaborate tents erected on the waterfront to house state-of-the-art barbecue cookers and chili pots that bubble invitingly. Hundreds come early for Friday evening’s special Music in the Streets to judge and participate in the annual “Parade of the Pigs,” a New Orleans style funeral procession (with musicians, costumes and pig art contestants) in celebration of the pigs’ ultimate sacrifice.

Washington NC: Local Attractions

The Turnage Theater – The Turnage Theater, built by C. A. Turnage around 1930, was, in his words, “....One of the most modern theatres in eastern North Carolina.  ... The Turnage opened on February 28, 1930, and the first picture shown was ‘Lord Byrum of Broadway.’”  Turnage kept the existing vaudeville theater, located within the same building, and created a classic “palace”-style theater for the showing of motion pictures.

Although the theater closed in the 1970s, a nonprofit foundation acquired the property and has completed a $3.1 million fundraising campaign to restore the facility. Many of the original construction details that distinguished the theater remain and a complete restoration to its former glory is underway. 

North Carolina Estuarium – The Estuarium, so named because it depicts wildlife found both on land and in the water in the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System, is operated by the nonprofit Partnership for the Sounds and is funded in part by legislative appropriations.  This unique facility provides a wide array of fascinating exhibits, in addition to a theater showing a custom film describing the many features of the estuary. Of the more than 15,000 visitors in 2003, more than half were school tours and other groups from across the state. About one fourth of visitors were from out-of-state.

Waterfront – Our waterfront welcomes boaters to Washington. With the addition of town docks along the boardwalk, Washington gives visiting boaters a wonderful new approach to the city. Facilities include water and electrical hookups as well as a free pump-out station. Several spaces are set aside on a first-come, first-served basis that allow visitors free use of the facilities for up to three days. Other slips are reserved for longer rentals. Come visit the town, walk the waterfront, and enjoy the restaurants along Main Street!