Location: NC 903 (South Caswell Street) in La Grange
County: Lenoir
Original Date Cast: 1970
Born at the family home, "Moseley Hall," in Lenoir County, in 1795, William Dunn Moseley was one of many public servants in his family. To begin his career, Moseley graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1821 and pursued a career in law, opening an office in Wilmington. Moseley then became involved in politics and represented Lenoir County in the state senate from 1829 to 1837, serving as speaker for four terms from 1833-1836. While serving as Speaker in 1833, it fell to Moseley to break a tie and his favorable vote allowed passage of the bill of incorporation for the Baptist Literary Institute, now Wake Forest University.
Political differences lead to a decline in Moseley’s fortunes toward the end of his tenure in the senate and, and after losing a heated election campaign in 1837, he left state politics. Moseley moved to Florida where he previously had purchased a plantation on Lake Miccosukee. He was then elected to the Florida Territorial House of Representatives in 1840 and the Territorial Senate in 1844. The following year he won election to the Governor’s office in the first election since Florida gained statehood, making him the state’s first governor. As governor, Moseley encouraged agriculture in the state, was a strong supporter of states' rights, and favored the establishment of state-funded public schools. Moseley’s term coincided with the start of the Mexican War and skirmishes with the Seminoles. The State Capitol was completed and fully occupied in the first year of his administration. After his term of office, Moseley returned to his plantation and later moved to Palatka, where he became a planter and raised citrus fruit. He died on January 4, 1863, and is buried near his Florida home.
References:
Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds., Biographical Dictionary of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978 (1978)
John H. Wheeler, Reminiscences and Memoirs of North Carolina and Eminent North Carolinians (1884)
Museum of Florida History: https://museumoffloridahistory.com/
Moseley Governor’s Papers, Florida State Archives
William S. Powell, ed., Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, IV, 333—sketch by William S. Powell