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Topics Related to This Day in North Carolina History
On October 8, 1826, Matt Whitaker Ransom, Confederate general, U.S. senator and minister to Mexico, was born in Warren County.
On October 8, 2004, the Chowan County Courthouse reopened to the public after years of renovation. The majestic courthouse, completed in 1767 in Edenton, is considered the finest example of Georgian architecture in the South.While the architect remains anonymous, many have speculated that either Gilbert Leigh, known to have worked on many houses in the area, or John Hawks, best known for Tryon Palace, supervised construction.
On October 8, 1973, the board of directors of the California-based Peoples Temple passed a resolution establishing a “Branch Church and Agricultural Mission” in Guyana. The settlement would come to be known as Jonestown, and church assistant pastor Archie Ijames was one of six authorized to help establish the mission.
On October 7, 1780, Patriot forces defeated the British-led Loyalist militia in the Battle of Kings Mountain, signaling the beginning of the end of British control in the South. Patriots had created an atmosphere of Tory persecution in western North Carolina and in September of 1780, British Major Patrick Ferguson decided to subdue the rebellious region. He warned mountain residents that if insurrection continued, he personally would “lay waste their country with fire and sword.”
On October 7, 1799, Mills Darden, a true giant among men of his time, was born in Northampton County. In his lifetime, and for some 100 years afterward, Darden was considered the world's largest man. Upon his death in 1857, it took 17 men to place Darden in his 8-foot long coffin.
James Edward Shepard was very successful in business, and very active in politics and education. In 1910, he opened what eventually become N.C. Central University. The school became a public institution and the first publicly supported liberal arts college for blacks in the country in 1923.
On October 6, 1963, “Bandon,” the beloved plantation home of author Inglis Fletcher, burned.
On October 6, 1967, three students graduated from Duke’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program and became the first PAs in the country.When Dr. Eugene A. Stead, Jr., then Chairman of Duke’s Department of Medicine, established the PA Program in 1965, it was the first of its kind in the nation. A two-year course that trained students to practice medicine and provide health care services under a doctor’s supervision, the program aimed to address the problem of the physician shortage, particularly in rural areas throughout North Carolina.
On October 5, 1946, Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, notorious moonshiner and cultural icon, was born in Maggie Valley.Sutton, a gritty, spirited fellow, first learned how to concoct illegal alcohol from his father, whose Scots-Irish ancestors had been avid distillers in keeping with their cultural tradition. Sutton carried on the family legacy in Cocke County, Tenn., where he became famous not only for his liquor, but for his role in the manifestation of the moonshine culture.