Fairntosh
Manor
Лисом
ral home of tlio Camerons
an«l one of file larges! planla-
lioas in IVorlh Carolina. Il con-
sisled of
ЗО.ОО»
acres and was a
small empire uiilo ilself.
By HARRY Z. TUCKER
OX the edge nf the Xouso Valiev,
in Durham County, surrounded
by mammoth and sturdy old
trees, is “Fairntosh." the ancestral
home of the Cameron family. Set in
the midst of a stately English park,
long avenues of oaks and spacious
greenswards, the place has a baronial
aspect, and is probably more charac¬
teristic of Europe than of America.
Fairntosh was built in ISOS by
Judge Duncan Cameron, a famous
lawyer who came here from Virginia
in 1707, and was admitted to the bar
the following year. The house is said
to have been planned by his wife,
Rebecca Rennehan, but was built
under the direct supervision of her
husband, who personally inspected
every plank put into it, rejecting any¬
thing that did not meet his approval.
Thirty Thousand Acres
The demesne of Fairntosh consisted
of thirty thousand acres. It was from
the beginning self-sustaining. Worked
by two thousand slaves, the estate was
very much like a town. It was a great
center of activity, and no idleness,
nor dawdled hours, were passed there.
Looms whirred all «lay, ami sometimes
into the night, making cloth from cot¬
ton and wool and tins. Here were
shoemakers, wagon makers, black¬
smiths, artisans of many kinds. Here
was a hospital for
the sick and decrepit,
manned by skillful
p h
у
s i c i
а и
s, and
nurses. Here was
Fairntosh Chapel,
with a plantation
rector, an educated
man, who catered to
the better and finer
emotions of the plan¬
tation populace. In
this family chapel
black and white wor¬
shipped together.
The Cameron mas¬
ter led a patriarchial
life on his manor do¬
main. Duncan Cam¬
eron was one of the busiest men in
North Carolina. He was elected t<i
the House of Commons in I $06. In
1$14 lie was made a Judge of Su¬
perior Courts. His manorial estate,
however, demanded so much of his
time and attention, and paid him so
much better in a remunerative way,
that he resigned in 1$16. and hence¬
forth devoted his undivided attention
to the work of a Southern planter.
Judge Cameron began the advocacy
of labor-saving machinery on the
great plantations, and the adoption
of the best in modern and scientific
farming. Internal improvements also
Top pictures: en¬
trance to Fairntosh
and the "big
house,” which was
built in 1 S 0 3 .
Center: the old
chapel, built in
1827, where Judge
Cameron is buried.
At right : the
Judge’s law office,
located in close
proximity to the
house itself.
engaged his closest interest and atten¬
tion. He founded lie- famous St.
Mary's School for (iirl*. at Raleigh;
and lie fearlessly fought the heirs of
the Duke of All««marle. who brought
claim for the northern half of North
Carolina and Tennessee. He always
considered these the two outstanding
accomplishments of his life. While
lie was considered a very tine teacher,
his only law pupils were his sou. Paul
• Cameron. William II. Haywood,
and Willie I'. Mnngurn.
When Judge Cameron died in 1S53.
the reins fell to his son. Paul. The
( Continued on page twenty)
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