The General Assembly’s Semiquincentennial Committee held its third meeting Thursday to discuss ongoing plans to commemorate North Carolina’s role in America’s founding during 250th Anniversary celebrations in 2026. Invited speakers included Michael Leonard, from The Conservation Fund, and Rep. Edward Goodwin (R) from North Carolina’s 1st District, which includes the historic town of Edenton.
Leonard began his remarks by noting his personal connection to the Revolution as a direct descendant of both John Martin Shuford (a loyalist who succumbed to wounds received at the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill in 1780) and Valentine Leonhardt (a Patriot who was ultimately shot and killed by loyalist neighbors in 1781).
Leonard provided some historical perspective about how America’s Revolutionary history is often portrayed.
“New England universities were growing at the time,” he said. “Yale, Harvard, etc. So you can argue that the New England point of view has dominated the way our history has been told.”
But Leonard views “the 250th as an opportunity to tell the importance of North Carolina in the founding.” He went on to say that “we cannot forget or ignore the inspiring stories…about extraordinary people who made [a] huge difference. They laid a framework that was flexible enough that this country could adjust for two-hundred-and-fifty years.”
Leonard continued by giving several examples of key battles and political decisions involving leaders from North Carolina, most notably Major William R. Davie, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, founder of UNC, Governor of North Carolina from 1798-1799, as well as the namesake of Davie County.
Upon the conclusion of Mr. Leonard’s presentation, committee co-chair, Sen. Alexander, R-Cleveland, remarked, “We take these names for granted, and they really mean things.”
Representative Goodwin then spoke to the committee about the Edenton Tea Party, highlighting that Penelope Barker was the “first female political activist in the United States of America.” Given that the Tea Party took place in 1774, the public can visit this page to view the commemorative activities planned in Edenton next month on October 25 and 26.
The General Assembly appropriated $292,231 in 2022 for expenses related to “America’s 250th Anniversary Wayside and Oral History Program”.
Then in 2023, an additional $375,000 was allocated for “time-limited positions for the development of statewide programming,” and another $2.1 million for local programming grants ($1.5 million in 2023 and $600,000 in FY24-25). All appropriated funds total $2,767,231.
Senator Alexander noted that individual counties are encouraged to organize their own NC 250 committees and are eligible to apply for up to $10,000 of funding from the local programming grants.
Committee member Kyle Luebke pointed out that 36 of North Carolina’s 100 counties have registered NC 250 committees with the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. According to General Assembly committee member Dr. Cary Poole, Gaston County 250th committee organizers plan to execute their $10,000 grant by building a website for posting anniversary activities and completing an introductory film about the founding of Gaston County to be distributed to local schools.
Committee members then discussed their ongoing ideas for commemorating the anniversary, focused largely on involving youth and young adults through school programs. Dr. Troy Kickler, for example, suggested “we tell the good with the bad,” citing the state’s rough distribution of “one-third Patriots, one-third Tories, and the other third waiting to see who was winning.”
Kickler emphasized using “local history to tell a much bigger story” and focusing on North Carolina’s First in Freedom theme. Mr. Luebke and committee co-chair Rep. Ken Blackwell, R-Burke, made it a point to mention inclusion of minority groups: that work be done to make anniversary materials available in Spanish and that the committee consider contacting state tribal groups to explore their roles in the Revolution, respectively.
Ahead of the committee’s next meeting, efforts will be undertaken by legislative staff to compile public comments received to date for review, and Alexander asked members to consider who they may ask to serve as the legislature’s 250 program executive director to lead the work moving forward.
To learn more about work being done in your county, you can visit the America 250 NC webpage here.