Bucklaiid
The old house is said to have
lieen huilt as early as 1050,
and it is generaRy looked
upon as being the oldest
house still standing in [North
Carolina.
R»/ IIAICRV Z. TUCKER
Buckland Plantation House, which is still stand¬
ing in Gates County.
Til
К
ancestral home of the Harveys,
the famous and historie estate of
“Buckland,” still stands in Gates
County. Members of the Harvey
family, distinguished in North Caro¬
lina throughout the colonial and
Revolutionary periods, wielded great
influence for good and left their im¬
print upon the State in more ways
than can be numerated here.
Buckland. believed to have been
built as early as 1650. is not only of
great interest because it is the an¬
cestral seat of a famous family: but it
is also of great interest Is-cause it i<
believed to be the oldest mansion
in North Carolina.
Once a Part of Virginia
It will lie remembered that this
part of Gates County was for a long
time Nansemond County, Virginia.
Bancroft, the historian, said this sec¬
tion of North Carolina was settled
as early as 1022. Buckland was in¬
cluded in Virginia until the boundary
line was run in 1727. Buekland
Plantation then became a part of
North Carolina.
It was from this colonial home that
the first Harveys made periodic visits
into North Carolina. Governor John
Harvey, said by many to be Sir John
Harvey, first became known in this
State in 1658. He was appointed
governor of North Carolina in 1679;
he died in 1702. His son. Thomas
Harvey, private secretary to Gov¬
ernor John Jenkins, followed Jenkins
as governor of the Province of North
Carolina. He married Jenkins' widow
in 16S2.
As early as 1695 “the General Court
for Albemarle County bound William,
ye son of Timothy Bead, being left
destitute, to Governor Thomas Harvey
and wife, until 21 years old, and the
said Thomas Harvey was to teach
him to read.”
Governor 'I' li
и
in a >
Harvey did in 1699,
leaving n distinguished
namesake.
С о
1
о
n e 1
riionias Harvey, who became a
wealthy and leading North Carolina
citizen. He was Imrii Deeemlier 6,
1692. and married Elizabeth Cole, of
Nansemond County, Virginia, in 1723.
He died Octoln-r
11».
1729.
It remained for a son of Colonel
Thomas Harvey to bring added honor-
ami enduring fame to the Harvey
name. This distinguished son of
North Carolina was known as "Bold
John Harvey of the Revolution.” He
was born in 1725, and married Mary
Bonner. He bad at least three sons
who were officers in the Revolutionary
War.
Bold John Harvey was elected to
the Assembly in 1716; he raised men
and money for tin- French and Indian
War; he was Speaker of the House
in 1766, and he took an active part
in opposing tlie Stamp Act.
First Act of Defiance
Before Brdd John Harvey issued
his clarion call for the meeting of tin-
first Provincial Congress to meet in
New Bern, August 21. 177
«.
he visited
Halifax to consult Nicholas Long and
Wiley Jones. His asscmldying of men
at New Bern to circumvent Governor
Martin's attempt to deprive the people
of North Carolina from representa¬
tion in the Continental Congress, was
the first act of defiance in America
aimed at an order of
л
Royal Gov¬
ernor.
North Carolina suffered a heavy
blow when Bold John Harvey fell
from his horse and died, about the
middle of May, 1775. lie was buried
on "Belgrade Plantation." on Albe¬
marle Sound, in a granite tomb said
to weigh twenty tons. His tornb was
originally on a bluff, hut the waves
have gradually washed the bluff away
until the tomb now lie* about three
hundred yards from the shore.
“He will lie much missed," wrote
Joseph Hcwc- from Philadelphia. “I
wish to God In- could have been spared
and that the Governor and Judge
Howard had lieen called in hi' stead.”
When the Harvey family moved
away from Buckland, the home was
occupied for more than a century by
the prominent Baker family, relatives
of the Harveys. In 17-1-1 Henry Baker
gave land and timber for the erection
of a chapel at Buckland. It was c ailed
Knotty Pine Chapel, and it had been
connected with the Episcopal Church
at Kdcnton since 1701. Baker was
ask«-d to build hi- family pew in any
part of the church In- desired.
It is recorded that the Reverend
< 'lenient Hall preached at Knotty Pine
in 1717. Bishop Asbury preached
there in 17S7. He was a frequent
visitor there from ITS-» to I'll», lie
speaks of the wealth of General
Lawrence Baker, a prominent soldier
of the Revolution, lie also speaks of
young Marmaduke Baker's death,
"who was to have gone this day to
finish his education at Princeton.”
A Relic of the Past
The old mansion on Buckland
Plantation is, indeed, a relic of the
past. The small doors and windows,
the general aspect of the old mansion,
antedates any other home in the State.
The remarkable old paneling, unique
in design and intricacy of carving,
has been sold to n northern museum.
Buckland awaits the sympathetic
restorer.
7