Newbold-White House Recreation Trail

Nineteen miles southwest of Elizabeth City, the town of Hertford is home to the oldest brick house in North Carolina. It is known as the Newbold-White House and it was built in 1730 as part of a riverside plantation. Today the house is a museum, open March 1st through Thanksgiving, where visitors can partake in a 45 minute tour of the grounds.

It wasn’t the historic building, however, which brought me there last January. Ryan Somma and I were looking for an afternoon outing with the dogs. The Newbold-White House is set upon 143 acres and has its very own Recreation Trail to the Perquimans River and better yet– the trail is open year round.

The Recreation Trail itself is straight forward– about a mile round-trip, flat and wide. We did take the time to explore the shoreline, a nearby swamp, a nearby decaying tree and the surprising remains of an automobile in the sand. It was a humble outing, but an interesting and fulfilling one.

Views
The trails starts views of the historic buildings and ends at the beautiful Perquimans River. A nearby Bald Cypress Swamp adds to the scenery.

The Newbold-White House

Henry Enjoys Shoreline

Bald Cypress Tree and Spanish Moss from Dock

Bald Cypress Swamp

Fauna
Along the way, Somma and I spied three separate fire ant nests. Hoards of mussels were present in the river and finally, there was evidence a raccoon(?) had visited the river recently– its footprints were still in the sand.

Ryan Points to Fire Ant Nest

Shellfish from River

Raccoon Tracks? (Above the fresh Henry track)

Flora
The trail passes through plantation lands, so you get to see an old cotton crop. I was surprised to see a yellow dandelion in full bloom in the middle of January. On the other hand, I wasn’t surprised to see the bald cypress trees, Spanish moss and mistletoe that are prevalent to the area. There were some great dried up yellow berries (anyone know what they are?). But it was the fungus that stole the show for me. Lots and lots of fungus.

Jimmie Runs Through Domesticated Flora

Old Bald Cypress Roots, Cypress Trees and Spanish Moss

Yellow Berries

Fungus Sneaks into a Crevice

Layers of Fungus on Dead Tree

Leaf Catching Mushroom

Oddities
Right on the shoreline of the Perquimans River, slightly south of the dock, we found some old rusted parts in the sand. It turned out to be an old automobile being reclaimed by the elements.

Car Fossil – Springs and Engine Block

Car Fossil – Radio

Car Fossil – Part in Wave

Car Fossil – Transistors

More information about the museum and its grounds can be found at the official Newbold-White House website. And as always, more pictures of our visit can be found on my Flickr site.

Newbold-White House Recreation Trail Length: ~1 mile round trip Elevation Gain: None Directions from Elizabeth City, NC Take US-17 South about 15.7 miles Turn left at Church Street After about 1.4 miles, turn left on Newbold White Road Road ends at the museum parking