By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
news@wdnweb.com
Contributing Writer
A long-forgotten landmark from Washington’s past is the subject of the 2010 Christmastree ornament just released by the Washington Area Historic Foundation.
The DeMille House, which once stood on the corner of Bridge and Second streets in Washington, is depicted on the ornament, the latest in a series that began in 1996. The Singleton Primitive Baptist Church, the old Beaufort County Courthouse and the old City Hall were featured on that first ornament, according to WAHF Vice President Dee Congleton.
Subsequent ornaments featured such historic sites as the Bug House, Turnage Theater, former Washington High School and the First Presbyterian Church, Congleton added. Some of the previous ornaments are available for purchase in limited quantities,
“This continues the tradition of having historic structures of the past and promoting preservation interests,” Congleton said.
Sales of the ornaments benefit ongoing efforts by the WAHF to preserve historic buildings, landscape points of interest and promote the character of the city, Congleton said. The foundation’s latest project has been the adoption of Harding Square in conjunction with the Washington Garden Club.
The new ornament may be purchased at the Beaufort County Arts Council, North Carolina Estuarium and Pamlico River Antiques in Washington. The price is $25, which includes a ribbon for hanging and a display stand.
As recorded in the book “Washington and the Pamlico,” published in 1976 by the Washington-Beaufort County Bicentennial Commission, the DeMille residence was built around 1851 by Thomas DeMille as a wedding gift for his son and daughter-in-law, William and Margaret Blount Hoyt DeMille.
Earlier in the 1800s, Thomas DeMille moved from New York to Washington, where he went into the general merchandise business and became a founding father of St. Peters Episcopal Church.
The three-story DeMille House was the first brick home to be built in Washington. The elegant structure was owned by the DeMille and Hoyt families for 100 years,
The house had ties to a Hollywood legend, a man who made his fortune far from the shores of the Pamlico River.
William and Margaret DeMille had a son, Henry Churchill DeMille, who in turn became the father of the noted film director and producer Cecil B. DeMille.
Cecil’s brother, William, was born in Washington but the future director himself arrived early while his pregnant mother was vacationing in the Berkshires on Aug. 12, 1881. But the young Cecil spent a good deal of his boyhood visiting his grandmother and a favorite aunt after his parents moved to New Jersey,
One of DeMille’s best known films was the critically acclaimed, religious-themed movie, “King of Kings.” According to local legend, the inspiration for the movie was a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper,” which hung in the dining room of the DeMille home place in Washington.
Each year, members of the WAHF board carefully consider proposed sites to be featured on that year’s Christmas ornament.
“We talk about them and just vote on the desired one,” Congleton said.
Just the facts
• Cecil B. DeMille’s father, Henry Churchill DeMille, was a distinguished playwright and producer who had several successful shows on Broadway.
• The renowned stage actress Maude Adams was introduced by the elder DeMille and his show-business partner, David Belasco.
• In spite of his own success, Henry DeMille warned his two sons not to choose a career in the entertainment field. “Be butchers or bakers or candlestick-makers, but stay out of the theatre,” he reportedly advised.
• Cecil B. DeMille’s brother, William, found success as a playwright long before his younger sibling made his mark in Hollywood. William also was the father of world-famous choreographer Agnes DeMille.
• In time, Cecil B. DeMille became one of the few directors who could sell a motion picture on his name value alone. He is credited with 69 films in 69 years.
• One of DeMille’s greatest successes was 1923’s “The Ten Commandments,” which featured a cast of 10,000 actors and extras.
Source: “Washington and the Pamlico,” edited by Ursula Fogleman Loy and Pauline Marion Worthy and published by the Washington-Beaufort County Bicentennial Commission.