I'm with Cynthia Harding, one of the members on the committee to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Edenton Tea Party.

And we are standing in the Penelope Barker House right now, tell us who was Penelope Barker?

- Well, Deborah, Penelope Barker was a very influential woman in the late 1700s.

She is widely credited with organizing a group of 51 women to sign a resolves protesting the tax that Britain was imposing on the colonies, and it was called the Edenton Tea Party, but it was a bit different than the one in Boston.

In Boston you may recall the gentleman who participated in that event did it in the cloak of darkness.

They painted themselves up to look like Native Americans so that they would not be discovered because what they were committing was an act of treason to the king.

Here in Edenton, the ladies actually penned a document and they very courageously signed their names to it.

It was picked up by the newspaper in Williamsburg, Virginia and then later by two newspapers in London.

And they did that at great risk to themselves, especially Penelope because she had a husband who was in London.

And the consequences were great both personally and for her family.

The women were widely ridiculed, though, because they were women.

And it's thought to be, if not the first, one of the first political acts by women on American soil.

- [Deborah] Well tell me, when visitors come, what's here in the Penelope Barker House that they might wanna stop by and see before they get on their journey?

- The Penelope Barker House is considered to be Edenton's living room.

And it's a great place to start if you're a visitor here to Edenton, especially for the first time.

There are helpful volunteers, there are exhibits, a lovely porch on the waterfront side of the house, and it's just a good spot to start any visit.

Another thing people may not realize when they're down here today looking at our idyllic waterfront is that this was a working seaport.

And in fact, Edenton was the second largest seaport in Colonial America.

And during Antebellum times, it was still a very vibrant port and it was also a key point for the Maritime Underground Railroad.

Harriet Jacobs, who is the author of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," escaped slavery from Edenton via the Maritime Underground Railroad and she wrote extensively about that in her memoir.

- So much to learn about and explore, I can't wait to see more of it.

Thank you so much.

- Thank you for being here, Deborah.

Enjoy Edenton.

- The Penelope Barker House Welcome Center is at 505 South Broad Street in Edenton, and it's open daily.

Admission is free.

For more information, give them a call at [252] 482-7800 or go online to ehcnc.org.