The enduring spirit of the women of Edenton.

In 2003, I purchased the Booth House whose origins go back to the mid-to-late 1700’s.  As to be expected when looking at a 200+ year old residence, it was in dire need of restoration—something that I inexplicably was willing to take on despite the well-intentioned “you’re joking” counsel of friends.  Upon taking ownership of the residence, I proceeded immediately with the necessary work, realizing perhaps too late the enormity of the task relative to what is essentially a fairly modest home in Edenton’s historic district.  The Booth House needed a thorough top-to-bottom renovation, both inside and out, thus providing me a means of establishing financial relationships with many of my new neighbors in town.

I managed to get through most of the major projects over the first two-three years of ownership, a period I refer to as “the shortest 20 years of my life”.  The ongoing work attracted the attention of the locals because when you live in a small town, everyone seems to be aware of what you are doing when renovating your home, even if no one actually sees the work being done.  It wasn’t long before I was approached by ladies representing the Edenton Historical Commission regarding the inclusion of the Booth House on its annual Christmas Candlelight Tour, an event that the town has sponsored since 1981.  Edenton is home to a good number of historic residences, both the grand and the not-so-grand, many of which date back to the 18th and 19th centuries.  Every holiday season, over the space of two days, visitors from all over the surrounding area are welcomed into festively-decorated antique and vintage Edenton homes by their owners, some of whom make it a point to celebrate the season in elaborate, sometimes extravagant style.  

The fact is that anyone who owns an antique home in Edenton’s historic district is in time likely to be asked to have their house featured on the tour.  A little over two years into my ownership of Booth House, it was my turn to be approached.  Most of the interior work by that time had been completed, but about five percent of the required work still needed to be done.  The obstacle that I faced in getting the final finishes carried out was that these remaining items on the to-do list were comparatively minor and varied projects, making it difficult to get any contractor in town to address them. 

Despite the wonderful work that the Historical Commission does for the town, I wasn’t mentally prepared to have a thousand people walk through my home over a given weekend.  I thought I had an easy out—an appropriate excuse, if you will—for disengaging myself from that season’s festivities.  “I’d love to”, I would say, “but unfortunately, there is no way that I could show this house with all the things that still need to be done before it can be deemed tour-worthy. “  It sounded like a pretty good reason to me, but I had deeply underestimated the determination of the women on the Historical Commission committee.  Over time, I came to realize that, in fact, any Edenton woman on a designated mission for the town is not to be easily dismissed, discouraged or dispatched.  It is something that all new residents to the town come to learn sooner rather than later.  

I bewailed to the ladies my abject failure for months in getting any handyman into my home to address these many and various issues, small as they were.  That certainly would be enough to excuse me from the tour, or so I thought.  Instead, I was told to prepare a list of every item that needed attention—large or small—and to present the list to the Commission.  Feeling that I had nothing to lose, I gave my list to the ladies on a Friday.  On Monday morning, there was someone at the door with my list in hand ready to go to work.  And work he did.  By the end of Tuesday, every item on the list had been addressed, and to the ladies’ delight, I suddenly had no reason to keep the Booth House off the Christmas Candlelight tour.

Edenton’s representative to the North Carolina House of Representatives is male, as is our representative to the State Senate.  Our representative to Congress from the 3rd Congressional District is male.  Edenton’s former mayor of 25 years was male, as is currently his successor.  One would easily assume then that from a getting-things-done point of view, Edenton is in fact very much a patriarchal society.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The women of Edenton, from the time of the town’s incorporation 300 years ago to the current day, have been and continue to be prime movers and shakers in the community.   In 1774, fifty-one women, united in opposition to the Tea Act passed by British Parliament the year before, gathered together and vowed not to drink any more British tea, nor wear any more British manufactured clothing.  While widely made sport of by the British, the truth is that at the time, women in America rarely became involved in politics.  The Edenton 51 were therefore very much pioneers in making the voices of colonial women heard, and their resolve acted as a catalyst for the efforts of other early American communities to speak up in protest of British laws.

“We may destroy all the men in America, and we shall still have all we can do to defeat the women.”

British general Lord Cornwallis

That quality endures in Edenton’s women today.  Most of the organizations that promote and contribute to Edenton’s popularity and growth through a large number of established annual events are either run or supported primarily by women.  Many of Edenton’s businesses are owned and/or operated by women, some of whom in the past have taken inspiration from Josephine Leary, born into slavery in the mid-1800’s but who, by building a triple story building on Edenton’s main street as well as owning and renting out other properties in the town, became one of Edenton’s most prominent business leaders.  Women’s History Month is celebrated annually in March and honors women’s contributions to history, culture and society.  There are few communities in the country that have greater reason to celebrate the perseverance and accomplishments of their women than we do here in Edenton.