Just one block from the Inn is Gray’s Landing, the historic place after which the Inn is named.
Viewed through 21st century eyes, the place is rather unremarkable – little more than a wide spot in the Cashie (pronounced cash-EYE) River where the Town of Windsor has constructed a pleasant little park.
There’s a gazebo, a small fishing pier, and a well-kept grassy area that extends down to the water’s edge. Wrought-iron benches and carefully tended roses invite relaxation, while the downstream view of the river naturally draws the eye and mind into a pleasant state of quiet reflection.
But the tranquility and quaintness of this quiet place obscure a much more bustling past.
In fact, “Gray’s Landing” – as it was known both then and now – is the exact site designated as the southern limit of the town of New Windsor by order of the Colonial Assembly in 1768.
The place is named for William Gray, the owner of a huge land grant in the area, who donated 100 acres of land for purposes of establishing the town. These 100 acres – which the Colonial Assembly pretty much viewed as the limits of the town’s future growth – encompass what today is Windsor’s Historic District.
The choice of this site for establishing the town was strategic, not accidental. At the time, Gray’s Landing was the point of disembarkation for 18th-century travelers arriving by sailing ship, there being only a few local roads. Upon disembarking, passengers entered the town by foot via the southern end of what is now the town’s Historic District.
All goods shipped into and out of New Windsor passed through the customs house at Gray’s Landing, where import duties were collected and taxes paid. A branch of the State Bank of considerable size located adjacent to the wharf accepted deposits, issued withdrawals, and helped planters, merchants, and seamen settle their accounts.
The wideness and distinctive V-shape of Gray’s Landing – the northernmost navigable point on the Cashie River – is not a phenomenon of nature.
In fact, this deep-water port was hand-dug by members of the enslaved community, the purpose of its V-shape being to provide just enough space for cargo and passenger vessels to turn around for their return trip down-river. In its heyday, Gray’s Landing’s bustling wharf served coastal water-borne trade that reached all the way to the West Indies.
It was only later that a highway connecting Edenton and Halifax, two nearby leading colonial centers, was constructed. This road conveniently crossed the Cashie River at Gray’s Landing, which facilitated transport of water-borne freight to areas surrounding Windsor via secondary land transport.
A century later, Gray’s Landing briefly served as a Civil War port for Confederate naval forces, from which cannons were fired into the town. Upon cessation of hostilities, Gray’s Landing once again became the arrival port for passengers and freight – this time arriving by steamship.
Today, a pleasant wooden boardwalk winds a quarter mile along the edge of the Cashie River, allowing visitors a chance to re-live Gray’s Landing’s historic past. After passing an amphitheater, the boardwalk terminates at the Roanoke and Cashie River Centers. Here visitors can view dioramas and exhibits that relate the story of the Battle of Windsor in detail, and explain the complex riverine ecological systems of which Gray’s Landing is an integral part.