An Edenton Christmas
Originally published in Carolina Shore. The plain lettering is the text as it appeared, and the bits in italics are my asides to you, the T&S reader.
All is calm and bright in Susan Creighton’s Edenton home, despite the grey drizzle outside. She settles into a cozy leather chair in front of her Christmas tree, already decorated and lit up in honor of the town’s annual Christmas Candlelight Tour, which is to begin that evening. By all rights her surroundings should be nearly frantic with activity, since she is co-chairing the event - but it is a quiet morning, other than some last-minute arrangements made by phone.
“It’s like a wedding,” she confides. They’ve done all the planning, and now it’s going to happen, whether they are completely ready or not. On this weekend, the town’s population swells, its inns and restaurants fill, and its citizens welcome visitors from across the state.
By the time I talked to Susan, the bed and breakfasts were already all booked up for the next year’s tour.
Edenton is a village seated comfortably on the edge of the westernmost part of the Albemarle Sound. Its water, Spanish moss and historic houses are what initially drew Susan to the town almost 40 years ago. To her, they echoed her native Savannah. It seems that every resident plays some part in the weekend’s events - volunteers have decorated the bridge with Christmas lights, baked massive batches of cookies, offered their horse and carriage duos and buses for free tourist transportation, and set up tents to shelter the candlelight crowds. For the days of the tour the entire town has been polished to a warm glow, and the historic buildings draped in period-appropriate decorations by the Edenton Garden Club. Since the tour does not open until four, there is plenty of opportunity to explore the town during daylight hours.
Penelope Barker hosted the Edenton Tea Party (which preceded the Boston Tea Party, thank you very much), a gathering where all the women present signed a pledge not to drink tea until the Intolerable Acts were lifted. This seems like a small act, but it made waves that rippled all the way across the Atlantic. Google it!
First stop: the Penelope Barker House, at the very end of main street, right on the water. Part musuem, part gift shop, and part tourism center, here you will find all the information you need for navigating the town. You can also register for the tour here, and sample the Edenton Historical Commission’s famous, deceptively sweet-but-potent eggnog (Susan says they had to restrict guests to one small glass after several incidents) from a silver punchbowl. Follow the waterfront and you will find the Roanoke River Lighthouse, restored to its former glory and decorated simply for the bachelor’s Christmas that was common amongst lighthouse keepers. Cross the street and you will find yourself in the symmetrical garden of the Cupola House, built in 1758 by a land agent who turned out to be corrupt, and was kidnapped by an outraged band of clients who held him in the next town over until he promised to return the stolen funds (such are the newsy tidbits you will hear if you take the locally-guided trolley tour).
When I was leaving Susan Creighton’s house, I mentioned I was headed over to the Cupola house, to try and snag some photos before it filled with school groups. She sent me with a load of cookies to hand over to the ladies in charge of the house for the day, and in exchange for running the errand I got to eat one of them. A literally sweet deal.
Walk up the steps of the Cupola House and swing open the heavy front door, and the first thing that will brush your senses is the scents: first cloves and oranges, then steaming bowls of the world’s best wassail, then fresh greenery. If Christmas has a smell, this is it. The home has been restored to reflect the time of its more upstanding owner from 1777 onwards, Doctor Dickinson. Depending on the time of day you visit, live music may meet you as you walk up the stairs to view the Dickinson family’s recreated living space.
After a short walk away from the water (past the old church on your left and the post office on your right) you will come to the Iredell House, home of the youngest man nominated to the original Supreme Court by George Washington. Tour the house, listen in on some skillful harpsichord playing and grab a snack off the Groaning Board (an antique buffet christened after the groaning sound it makes when laden with goodies). If you are hungry for a full meal, stop in at the old drugstore on Broad Street for a sandwich and catching up on local goings-on from whoever is sitting next to you at the counter. Back near the waterfront, the historic courthouse hosts tours during daylight hours and caroling after dark.
Outside the drugstore, some of the ladies of Edenton were fearlessly line dancing to raise money for a food bank.
Once dark falls, it is time for the Candlelight Tour to begin. The trams will escort you to the selected neighborhood (in 2017, it was homes on the sound). From there, the trail of people and flickering luminaries will lead you on the short walk from house to house. When the tour started almost 40 years ago, a grand total of 75 people trekked through the selected abodes. In recent years they have seen as many as 2,300 in one weekend. While other events will focus on Edenton’s history, the point of this tour is to invite visitors into their homes for a showcase of decorating, building, hospitality and visiting.
You guys, it had been raining all day. By evening, all of the paths were a muddy soup. At front doors I kept wiping my feet off to the best of my ability and apologizing, but I was always met with something along the lines of, “Oh, this house has seen worse. Y’all come in!” It was a common thread of the day that by circumstance (cold, perpetual drizzle, bad health) it should have been a bad experience, but the people made it one of my favorite days of the year.
The houses on display range from tidy cottages to sprawling estates. Whatever the size, you are welcomed by the homeowner (or a proxy) at the entrance, and you file through a designated loop, admiring the greenery, lights, and the marks of individuality that set each home apart. In one house, a 70 piece snow village lines a hallway on a series of tables - it’s nearing metropolis status, complete with a Starbucks and a taco shop. In other homes, there are pieces of art painted by the owner or collected from the Hudson River Valley. For one homeowner, antiques reign supreme, while for the next travel relics line the shelves. One home’s outstanding feature was around back: a chicken coop seasonably strung with lights. While wandering, you may bump into Susan or her co-chair Clara Stage, soaking in the beauty of their surroundings and thoroughly queen-beeing the situation. After you have meandered and chatted to your heart’s content, the trams will take you back to the center of town.
Despite the flurry of activity that is December, kicking off your holiday season with the people of Edenton is well worth your time. The town feels reminiscent of the tabletop snow village: a capsule of old-fashioned buildings with light shining from each window, and people who care for one another and their town in a way that is at once outmoded and timeless (minus the snowfall - this is still North Carolina, after all). Sure, it is a normal town. There are quibbles and potholes and complaints, but there is also a quality that not many places can duplicate. There is a warmth radiating from the homes and the people that you can put into your pocket and carry with you through the holiday season and into the brave new year ahead.
The 2019 Christmas Candlelight Tour and historic open houses will be held December 13-14. For more information visit the Edenton events page.