EDENTON, N.C. — Edenton's historic 1767 Chowan County Courthouse had quite the crowd on Tuesday. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, State Auditor Steve Boliek, State Treasurer Brad Briner and fellow state leaders were all in town for the monthly Council of State meeting, with Stein also taking time to reinforce the state's investment in rural communities.
"We are the oldest part of the state, the most historic part of the state, this is where everything began," said Dawson Tyler, founder of Down East Preservation in Edenton when asked about what it means to see state officials in the town on Tuesday.
During America's 250th anniversary, state leaders are taking trips to historic areas that helped shape our country. On Tuesday, that was in Edenton.
"With America 250 we're trying to go out and visit a lot of the historic sites which played a role in the founding of this nation," said Stein.
State officials also got out into downtown businesses like Down East Preservation, Kraken Coffeehouse and Surf, Wind and Fire, taking the time to speak to business owners and even buy a few items.
"What we want as a state is to help this community thrive, because folks who want to make their lives here, should be able to succeed here. They've got the drive, they've got the enterprise, and we want to make sure that we set them up for success," said Stein.
One way the state has invested in the Edenton community is through an $850,000 grant that will go toward updating the downtown lighting in the town.
"I'm proud of my team at the Department of Commerce. They're making an investment of nearly a million dollars here to redo all of the street lights that will help make this town more beautiful, safer, a better place for commerce to happen," said Stein.
Stein said that people shouldn't have to feel like they need to move to the big city. If they want to stay in their hometowns, that's exactly what they should be able to do.
"If they want to stay in their hometown, they should have every opportunity to do so. We need to make sure that there are conditions for them to succeed. That means strong public schools, it means health care that's accessible and affordable, t means safe communities, and it means thriving downtowns like what we have here in Edenton. The lighting that the Department of Commerce, $850,000 is going to help invest in this town, will make this downtown even more attractive to businesses and to customers," said Stein.
For business owners like Tyler, it's clear he's seeing the state's investment in the town's future.
"This lighting project to bring back a historic form for our street lighting, you know, again, is tremendous in a town that focuses on historic preservation. If you talk to the mayor or our councilman, or our Town Manager, they're always quick to say that in Edenton, preservation is good for business, and it truly is, and it's great to have a good state partner for that," said Tyler.
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