Governor William A. Graham
Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
William A. Graham. Governor, 1845-1849; Secretary of the Navy; United States Senator; Whig nominee for Vice-President in 1852. His home stands 150 yds. W.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
William A. Graham of Hillsborough was among antebellum North Carolina's most distinguished statesmen, serving as Governor from 1845 to 1849, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of the Navy. In 1852 the Whig Party chose him as its nominee for Vice President. His home still stands just west of this marker, anchoring a national political career in a small Piedmont town.
Why it matters
Graham's rise from a North Carolina town to the national stage shows how the antebellum South supplied leaders who shaped federal politics in the decades before the Civil War.
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