Seems I've driven past the exit for Hillsborough, NC at
least a dozen times on my way to appearances in cities such as Boone,
Greensboro, and Kernersville. Before yesterday, the only times I'd been in
Hillsborough were for a living history encampment and a reception for the North
Carolina Writers Network. On neither occasion did I play tourist.
Hillsborough was the site of important activity in North
Carolina's Colonial history. June 1771 in Hillsborough, Royal Governor Tryon
hanged six farmers who'd participated in the Regulator Rebellion, which led up
to the Battle of Alamance. And February 1781, Lord Cornwallis encamped
his army in Hillsborough for about six days before heading off to engage Nathanael
Greene in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. I'd been turning around an
idea in my head for book five of my series that involved Hillsborough in 1771
and 1781. Time for on-site research.
In geek-research mode, I was halfway to Hillsborough yesterday
morning when I realized it was Halloween. That meant the folks at the visitor
center might be gearing up for a Haunted Hillsborough tour. But Elizabeth and
Dee at the Alliance of Hillsborough soon had me armed with a map of
historical sites. The historical district is easily accessible on foot. I
couldn't have asked for a lovelier autumn day for a walking tour.
Incidentally, the Alliance of Hillsborough and the visitor
center are located in the charming Alexander Dickson House on East King Street.
Copies of the family crest and lineage of Lord Cornwallis hang on a wall inside
the house. Cornwallis's name is found all over North Carolina in the name of
streets, subdivisions, etc., perhaps because North Carolina was his final stop
before he marched to Virginia (and eventually Yorktown).
The site where the six Regulators were hanged, on
a hill near the Eno River, is a brief walk from the visitor center along a
peaceful, winding path. A plaque on the ground within the monument says,
"On this spot were hanged by order of a Tory court June 19, 1771 Merrill,
Messer, Matter, Pugh and two other Regulators." (Mateer's name was spelled
incorrectly as "Matter.") Where were these six guys buried? Ah, your
guess is as good as mine — and what excellent fodder for a historical mystery.
Across the street from and just to the west of the
visitor center is William Courtney's Tavern. Benjamin Merrill, one of the
hanged Regulators, built the "Yellow House" a few years before his
execution. While Cornwallis was in town, to ensure his safety, he alternated
staying between this tavern and Faddis's Tavern next door, a building that's no
longer in existence.
Across Churton Street, on West King Street, the Masonic Hall
was built on the location where Edmund Fanning's Hillsborough house stood.
Fanning, the Register of Deeds for Orange County, was great friends with
Governor Tryon. Possessed of no surplus of integrity, Fanning became a target
of the Regulators, who protested his crooked transactions by trashing his
Hillsborough house in 1770.
Just a bit farther to the west, the property on which Twin
Chimneys stands was part of Edmund Fanning's estate. Although this house
is a private residence, I had communicated via email with the owner, Virginia Smith,
the previous day about some information she possessed to aid my research, and
she and her husband invited me into their home for a tour. Virginia and I went
out for a late lunch at the Saratoga Grill, within walking distance of Twin
Chimneys, near the intersection of Churton and King Street. The Smiths assure
me their home isn't haunted, but they had a legend associated with the house to
tell the little goblins that night.
An old cemetery on Tryon Street holds one of the
final resting places of William Hooper, signer of the Declaration of
Independence for North Carolina. I say "one of the final resting
places" because his remains were moved twice before being placed in this
location, and some of him elected to stay behind in the other spots. Hooper's
grave is tucked into a corner of the cemetery accessible through overgrown
boxwood hedge corridors and spider webs. The irony wasn't lost on me that at
high noon on Halloween, I found myself prowling around a spider-webby cemetery.
The things we do for research.
West of the cemetery on Tryon Street is the
Nash-Hooper house, a private residence, and a national historic landmark for
having been Francis Nash's home, later purchased by William Hooper. Nash led a
militia company in the Battle of Alamance against the Regulators, and
just a few years later was a Brigadier General in the Continental Army. Hooper
and many Patriots were also allied with Governor Tryon against the Regulators,
disproving notions that the Regulators were early Patriots.
I found Brick Alley Books, an independent bookseller, while
walking through parking lots between Tryon and King Street. The owner, Julia
Williams, chatted with me about my series, particularly in conjunction with
Hillsborough's annual Revolutionary War event in February. Brick Alley Books
hosts a holiday open house for Hillsborough authors the evening of 5 December.
A number of Hillsborough residents paraded around in their
Halloween costumes. I saw witches and vampires and a prison inmate. And one lady
was dressed as a fairy, her translucent purple wings so huge that she had
trouble fitting in the doorway to a shop. Which leads me to wonder how she
visited the W.C.
Although I now have enough information to start the
first draft of book five (when I can block out the time!), I just scratched the
surface of Hillsborough's historical wealth. I spent about five hours there and
could easily lose a few days in Hillsborough. I'll be returning to the area
soon for another history fix. Gotta visit the site of the Battle of Alamance.
Grasshopper thanks Elizabeth and Dee at the visitor center,
Virginia Smith, and Julia Williams for their time.
Next up: a presentation and reading for the Brown Bag Book
and Lunch Club at the East Regional Library in Knightdale, NC, on 7 November.
