Fred Harrison Archives

Oct 25, 2024
  • Fred Harrison

Williamston Women Among Those Involved in the Edenton Tea Party

Williamston residents, Frances Cathcart Johnston, and Margaret (Peggy) Cathcart McKenzie were among the 51 participants of the Edenton Tea Party of October 25, 1774. The two sisters were the issue...

Jul 15, 2024
  • Fred Harrison

North Carolina’s Most Notorious Prison Escapee – Otto Wood (1894-1930)

Involved in criminal activity from an early age, Wood learned to gamble, fight, and make bootleg whiskey from his famed McCoy-Hatfield relations in West Virginia.  In 1923, he entered Central...

Jan 30, 2024
  • Fred Harrison

Unsolved North Carolina Mysteries: The Case of Theodosia Burr Alston

The actual fate of Theodosia Burr Alston, daughter of Aaron Burr and wife of South Carolina governor, Joseph Alston, will for the most part remain one of North Carolina’s iconic...

Dec 14, 2023
  • Fred Harrison

Carolina Moonshine Raiders by Frank Stephenson

As Special Collections prepares to explore the moonshine industry in North Carolina next semester, it seemed appropriate to highlight Frank Stephenson's book on the topic. In his 2001 publication Carolina...

Sep 01, 2023
  • Fred Harrison

Staff Pick: Doughnut Heaven in North Carolina

Wilmington native, Daniel Ray Norris is the author and publisher of a book relevant to Carolina Beach's popular foodways culture. Britt's Donuts - Forever Sweet debuted in 2014 and recalls...

Apr 18, 2023
  • Fred Harrison

Staff Pick: Trial of the Rev. George Carawan, Baptist Preacher for the Murder of Clement H. Lassiter, Schoolmaster

Staff Person: Fred Harrison Print Collection: North Carolina Rare KF223.C366 C366 1854 Sensational 1853 Beaufort County Superior Court Trial Recalled in 1854 Book Immediately after being found guilty for the...

Jan 14, 2023
  • Fred Harrison

First Brick School for African Americans in North Carolina

Originally referred to as the “ Red Schoolhouse”, New Bern’s first public school for African Americans was established in the early 1870s.  When fire destroyed the initial wood-framed building in...

Jul 11, 2022
  • Fred Harrison

Discovering the Toothache Tree on the Outer Banks

Born in Williamston, NC, Rita Weaver Mizell and husband Dave resided in Elizabeth City before eventually moving to Southern Shores and operating the Nags Head Fishing Pier until their retirement....

Apr 07, 2022
  • Fred Harrison

Discovering Greenville’s Horticultural Past

It’s the season for gardening in Greenville and Pitt County and with the current proliferation of retail garden centers, you may have wondered at some point how folks living more...

Sep 24, 2021
  • Fred Harrison

“It’s Time for the Pitt County Fair”

The first Pitt County American Legion Agricultural Fair opened to the public on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 1920, at what is now Guy Smith Stadium on Memorial Drive in Greenville.  You...