The Grand Bayview Hotel | Eastern North Carolina Now

A Dream Lost

    My wife and I enjoyed a special day of remembering and looking back at the Methodist Church in Bath. Some 100 people gathered to celebrate the Easters of long ago in the early 1900's.

    If we were to get in a time machine, punch in "Best Resort in Eastern NC," we would be transported only a few miles from Washington and Bath. It was named "The Grand Bayview Hotel!"

    One of our residents was kind enough to have put together a montage which will amaze you.

    I first visited Bayview in 1968. It was instant appreciation. My new love's family was from Rocky Mount. Before WWII started their young family rented a place on a regular basis each summer. One day Grandpa Ernest Mayo walked down the street to a vacant lot under an oak tree. There was an auction going on and he put in a $50 bid. IT WAS ACCEPTED!!! Now he had to go back home and tell Grandma with baited breath that she would not be upset over his "foolishness."

    I am told it took her a few days to get her smile on. From that point, Bayview was a magic word and place for Mayo family fun. They had 2 boys and 3 girls. The boys could now go down to the vacant lot and pitch their canvas tent. The family still used the rental place as headquarters, but plans and dreams began to gel about the Mayo Cottage at Bayview.

    All who live at Bayview or have connections are blessed with a special place. Much of the history and grandeur was lost to the Great Depression, WWII, and post-war focus on Manteo, Wrightsville Beach, and Atlantic Beach while Bayview returned to a meager and remote fishing village full of families looking for a waterside place at a bargain price. It is simple and down home. We have a Fourth of July Parade each year with covered dish suppers up and down and more fun than NYC could find on Coney Island.

    My gratitude is endless to Greyton Flanagan and Jimmy Taylor for the pictures and composition which will let you board the Time Machine for "Easter at the Grand Bayview Hotel" almost 100 years ago today . . .