Town of Williamston

Williamston's history from it earliest settlement to its future in the 21^st Century is tied to the Roanoke River.  The river is unique among all the waterways that flow into Eastern North Carolina.  It stretches four hundred miles from Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains to the Albemarle Sound.  Its vast watershed collects over half of the fresh water that empties into the Sound.

Transportation and trade along the river led to the settlement of what is now Williamston. The first European settlers used the site as a landing as early as the late 17^th Century.  In the 1730s the, port at "Tar Landing," as it was then known, was well established. 

A sharp bend in the river traps sediment along its west bank to form a wide beach.  Boats and barges pulled up on this sandbank to load and unload cargo.  Wharves were built much later.

Morotoc Park now occupies much of the original port area.  Flooding, especially in the spring, limited the extent of development directly on the banks of the Roanoke River. 

When the Town of Williamston was incorporated in 1779, its boundaries were laid out on a bluff above the flood plain.  Williamston continued to be an active river port well into the 1930s.

Products from farm and forest were the major exports carried on the river.  In return, manufactured goods of all kinds were brought in to serve the needs of a thriving river town, county seat and farming region. 

In time, however, railroads and highways replaced the river as transportation arteries.  Williamston went on to prosper as a market crossroads around the intersection of US highways 17 and 64.  The town was a commercial hub for and link to inland areas.  Williamston's historical character as a commercial center was well defined by the middle of the 20^th Century.

Dams and reservoirs built upstream eventually tamed destructive flooding on the Roanoke River.  Recreational fishing and hunting flourished as fewer barges and tugboats interrupted the tranquility.  Similar changes affected Williamston.

Growing and marketing tobacco, Williamstons economic mainstay for over a century, underwent dramatic changes.  As price support disappeared tobacco auctions gave way to impersonal contract growing.  The romance of cavernous warehouses filled with piles of golden leaf faded into memory.

Old traditions and familiar landmarks changed.  In its turn, Williamston is being revitalized, as familiar places are apt to be rediscovered and explored in ways previously unimagined.  Commercial traffic has been supplanted by traffic of an altogether different kind - visitors seeking to experience local heritage and pristine natural environments.

The Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge is right across the river from the sandy bank where Williamston began as a port of call.  The refuge is accessible from a section of the Charles Kuralt Trail.  The parking lot and trailhead are next to US 17, about a mile from Moratoc Park.

The wetlands of the lower Roanoke are home to over two hundred species of native birds. The Kuralt Trail, and travel on the river itself, makes Williamston an ideal location for birding expeditions.  Williamston also provides access to the Roanoke River Paddle Trail.

This trail is a detailed guide for canoeing or kayaking on the lower Roanoke.  Twelve camping platforms, reachable from the water, are spaced at intervals along the river and its tributaries.  The Conine Platform is closest to Williamston.  It is just a six-mile paddle from the N. C. Wildlife Access ramp situated between Moratoc Park and the US 17 bridge.  (http://www.roanokeriverpartners.org)

Moratoc Park offers a view of the Roanoke River as it appeared to the first traders and settlers. It is now home to a number of historic structures.  A lumber company office, a log tobacco barn and a one-room schoolhouse stand close to the converted freight warehouse.

A rail spur that connected Roanoke River wharves with the railroad's main line eventually has been rebuilt as the Skewarkee Rail Trail.  Walking the mile-long trail is a journey back through time.  It passes behind Martin County's exquisite 1885 courthouse, one of the oldest in North Carolina.  It has a unique blend of Italianate and Victorian architecture.

Williamston's heyday as a tobacco market town may have peaked but the core of its character and heritage remains.  The Walking Tour of Historic Williamston provides a detailed visitor's guide to both architecture and heritage sites.

Heritage businesses include Clark's pharmacy, famous for its grilled hot dogs, fresh lemonade and orangeade and nickel coffee.  A gift shop and florist has been expanded.  Martin Supply Company is a vintage county store that sells hoop cheese as well as bulk seed for the garden.

The R & C Restaurant is a diner's dream of authentic country cooking.  Crisp corn bread and mounds of tender collards complement a range of blue-plate meals with everything from roast pork to fried chicken.

The Sunnyside Oyster Bar serves up steamed oysters in the same building it has for over seventy years.  Williamston is rich in heritage experiences.  Its diversity of resources has to be experienced first hand.  The Walking Tour is a good introduction for a first time visitor.

A more comprehensive introduction to Williamston and surrounding area requiers a stop at the Martin County Tourism office.  The visitor center is located in the 1831 Judge Asa Biggs house one block north of Town Hall.  Williamston is a central hub for visits to nearby sites in Martin County.  (http://visitmartincounty.com)

One example is Fort Branch, a well-preserved Civil War earthwork fort overlooking the Roanoke River near the Town of Hamilton.  The reenactment held each December is the largest annual Civil War event in North Carolina.

No trip to Williamston is complete without a visit to the Senator Bob Martin Eastern Agricultural Center.  This equestrian arena is one of the finest facilities of its kind.  Horse shows take place almost every week.  An up-to-date calendar of events is available on the website linked to the Tourism website.

The Roanoke River runs tamer without its raging floods.  Williamston has changed from the bustling tobacco market it once was.  Both the town and the river tie history and future as never before.  Kayaking, horses and heritage give Williamston a diversity of experience today along with the promise of a more vital future.