The gray granite memorial erected at this site in 1913 marks the spot of Liberty Hall, an early school for men and boys who were not required to fight during the American Revolution.
Although the Charlotte downtown area has seen major redevelopment and the monument is now in a large plaza built by Wachovia Bank in the 1990s, (now Wells Fargo), it's nice to see the vanished history has not faded from the city's memory.
This monument was erected by the Liberty Hall Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and reads as follows:
"Site of Liberty Hall - 1777
In honour of the Trustees of Liberty Hall
Erected by the Liberty Hall chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1913
Trustees
Isaac Alexander
Thomas Polk
Thomas Neal
Abraham Alexander
Waightstill Avery
Ephraim Brevard
Jon Simpson
Adlai Osborne
Jon McKnitt Alexander
David Caldwell
James Edmonds
Thomas Reese
Samuel E. McCorkle
Thomas McCaule
James Hall"
From NCPedia: (
visit link)
"Liberty Hall
by Stewart Lillard, 2006
See also: Private Education
Liberty Hall, an eighteenth-century academy of higher learning in Mecklenburg County located in the former Queen's Museum building in Charlotte, was the product of Hezekiah Alexander and Waightstill Avery's efforts in the Halifax Convention (1776) to provide for the instruction of youth through direct public support. North Carolina's constitution committed the state to the public support of education. The General Assembly's May 1777 term saw the approval of a bill to create Liberty Hall, but the fledgling state government was unable to provide funds for public education during the Revolutionary War.
Of the trustees who met in Charlotte on 3 Jan. 1778 for their first organizational session, five had served as trustees of the earlier Queen's College (1771-73): Thomas Polk, Abraham Alexander, Thomas Neal, John McKnitt Alexander, and Waightstill Avery. Isaac V. Alexander served as president; additional trustees were Ephraim Brevard, John Simpson, Adlai Osborn, James Edmonds, Thomas Reese, Samuel E. McCorkle, Thomas H. McCaule, James Hall, and David Caldwell. The trustees elected a local scholar, Robert Brownfield, as the school's first president for one year. The president's salary was set at £195, and additional town lots in Charlotte belonging to Col. Thomas Polk were sought for expansion. At first, Liberty Hall provided education for men too young for combat and for older men whose service was no longer needed.
During 1779 Alexander MacWhorter, an "eminent preacher of the gospel" and "ardent patriot," was persuaded to relocate from New Jersey to the dissenter stronghold in Mecklenburg County and serve as pastor of Sugar Creek Church and president of Liberty Hall. Liberty Hall closed its doors as an academy in September 1780 when Lord Charles Cornwallis moved troops into Charlotte. After the British withdrew, the institution, which had been used as a hospital during the occupation of the city, did not reopen. In 1784 trustees reported that the buildings were in ruin and decay. The trustees petitioned the legislature to move the academy to Salisbury and change its name to Salisbury Academy."
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Comments about your visit, interesting nearby areas and any significant information you may have on this waymark are encouraged.
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