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Early Commercial Development (1.2.3)

The earliest evidence of business activity in town is found in the North Carolina State Gazette (Edenton) on April 30, 1795, when John Micheau, John Henry, and Company announced that they were selling their Pasquotank narrows store, "with a general assortment of wet and dry goods," to Charles Grice. Grice was the leading merchant in Elizabeth City's early years and remained in business at least until 1828. After 1799, the quarterly sessions of the county court created a business boom upon which the local merchants, vendors, and tavern owners were quick to seize. New stores and hotels were erected downtown on Main and Road streets, along with dwellings for the proprietors and shopkeepers. By 1819, Elizabeth City's improving economy could support a local commission merchant, a silversmith, and its first large hotel, the City Hotel (Griffin 1970, 45-46, 49-50).