Halifax, North Carolina, was an important part of the Underground Railroad in North Carolina. With the largest free Black population of any county in the state in the antebellum period, the community provided a network to help freedom seekers as well as a place to blend in.
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On December 11, 1789, the General Assembly passed a bill chartering a state-supported university.
On November 21, 1757, the town of Halifax was established by the colonial legislature, which was meeting in New Bern. The act called for the establishment of a town on the lands of James Leslie on the Roanoke River. The new town was named Halifax, in honor of George Montagu, the second Earl of Halifax.
On October 9, 1866, Governor William Walton Kitchin was born near Scotland Neck. Educated in local schools and at Wake Forest, he studied law and in 1888 opened a practice in Roxboro.
On April 12, 1776, 83 delegates to North Carolina’s Fourth Provincial Congress, meeting in Halifax, passed a unanimous resolution now known as the Halifax Resolves. The resolves advocated severing North Carolina’s ties with England and indicated support for independence for all American colonies.North Carolina became the first colony to officially commit such intentions to paper, striking the first blow for an independent America.
On February 21, 1893, the General Assembly adopted Esse Quam Videri as the official state motto. Translated from Latin, the phrase means “To be rather than to seem.”The phrase is a quote from the De Amicitia, an essay on friendship by the Roman author and politician Cicero that dates to 44 B.C. Similar sentiments can found in early texts by the Greek poet Eschylus and the philosopher Socrates.Noted Halifax County judge and historian Walter Clark first selected the phrase and drafted the bill for the General Assembly to consider.