Bright Stevenson (l) and Grover Rye hold the wedding dress and nightgown worn by Julia H. Clarke, granddaughter of P.T. Barnum, in 1888. At their feet are photographs of P.T. Barnum and Barnum’s personal Bible.
On October 18,1888, P.T. Barnum of Barnum & Bailey Circus fame, probably the most well–known man in America and Europe, bought Goodwill Plantation for his granddaughter Julia H, Clarke. In addition to being Julia’s home, it was used as the wintering location for Barnum’s circus animals for the next six years.
Julia’s first daughter, Nancy B. Clarke, was born at Goodwill Plantation in 1889. Julia Clarke died on February 10, 1894, in the house at the top of the hill overlooking the mill pond two months after giving birth to her second child who also died two months after her death.
After her mother’s death, Nancy moved North with her family to North Carolina, then Virginia, then to Connecticut where Julia had owned a great deal of property. Nancy took her mother’s possessions with her including her mother’s wedding dress and nightgown.
In 1960, quite by accident, Nancy met Bright Stevenson in Brevard, North Carolina. Stevenson owned the Coronet Motel on Highway 601 near Goodwill Plantation. At his motel he had a large dining area he called the Circus Room. It was filled with lots of Barnum & Bailey Circus posters. Stevenson also had two old–timey, horse–drawn circus wagons in front of the motel.
During their conversation in Brevard, Nancy told Stevenson she was the great granddaughter of P. T. Barnum. He was astounded and asked if she would send him some Barnum & Bailey artifacts for his restaurant.
Two weeks later, Stevenson received a package from Connecticut containing two large framed photographs of P. T. Barnum, Barnum’s personal Bible, and to his surprise, Julia H, Clarke’s wedding dress and nightgown.
Stevenson placed the photos of Barnum in the Circus Room and stored the Bible and dresses in his nearby home. The dress and nightgown had traveled with Nancy to North Carolina, Virginia, and Connecticut, then, as if by fate had returned, 72 years later, to within a mile and a half of Goodwill Plantation. Stevenson eventually closed the Circus Room, sold the Coronet Motel, and retired. He put the Barnum artifacts into storage and forgot about them.
On April 18, 2009, Larry Faulkenberry, owner of Goodwill Plantation, and Grover Rye, whose family has been associated with Goodwill Plantation for 74 years through four generations, paid a social visit to their old friend, Bright Stevenson. In casual conversation,
Stevenson revealed the existence of the Barnum artifacts and asked if his guests would like to see them. Faulkenberry and Rye hope that Stevenson will allow the wedding dress and nightgown to complete their journey and be returned to Goodwill Plantation.
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