The North Carolina Historical Review

Since 1924, The North Carolina Historical Review has been a 
definitive source for the study and understanding of 
North Carolina history. The following review was 
published in the January 2016 issue:

_______________

Artist and researcher Mary Warshaw clearly expresses her love of and interest in the town of Beaufort, North Carolina, in her newest book Historic Beaufort, North Carolina, which builds substantially on her artistic work Porchscapes—The Colors of Beaufort, North Carolina: Three Centuries of History Woven through Art and Words, published in 2009.

The new volume’s subtitle—A Unique Coastal Village Preserved—An Authentic History of the Homes, Buildings, Sites and Families—reflects a more ambitious undertaking.

The first thirty-three pages of Warshaw’s book are devoted to Francis Borden Mace’s early life in Beaufort; Beaufort old homes sketch artist Georgia Washington Neal; the Coree Indians and their villages; the Tuscarora War; a brief history of Beaufort; and an introduction to Beaufort’s architectural styles. The heart of the work (166 pages) is an impressive block-by-block survey of about three hundred homes in the town, most within the historic district.

While writing Beaufort Historical District’s application for the National Register of Historic Places, architectural historian Tony Wrenn noted that the district as a whole has greater historical value than its individual structures. The area has retained its early eighteenth- and nineteenth-century layout, which contributes to its quaint and distinctive character. 

Warshaw also includes genealogies of particular homes’ residents. This information is invaluable to what must be thousands of descendants of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Beaufort families.

The North Carolina Historical Review – January 2016
 NC Office of Archives and History Department of Cultural Resources