Topics Related to This Day in North Carolina History

William Ashe, Railroad Proponent, Handcar Crash Victim

On September 14, 1862, William Ashe, railroad president and commander of the Confederate government’s transportation network between New Orleans and Richmond, died after being struck by a train.

The General Textile Strike of 1934: Violence in Burlington

A pamphlet produced by the Lea

An Independent Man: John Penn’s Short Life

John Penn - One of North Carolina's three signers of the

Village People’s Cowboy Hailed from Raleigh

The original Village People.

Trials and Tribulation: Life in an Iron Lung

On September 13, 1948, 11-year-old Martha Mason of Lattimore in Cleveland County came down with polio on the very day her parents buried her older brother Gaston who had succumbed to the disease. They were both victims of a major polio outbreak that year.

The Bard of Ottaray, Shepherd Dugger

On September 13, 1938, Shepherd Dugger, chronicler of North Carolina mountain life, died.

Militia Clash at Lindley’s Mill

On September 13, 1781, the largest engagement of North Carolina’s “Tory War” took place in present-day Alamance County near Thomas Lindley’s mill.

Jurist W. A. Hoke of Lincolnton

On September 12, 1925, prominent jurist William Alexander Hoke died.

Bounty Off Cape Hatteras in Shipwreck of the Central America

On September 12, 1857, the S.S. Central America sank 200 miles off Cape Hatteras with great loss of life. The side-wheel steamer was bound for New York from Havana when she encountered a hurricane and sprung a leak.

Moses Hopkins, From Slavery to Liberia via Franklinton

Moses A.