Editing Hamilton, North Carolina (section)

==History==
The town was founded in 1804 at the highest point of navigation on the [[Roanoke River]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Revels, Amber. "Our Town Hamilton: Reconnecting with roots." ''Eastern Living.'' Spring 2010: 66-68. Print.</ref>

The most significant historical event of early Hamilton was the battle and fall of [[Fort Branch]] during the [[American Civil War]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fortbranchcivilwarsite.com/history/index.htm |title=New Page 2 |access-date=November 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509074050/http://www.fortbranchcivilwarsite.com/history/index.htm |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> when [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] vessels and troops came upriver from [[Plymouth, North Carolina#History|Plymouth]] in an attempt to reach [[Weldon, North Carolina|Weldon]] to cut off supplies to General [[Robert E. Lee]]. The fort, located {{convert|2|mi|0}} southeast of Hamilton along the Roanoke River, protected Weldon until the day after General Lee surrendered at [[Battle of Appomattox Court House|Appomattox Court House]], whereupon the railroad line over the Weldon bridge had no more military significance. Afterwards, the fort was abandoned and the cannons were dumped into the Roanoke by departing [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] troops, and were only recently discovered. In July 1972, a group of men from [[Alabama]] came and began pulling cannons from the river. In an effort to keep the cannons in [[Martin County, North Carolina|Martin County]], the group was accused of violating North Carolina's antiquities laws. The courts officially decided that the cannons belong to the state under the [[North Carolina Department of Archives and History]]. The department decided to permanently loan the artifact to Fort Branch.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The Historic Hamilton Commission, started in 1976, is in charge of 52 other historic sites in the county, including [[St. Martin's Episcopal Church (Hamilton, North Carolina)|St. Martin's Episcopal Church]]. The church was established as a missionary station of the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]] church in 1868.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> It was founded primarily by members of the Boyle family, including Francis Atherton Boyle and Mary A. Boyle.<ref>Haughton, Rev. T.B. et al. Saint Martin's, Hamilton. Reports. Register 1868-1949, Vol. 1. N.C. State Archives, Martin Memorial Library, Williamston, N.C. Microfilm.</ref> St. Martin's was admitted to the Episcopal convention in 1873. Building began in 1879. All of the construction materials were from local suppliers, except the bell and stained glass, which were imported from [[Wales]].<ref>Manning, Francis M. and W.H. Booker. ''Religion and Education in Martin County: 1774–1974''. Williamston, N.C.: Enterprise Publ. Co., 1974. Print.</ref> The church was consecrated on May 17, 1882. The Rev. Dr. Watson preached the sermon; Bishop Lyman celebrated [[Holy Communion]]. The church is now inactive, but is still owned by the [[Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina]]. This means it is still a consecrated church.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Another important site in Hamilton is the [[Rosenwald School]], a black school funded by [[Julius Rosenwald]], president of [[Sears, Roebuck and Co.]] During [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregation]], white schools had approximately five times the funding of the former. The [[Rosenwald Fund]] sought to provide support for these underprivileged schools.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> According to the [[Roanoke River Partners]], the Rosenwald School will be remodeled and used as their headquarters. Hamilton is at the exact middle of the course of the [[Roanoke River]], making it a sensible location.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Despite this, and years of taxpayer funding of the Roanoke River Partners, no concrete action has been taken to restore the building, which is currently dilapidated.

Hamilton, once a thriving, beautiful Victorian port town with many of its homes listed in the National Historic Registry, has been in decline in recent years, losing more than half its population since 1980.