Making History in Halifax
This month mairks the 173rd birthday of
North Carolina*» first state constitution.
This, and many other important historic
events, took place in Halifax County.
THIS month marks the 173rd
birthday of North Carolina's
first State Constitution.
In the ancient little town of
Halifax located on the west bank
of the Roanoke River, 162 dele¬
gates from 35 counties gathered in
November and December, 1776 to
draft measures that were to set up
legislative, executive and judicial
machinery in the Old North State,
and to guarantee religious liberty
as well as the right to vote to all
intelligent Tar Heels.
Men whose names loom large in
history walked beneath the giant
elms, oaks and sycamore trees
along Dobbs. King and Granville
streets discussing weighty mat¬
ters in the days when historic Hali¬
fax was noted far and wide for
the gaycty of its social life, mint
julips. fine race horses, dances and
cock fights.
Four months earlier Halifax had
already made a name for itself so
far as history is concerned as the
first place in North Carolina where
the signing of the Declaration of
Independence was celebrated. On
August 1, 1776, Cornelius Harnett,
of Wilmington, mounted a hastily-
erected platform in front of the
original courthouse and read the
famous Philadelphia Doc¬
trine of July 4 word for
word to a huge crowd as¬
sembled there. They went
wild with joy and carried
him through the streets of
the town on their shoulders.
Even before that. Halifax
had had a taste of fame,
for on April 12. 1776, the
139 delegates who had
gathered there from all
over North Carolina had de¬
clared their independence
of Great Britain in the first
official act ever taken by
any colonial legislature in
Pre - Revolutionary War
days advocating complete
and immediate separation
from the tyrannical English
Government in London.
Until 1920 "Constitution
House." a tiny, dilapidated
frame building, which stood
at the rear of the court-
lly I
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UFA A
house square in Halifax, served as
a reminder of those momentous
events in early North Carolina
history. This square little build¬
ing with its narrow front porch
and two massive outside chimneys
was usually pointed out to visitors
as the place where the State Con¬
stitution was born. In recent years,
however, it has been carefully re¬
stored and moved to the nearby
Grove property where it may be
seen today.
It's a little-known fact, but true
none the less, that religious free¬
dom as we North Carolinians know
it today- that is. the inalienable
right of every man and woman to
worship God according to their
own consciences- also had its be¬
ginning in this little house at Hali¬
fax. The Elder Henry Abbot, one
of the first pastors of Shiloh Bap¬
tist Church, which had been organ¬
ized in Camden County as early as
1729, headed an important group
of delegates who held up final pas¬
sage of the New State Constitution
until late in the afternoon of De¬
cember 18. 1776. when a clause
guaranteeing religious liberty was
finally approved.
Richard Caswell, a 47-ycar-old
native of Maryland who had been
living in North Carolina since he
was 17. was named first Governor
of North Carolina under the con¬
stitution adopted at Halifax. He
was destined to serve as Governor
longer than any man since- seven
terms— and had such well-known
early North Carolina Patriots on
his Council of State as Cornelius
Harnett. Thomas Person, William
Day. William Haywood. Edward
Starkey. Joseph Leach and Thomas
Eaton. Thomas Glasgow, a Scotch¬
man. was named first Secretary of
State in those Post-Revolutionary
War days.
So far as North Carolina coun¬
ties go, Halifax is a pretty old one,
having been formed from a part of
Edgecombe County in 1759 and
named in honor of the Earl of
Halifax, who that year was serv¬
ing as First Lord of the British
Board of Trade. Records in the
present-day courthouse at Halifax
go back 190 years with a complete
set of will books beginning in the
year 1759.
In this present stream¬
lined. jet-propulsed age of
all-too-rapid transit and
frequent nervous prostra¬
tion. historic Halifax is a
restful place to visit even
though it is now chiefly
known only as a little red
dot on Route No. 301 be¬
tween Weldon and Rocky
Mount. But in its hey-day.
socially and politically
speaking, it was quite a gay
place.
Even today, however,
you'll find that the town of
Halifax has an atmosphere
all its own. It cherishes
its many rich historical hap¬
penings and has continued
to be outstanding in its dis¬
play of patriotism — par¬
ticularly when it comes to
voting the Democratic
ticket.
It was in this building, restored in recent years,
that the Halifax Resolves and the first North
Carolina Constitution were adopted.
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THE STATE. NOVCMDER 26. 1949
