A Day of Caching in Williamston, Windsor & Plymouth 9/26/2008

Friday started out rather rainy as we had heavy showers from time to time but we had made plans to go caching and we weren't going to let a little rain stop us. Off we went about the usual time and headed toward Williamston for our first cache. Our first cache was at the new super Wally world and was located in a bush in one of the islands and the second cache was also at a Wally World but the old one that is now closed and was a bison tube hanging in a bush. Next we drove to Jamesville, NC and a cache located on a guardrail. Now it got interesting.
We drove into Plymouth, NC which was established in 1787 by Arthur Rhodes on 100 acres of his Brick House plantation he subdivided into 172 lots. The Moratuc tribe of American Indians were living in a large town on Welch Creek near the current Domtar pulp mill in 1585 when the area was explored by English settlers. Moratuc was an Indian name for the Roanoke River. The Moratuc were probably an Algonquian tribe but there is debate that they may have been Iroquois.In 1790 the North Carolina General Assembly named Plymouth a "port of delivery" and in 1808 it was named a "port of entry". The county seat of Washington Co. was moved to Plymouth from Lee's Mill, as Roper, North Carolina was then known, by special act of the N. C. General Assembly on January 31, 1823. A new courthouse was completed by November of 1824 on the same lot where the present courthouse stands. It stood until 1862 when it caught fire and burned to the ground from a shell fired by a Union gunboat during bombardment of Plymouth. Plymouth has the historical distinction of being the site of the second largest battle in North Carolina and last Confederate victory, the Battle of Plymouth (1864), during the American Civil War. The Confederate ironclad "CSS Albemarle" and its eventual sinking on October 27, 1864 while moored at a dock in Plymouth are the centerpieces of this history. The geographical importance for the Northern forces of its location at the mouth of the Roanoke River was the Union desire to push upriver and capture the vital Wilmington and Weldon Railroad line passing through Weldon, North Carolina, which would completely cut off the major supply line for General Robert E. Lee's army in Virginia from more southerly ports. This would essentially end all material support for Lee's forces and force his defeat or retreat from Virginia.
So our first cache was located at the replica of the Roanoke River Lighthouse. This lighthouse, built from the original plans for the 1866 Light Station, which this building replicates, has a fascinating history. The history of the river lights began in the early 1800s when light stations were placed at strategic points like the mouths of rivers to aid in navigation. There were 8 in the Albemarle Sound, according to Harry Thompson, curator of the Port o' Plymouth Museum in Plymouth. In 1835 Congress funded the construction of a light vessel for the mouth of the Roanoke River. A three-masted sailing ship was converted into a light station and put into place. Whale-oil lights covered with red, green & blue lenses helped sailors find safe entrance to the river. The light vessel came into the hands of the Confederacy during the Civil War and was retaken by Union forces when they captured the town of Plymouth. Historians think the station may have been taken up-river and scuttled with other vessels to block the passage of the ironclad Ram Albemarle. A screwpile lighthouse was built to replace the first light vessel around 1886. A winter storm froze the Albemarle Sound and the thawing ice cut two of the pilings, causing the station to fall into the water. This station was replaced in 1887 and the remained until it was decommissioned in the 1950s. We were able to find our cache quickly as we dodged some rain drops and then we looked around although the lighthouse itself wasn't open and neither was the Museum across the street.
Then it was off to a GREAT multi cache in Plymouth that took us to some of the more interesting and historic sites in town. Our first stop was at Grace Episcopal Church. Designed by the nationally prominent architect Richard Upjohn, the church was
heavily damaged during the battle of Plymouth. Only the apse and tower were retained when it was rebuilt in 1893 to the design of C.J. Hartage of Rocky Mount. After the war during reconstruction, twelve sycamore trees were planted by Grace Episcopal Church. Each was named for one of Christ’s Apostles. Some years later during a particularly hard thunderstorm, lightning struck and killed the tree named Judas. This church was used as a hospital during the Civil War, and the pews were removed and coffins were made out of the wood.
Our next stop was at the Ausbon House (Sniper's Nest) Circa 1830. Once we got there the history of this house goes back to the Civil War and you could see the bullet holes in the upstairs windows and the cannonball hole in the chimney. Hoping to drive out the U.S. forces occupying Plymouth then, Lt. Col. John C. Lamb attacked with several companies of the 17th NC Infantry, a squadron of cavalrymen, and Moore's Battery. After capturing most of the Union pickets, Lamb found the remaining Federals blocking Main Street and dispersed them with a cavalry charge. Then he turned his cannons on USS Southfield, the sole gunboat supporting the garrison, disabled it, and drove it downstream. Capt. Barnabas Ewer, the Federal commander, took fright when he saw Southfield depart, abandoned his men, and went aboard to escape. Unlike Ewer, some of his men kept fighting, and the Confederates eventually withdrew because they lacked sufficient numbers to hold the town. A Confederate sniper, however remained in the Ausbon house picking off Union soldiers until he was killed. As the Confederates withdrew, they burned half the town, which suffered further during engagements the following year. The Ausbon House is one of only four surviving antebellum houses in Plymouth. So as you can see that is the way the bullet and cannonball holes came to be in the upper floors of the home and are still there today. We got our information and were off to our next stop.
Our next stop was the Latham-Ward-Hampton House Circa 1850. One of the first dwellings built in Plymouth after the Civil War, this cross plan had a series of important owners beginning with the builder Louis Charles Latham who embellished its appearance. Dr. Wm. H. Ward, the second owner, was a major benefactor of Grace Church. The Latham House served as a gathering place for the citizens of Plymouth. They gathered here for protection and socializing. There are bullet holes in its' structure as well. A tunnel was dug connecting this house to the Armstead House and continued out under the Roanoke River to an island. This was to be used as an escape route should the need arise.
Then it was on to the Port O'Plymouth Museum Circa 1923 and the fourth stage of the cache and also the fifth and final stage. The Atlantic Coast line Railroad erected this brick station on this site where it hadmcarried on railroad activities since 1889. It housed both passenger and freight operations until 1975 when the Union Station was built on Washington Street. This part of the cache had to do with the CSS Albemarle which was an ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy named for a town and a sound in North Carolina and a county in Virginia. The original CSS Albemarle was built under contract with 19 year-old Gilbert Elliot from Elizabeth City, NC. Instead of being built in a well equipped shipyard, it was built in a cornfield up the Roanoke River near Edward's Ferry. It took over a year to construct. The Albemarle was a ram, meaning that it had iron-covered oak timbers protruding from her bow and shaped like an ax head. It was designed to run into the side of wooden ships and sink them. Finding iron was difficult. Iron pots and farm implements were collected from the surrounding area, at gunpoint if necessary! Most of the armor was rolled from railroad iron into plates that were 2" thick and 7" wide. According to a naval survey performed on May 18, 1865, the Albemarle was 158' long, 35' 3" wide (beam) and drew 9 feet of water. She had two reciprocating compound 200 hp. steam engines with two 6' propellers that had a 9' pitch. Her cruising speed was only 5 knots. The casemate housed two 6.4 Brooke Rifled Cannon, one fore and one aft, that could each be pivoted to fire out of three different gun ports. The casemate was 60’ long and was covered in two layers of 2” iron plating. The slope of the casemate was at a 35 degree angle to reflect enemy shot and shell. The Albemarle was baptized by fire in a short but fierce fighting during the Battle of Plymouth, when on April 19, she swept the Federal Navy from the Roanoke River. Charles Flusser, the commander of the Federal fleet, was killed by his own shell when it ricocheted off the casemate of the Albemarle and landed at his feet as he was standing next to the cannon that had fired the shell. The USS Southfield which she rammed still lies on the bottom of the river where it sank. Later on May 5, 1864 the Albemarle defaced down another Federal fleet of seven gunboats, three of which where three times the size of the Albemarle. Together they mounted 60 guns against the Albemarle’s 2 and fired 557 shells at the Albemarle, but could not sink her. She was destroyed on October 27th in the most daring commando raid of the war by 21 year-old Lieutenant William Barker Cushing who was avenging the death of his friend, Charles Flusser. During the night he steamed up the river to Plymouth in a 30' steam launch with a group of volunteers and, with a spar mounted torpedo, sank the Albemarle. After we got the info we needed we figured the final stage coords, which were also located along a walking trail at the Museum. One we waited out another downpour we walked along the trail and found the cache easily. Buried deep in the woods near the cache was the location of Fort Comfort. Here on April 19th, 1864, the Confederate soldiers drove the Union Army out and gained control of the Fort. This was the beginning of the end. The Confederates later gained control of Plymouth, but not before 2,834 lives were lost. Once we found the cache we finished looking around the Museum as we saw several other interesting things such as a replica of the Brooke Rifle Cannon that was aboard the CSS Albemarle, several statues and historic markers and an old caboose from the Atlantic Coast Line RR.
Next it was a cache located in Plumblee Park in the park sign itself and then we did a cache at a rest stop along RT 64 in a stump in the woods. After finishing those 2 caches we went back into Plymouth to look around some more and found many many historic sites to look at. We saw the Washington County Courthouse Circa 1824. The original courthouse was at Lee's Mill Roper in 1801 and moved to Plymouth in 1823. The courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1860, 1862, and 1881. Plymouth United Methodist Church Circa 1832. They originally built a wood frame church which was heavily damaged in the Civil War and later replaced by the current building. The church cemetery predates the church with the earliest grave dating back to 1808 and there are graves under the foundation of the church. Plymouth State Normal School Circa 1881 which was one of only two NC schools for training black teachers. New Chapel Baptist Church Circa 1867. Designed by Rev. S.C. Copeland for his congregation, this Gothic Revival church is considered one of the boldest of the twentieth century twin tower styles. The church was built when an agreement with the Lowell Colored School Society was made. Hampton Academy Circa 1902. Erected through the beneficence of Plymouth native Dr. John T. Hampton
and his brother Wm. H. Hampton, it was Plymouth’s first brick schoolhouse. The structure was used as school until 1950. Carthagenia Lodge No. 38 Prince Hall affiliated (Founder of Black Masonary) Circa 1800's. That was the end of our tour of Plymouth, NC.
Then it was on to a virtual cache called "What Me Worry" in San Souci, NC When we got there we found an old 2 car ferry across the Cashie River. It is one of three remaining cable ferries left in operation in North Carolina. The Sans Souci Ferry has operated in some form or fashion since at least the 1800s. It wasn't until the 1930s that the state Department of Transportation took over operations of the ferry and has operated it ever since. The ferry differs from most ferries in that it is literally driven, or one could say guided, by a steel cable that is stretched across the river. The cable is secured on each end of the river by steel posts and as the ferry crosses the river, the force of the boat, with the help of rollers on the side of the boat, pulls the normally submerged cable out of the water. The cable is permanently secured to the ferry and allows for the boat to not stray off course in normal river currents. The ferry only carries two cars at its' maximum and does not operate in high water conditions or storms for the threat of the cable snapping in treacherous conditions is too great. Persons wanting to ride the ferry that happen to be on the opposite side of the river than the ferry must blow their horn to summon the ferry, which adds to the charm of this rural icon. The trip across the river takes roughly 5 minutes and is free. The ferry consists of a steel barge like platform that cars drive onto. Off to one side of the boat is an "engine room" where the operator sits and controls the boat's engine, which actually sits outside beside the room. The ferry is powered by a John Deere diesel engine. The operator must know when to let off the throttle, since the ferry has no brakes or on board steering device. We got our information we needed and we were off to our next cache in Windsor, NC.
When we got to Windsor we found our first cache in a large town park that had a zoo in it along with a nature trail & boardwalk. The cache was along the boardwalk hanging on one of the bolts used to build the boardwalk. When we came out we noticed the buffalo's and to our surprise laying on the ground was a baby. He was so cute and as I got out to take a picture Mom got a little agitated that was near her baby. Our last cache of the day was at a lovely small park dedicated to the Battle of Windsor in 1838. The Battle of Windsor was fought on January 30, 1864. This park was a lovely small park with a town clock and 3 historical markers. We found the nano cache easily. Before we left Windsor we did see Bunn's BBQ which is an old gas station that has a lunch counter in the back and serves BBQ to die for. Then we were off back to Williamston and a stop at good old Wally World for some groceries. Once Mom got groceries we went back to the coach and put them away, did our cache logs for the day and had dinner. After dinner we watched some TV and I went in to bed about 9:00. Well time to say until tomorrow and we love you all. Mom & Dad


Picture List:1-Ausbon House (Sniper's Nest) Circa 1830, 2,3-Front and side of the house, 4-Look closely at the chimney and you can see a cannon ball hole covered by cement now and the side of the house to the right of the chimney and you can see the bullet holes still there where the Union forces tried to kill the Confederate sniper 5-Side porch, 6-Small statue of a soldier on the roof of the side porch, 7-Rt. Rev. Alfred Augustin Watson HM, 8,9,10-Grace Episcopal Church, 11,12,13,14-The cemetery around the Grace Episcopal Church some markers dating back to the 1850's, 15,16,17-Roanoke River Lighthouse, 18-Port O'Plymouth Roanoke River Museum, 19,20-CSS Albemarle HM's, 21-Replica of the CSS Albemarle, 22-Atlantic Coast Line RR caboose, 23,24-Replica of a 6.4" Brooke Rifled Cannon, 25-Prospector statue on porch of Museum, 26-Old cannon also on the porch, 27-Seige of Plymouth HM, 28,29,30-New Chapel Baptist Church Circa 1867, 31,32-Latham House Circa 1850, 33,34-Plymouth United Methodist Church Circa 1832, 35-Ram Albemarle HM, 36-Battle of Plymouth HM, 37-Plymouth State Normal School HM, 38,39-Washington County Courthouse Circa 1823, 40-Mural on the side of a bldg. in Plymouth, 41-Roanoke Oyster Bar Restaurant, 42,43-Carthagenia Lodge No. 38 Prince Hall Circa 1800's, 44-Hampton Academy HM, 45-Brick House Landing HM, 46,47,48-Red Wolves in NC information boards, 49-Prayer of the Woods, 50,51,52-Sans Souci Ferry, 53-Confederate Memorial Statue in Windsor, NC, 54-Windsor Town Green Clock, 55-Battle of Windsor January 30, 1864 HM, 56-Historic Windsor HM, 57-Gray's landing HM, 58-Windsor Courthouse, 59-Bunn's BBQ, 60-Old mansion in Windsor, 61-Old spooky house in Windsor, 62,63-Buffalo and baby at a zoo in a Windsor park.