Sugar Creek in Charlotte in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Alexander Craighead
(Creaghead)
| | b. March 1707 in Donegal IE. d. March 1766 in Mecklenburg | |
Photographed by Mark Parker, November 29, 2024
1. Alexander Craighead Marker
1715 Son of Rev. Thomas Craighead
Firey New Side
Revivalist Presbyterian
Preached in NJ, DE, PA, VA, NC
Ben Franklin published his
Religious pamphlets
Rode with George Whitfield
Minister and Sugar Creek and
Rocky River 1758-1766
Spiritual father of the
Mecklenburg Declaration
of Independence
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Colonial Era • Patriots & Patriotism • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1758.
Location. 35° 15.534′ N, 80° 48.144′ W. Marker is in Charlotte, North Carolina, in Mecklenburg County. It is in Sugar Creek. It can be reached from West Craighead Road south of Glory Street, on the right when traveling south. The gravesite is at the east end of the Sugar Creek Old Burying Ground. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 343 W Craighead Rd, Charlotte NC 28206, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Piedmont. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sugar Creek Burying Ground (within shouting distance of this marker); Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); "War of Sugar Creek" (approx. 0.4 miles away); Major Joseph Graham (approx. 0.4 miles away); John Gibbon (approx. 1.2 miles away); VFW Post 9488 Veterans Memorial (approx. 1½ miles away); Bishop John C. Kilgo House (approx. 2 miles away); Victoria (approx. 2.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Charlotte.
More about this marker. The Old Burying Ground is fenced off from the public, however the Craighead gravesite is easily visible from the east fence.
Also see . . . Craighead, Alexander. Biography of
Photographed by Mark Parker, November 29, 2024
2. Alexander Craighead gravesite
Unsettled conditions in the back country during the French and Indian War prompted Craighead and some of his congregation to move to North Carolina in 1757. In November 1758 he was installed as pastor of the Rocky River and Sugaw Creek Presbyterian churches in Mecklenburg County. Presiding at the ceremonies was William Richardson, a New-Side Presbyterian, who was being sent by the New Hanover Presbytery of Virginia to serve as a missionary to the Cherokee Indians in South Carolina. Craighead's political views were as radical as ever, and he urged his congregations to resist, not cooperate with, the provincial government. In 1760, Craighead left Rocky River and devoted full-time to the Sugaw Creek Church, apparently because two officials of the Rocky River Church agreed to cooperate with the colonial government in working out the boundary line between North Carolina and South Carolina.(Submitted on November 29, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina.)
Photographed by Mark Parker, November 29, 2024
3. Alexander Craighead Memorial Gatepost at Burying Ground
Memorial
to
Alexander Craighead
This wall restored
and erected
by
Mecklenburg
Declaration
of Independence
Chapter D.A.R.
1914
Credits. This page was last revised on January 18, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 29, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 176 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 29, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
