Colonial North Carolina
Lotteries in Early North Carolina
1664-1775
We think of lotteries as modern, but they were a popular way of raising money in early North Carolina—in colonial times and especially during the Early Republic after the American Revolution. Between 1759 and 1834, North Carolina’s legislature authorized 101 lotteries, according to a tally by Alan D. Watson.
Gristmills: North Carolina’s First Public Utilities
Gristmills—mills that use water power to grind corn and wheat into flour—were a “familiar feature of the 19th century countryside,“ wrote Grimsley T. Hobbs in 1985. They were also North Carolina's first public utilities.
Joel Lane, Raleigh’s “Founding Father”
Joel Lane (1739 or 1740–1795) was a North Carolina political figure active in the colony’s preparation for the American Revolution. After the war ended, he was one of the many North Carolina Anti-Federalists. Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of the U. S. until James Madison promised to add a Bill of Rights.
Lotteries in Early North Carolina
We think of lotteries as modern, but they were a popular way of raising money in early North Carolina—in colonial times and especially during the Early Republic after the American Revolution. Between 1759 and 1834, North Carolina’s legislature authorized 101 lotteries, according to a tally by Alan D. Watson.
John Harvey (1714 – 1775)
John Harvey has been called “the great leader in the eventful times immediately preceding the Revolution.” Although he died in 1775, before the Revolution was fully underway, he was a powerful force in the years leading up to it.
N.C.’s Samuel Johnston Played Important Role in Founding
His work influenced politics and law in the years leading up to and following the Revolutionary War.
North Carolina’s Ratification Debates Guaranteed Bill of Rights
The 1787-89 debates over ratifying the Constitution offer another example of North Carolina's longstanding role as a battleground state in U.S. political history.
North Carolina’s Ratification Debates Guaranteed Bill of Rights
The 1787-89 debates over ratifying the Constitution offer another example of North Carolina's longstanding role as a battleground state in U.S. political history.
Regulator Dispute Literally Made North Carolina a Battleground State
Tar Heels may be surprised to learn that North Carolinians, with opposing opinions, once unfortunately settled their political debate on an actual battleground—the Battle of Alamance (1771).
Enfield Riot (1759)
Leaving Halifax County on a wintry January day, approximately two dozen men travelled seventy miles to Edenton and kidnapped Francis Corbin. The land agent was hauled back to Halifax County and sequestered in Enfield with his subordinate Joshua Bodley. After four days, the two co-agents agreed to demands to be more transparent in their official operations, and the rioters were assuaged—at least temporarily. What transpired those four days is known as the Enfield Riot (1759).
Defending Liberty From The Bench
A jurist and pamphleteer from North Carolina, Maurice Moore opposed the passage and implementation of the Stamp Act (1765). He was the father of Alfred Moore, a justice on the United State Supreme Court.
Inglis Fletcher’s Novels Offered Entertaining Perspective Of Early N.C. History
Maybe more so than any other novelist below the Mason-Dixon line, including the 19th-century William Gilmore Simms of South Carolina, Inglis Fletcher of North Carolina painted the most comprehensive, historical portrait of the land on which she lived.
Names of Streets and Parks in Raleigh Loaded With History
Street signs can be much more than guideposts. They often can provide interesting clues into an area’s history.