Early America
John Owen (1787-1841)
1776-1835
John Owen served two, one-year terms as a North Carolina governor, after he had served in the House of Commons, as a state senator, and on the Council of State. He is known for being an advocate for primary public education and internal improvements and for warning against what he considered abolitionist attempts to spark civil unrest. He is the brother of James Owen, slaveowner of Omar Ibn Said, author of the only known American slave narrative written in Arabic.
John Branch (1782-1863)
A Jacksonian turned Whig politician, John Branch served as three terms as Governor of North Carolina and championed internal improvements in the Tar Heel State. He later held federal posts, including Secretary of Navy, Congressman, and territorial governor of Florida. After the scandalous Eaton Affair, a disenchanted Branch left the Democratic Party to help create a new Whig Party in North Carolina.
Edward Bishop Dudley (1789 – 1855)
Born when North Carolina finally ratified the U.S. Constitution, Edward Dudley was the first governor elected by popular vote and the first Whig governor of the Old North State. His administration has received credit for awakening North Carolina from an economic slumber and encouraging it to embrace railroad construction and other internal improvements. The Onslow County native also was the executive of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad—“the longest continuous railroad,” writes historian Milton Ready, “in the world at that time.”
Norfolk and Southern Railroad Bridge
Known as the “longest continuous railroad bridge in the world,” the Norfolk and Southern Railroad Bridge cost $1 million to build and spanned 28,000 feet across the Albemarle Sound.
Locke Craig (1860-1924)
Lesser known than his Progressive predecessors, including Governor Charles B. Aycock, the “Little Giant of the West” nevertheless implemented significant conservation and transportation programs. Early in his political career, Locke Craig was a Populist who supported William Jennings Bryan’s presidential candidacies; however, the Buncombe countian soon worked to help the White Supremacy movement regain control of North Carolina, became a Democrat who served in the North Carolina House and lost the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. He became Governor of North Carolina in 1912.
Charles Manly (1795-1871)
A one-term governor, Charles Manly was the last Whig to hold the office (1849-1851). He earned a reputation for maintaining his Whig predecessor’s initiatives. He is more famous for his debates with David Settle Reid during the 1848 gubernatorial campaign in which he disapproved of broadening manhood suffrage.
Piedmont & Northern Railway
The Piedmont & Northern (P&N) Railway fueled the growth of North Carolina’s textile industry. Running from Spartanburg to Greenwood in South Carolina and from Gastonia to Charlotte in North Carolina, the P&N shipped cotton, textiles, and other goods throughout the Piedmont region. But an ambitious plan to make the railroad a regional powerhouse was foiled by the federal government.
Gilbert S. Waters (1869-1903)
Gilbert S. Waters built one of the first buggymobiles. Born in 1869, Waters grew up in New Bern around the buggy industry and worked in the family business, G. H. Waters Buggy and Carriage Factory.
Buggymobile
The buggymobile, a horse-less contraption that used a gasoline engine, was considered expensive and silly when it was first invented. It soon became, however, one of the most innovative and popular transportation devices.
John Owen (1787-1841)
John Owen served two, one-year terms as a North Carolina governor, after he had served in the House of Commons, as a state senator, and on the Council of State. He is known for being an advocate for primary public education and internal improvements and for warning against what he considered abolitionist attempts to spark civil unrest. He is the brother of James Owen, slaveowner of Omar Ibn Said, author of the only known American slave narrative written in Arabic.
Rip Van Winkle State
During the early 1800s, North Carolina acquired a nickname: “the Rip Van Winkle State.” It was named so because more than few considered the state’s economy to be asleep while neighboring states were bustling with production and trade. Some historians argue, however, that outsiders used this term and that economists have misunderstood North Carolina's incremental economic growth
Pisgah Covered Bridge
Pisgah Covered Bridge is the only remaining covered bridge in Randolph County and one of only two remaining covered bridges in North Carolina.
George E. Preddy (1919-1944)
A native son of Greensboro, North Carolina, George E. Preddy became one of America’s top flying aces during World War II. At the end of the war, he had the third-highest ranking among American pilots. Historians speculate that he might have emerged as the nation’s premier ace had not his plane been shot down by friendly fire on Christmas 1944.