Historic Corner

Historic Corner. Hillsborough. , Session House , After the Revolutionary War, the Town of Hillsborough promised the church property to the first denomination to "call a minister". In 1816 John Knox Witherspoon, grandson of Dr. John Witherspoon (the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence) became the first minister of the Presbyterian Church that still stands on this property today. The Session House was built in 1835 on land deeded by James Webb and was used as a Sunday school and meeting room. From 1910-1934. the Session House was used as a public library. The building was torn down in 1934., Church of England , In 1752, the N.C. General Assembly established Orange County and the parish of St. Matthew and its vestry, or governing board. Land was set aside to build a structure for a Church of England congregation, and the first St. Matthew's church was erected on this lot around 1768. In the 1770s, St. Matthew's vestry disbanded in response to hostility from revolutionary groups, and the church fell into disrepair., Third N.C. Provincial Congress , After repairs were made, the Third N.C. Provincial Congress was held here from Aug. 20 to Sept. 10, 1775. Independent from the British royal government, this congress recognized itself as the highest governmental body in the North Carolina province and established military forces to aid in the revolution. During the Revolutionary War, this site was used as a barracks, hospital and holding area for British and Patriot forces., N.C. Constitutional Convention , The N.C. Constitutional Convention was held here from July 21 to Aug. 4, 1788, and included 270 N.C. delegates who assembled to debate ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Anti-federalists, opposed to the Constitution, wanted to ensure that the rights won by the revolution were guaranteed by the new federal government. They opposed taxes, paper money, development of western lands, and a standing army. The Federalists, in support of ratification and a unified central government, argued that individual rights could be added at a later time., When the N.C. Convention opened, a majority of states had already ratified the Constitution. The N.C. delegation voted to neither ratify nor reject, instead calling on Congress for amendments guaranteeing the rights of all individuals. For fifteen months, N.C. was in limbo, probably considered a "foreign" state, and sent a delegate to the first U.S. Congress only as an observer. The Bill of Rights was added soon after, and N.C. ratified the U.S. Constitution at the Constitutional Convention of 1789 in Fayetteville, thereby "rejoining" the United States., Public Library , In 1934. the Town of Hillsborough built a library on this site, funded by the Depression-era Public Work Administration, part of the federal New Deal series of programs enacted between 1933 and 1938. The original fund-raisers for the library sought to commemorate Confederate veterans of the Civil War and chose the Confederate Memorial Public Library sign rather than a statue or marker. Serving only white patrons, however, the library did not reflect the most important accomplishment of the war: the liberation of enslaved people. In 1977, black U.S. Army veteran Brenda Stephens (who started as a bookmobile driver and later became head librarian) guided the move of the integrated Orange County Public Library to the Whitted Human Services Center, named in honor of Orange County's first black commissioner, Richard Whitted. The Confederate Memorial sign remained on this building as an historical artifact until 2015, when the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners voted to remove the sign from the pediment., (captions) , 1888 Sanborn Fire Insurance map shows the Presbyterian Church and Session House. , View of the Session House from the south, early 1930s. , The Presbyterian Church and Session House looking east on Tryon Street. , The Confederate Memorial Public Library and bookmobile 1938.