Andrew Cartwright
Dare County, Dare County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Andrew Cartwright. Agent of the American Colonization Society in Liberia, founded the A.M.E. Zion churches in Albemarle area. His first church, 1865, near here.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
The Reverend Andrew Cartwright planted his first African Methodist Episcopal Zion church near here in 1865, as freedom came to the Albemarle region at the close of the Civil War. A tireless organizer, he built up A.M.E. Zion congregations across the area before serving as an agent of the American Colonization Society in Liberia. His life bridged emancipation at home and the movement to build Black institutions across the Atlantic.
Why it matters
Cartwright's founding of Black churches at the dawn of freedom shows how newly emancipated communities built independent religious institutions that became the backbone of African American life.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Herbert M. Collins Boathouse1.3 mi away · 622 Sir Walter Raleigh Street, Manteo, NC
- Pea Island Cookhouse1.3 mi away · 622 Sir Walter Raleigh Street, Manteo, NC
- Outer Banks History Center1.5 mi away · 1 Festival Park, Manteo, NC
Attractions
- Jumpmasters Trampoline Park0.4 mi away · 728 US HWY 64, Manteo, NC
- Elizabeth II1.4 mi away
- The Mother Vine2.4 mi away
- North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island3.0 mi away · 374 Airport Road, Manteo, NC
- Lost Colony House4.2 mi away
- Bodie Island Lighthouse7.4 mi away
Food & drink
- Mama Kwans7.4 mi away
- Pigman’s Bar-B-Que7.4 mi away
- McDonald's7.5 mi away · 1619 South Croatan Highway, Kill Devil Hills, NC
- Cook Out7.5 mi away · 1513 South Croatan Highway, Kill Devil Hills, NC
- American Pie7.6 mi away · 1600 South Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil Hills, NC
- Miller's Seafood & Steakhouse7.6 mi away · 1520 South Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil Hills, NC
Places to stay
- Holiday Inn Express Nags Head Oceanfront4.5 mi away · 4701 South Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head, NC
- Colonial Inn5.9 mi away
- TownePlace Suites7.3 mi away · 2028 South Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil Hills, NC
- John Yancey Oceanfront Inn7.4 mi away · 2009 South Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil Hills, NC
- Ocean House Motel7.5 mi away
- Ramada Plaza Nags Head Oceanfront7.6 mi away · 1701 South Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil Hills, NC
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related people
- · Andrew Cartwright
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony
Dare County, NC
Established in 1863 by Union troops, the Freedmen's Colony on Roanoke Island was the first refugee community for formerly enslaved people in North Carolina. On land nearby extending to the south, thousands of freedpeople built homes, schools, and churches as they made the first fragile steps into freedom. The colony endured until 1867, when the government returned the land to its prewar owners.
Pea Island Life Savers
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This marker recalls the Pea Island Life-Saving Station, the only U.S. Life-Saving Service station ever crewed entirely by Black surfmen. Under keeper Richard Etheridge, appointed in 1880, the station's men patrolled the treacherous Outer Banks and rowed into storms to rescue shipwrecked sailors during an era of deep racial segregation. Etheridge, born enslaved and a Civil War veteran, ran one of the most disciplined and effective crews on the coast, and his surfmen carried out daring rescues that saved countless lives. Their station stood as a rare place where Black Americans held recognized, life-and-death authority.
Elizabeth City State University
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Elizabeth City State University began in 1891 as a state-supported normal school to train Black teachers, part of the wave of institutions founded across the South after Reconstruction to educate a rising generation of African Americans. It grew into a four-year college by 1939 and attained university status in 1969, tracing the long arc from segregated teacher-training school to full public university.
Hugh Cale
Elizabeth City, NC
Hugh Cale served in the North Carolina legislature during the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction years, winning seats between 1876 and 1891. In 1891 he sponsored the bill that created the state-supported school for Black teachers that grew into today's Elizabeth City State University. His grave lies about six-tenths of a mile west of this marker.