Hutchins G. Burton
Halifax, Halifax County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Hutchins G. Burton Ca. 1774 1836. Governor, 1824-1827; Attorney General of N.C.; Congressman. His home was 400 yds. W.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Hutchins Gordon Burton served North Carolina as a congressman, state attorney general, and governor from 1824 to 1827. His home stood roughly 400 yards west of this marker. Burton's career unfolded in the Jacksonian era, as the young state matured its political institutions.
Why it matters
Burton belongs to the generation of leaders who built North Carolina's government in the decades after independence.
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Nearby & related markers
Willie Jones
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A wealthy Halifax planter and one of Revolutionary North Carolina's most powerful politicians, Willie Jones led the state's Antifederalists and championed states' rights. He guided the movement that initially refused to ratify the U.S. Constitution until a Bill of Rights was secured. His estate, "The Grove," stood just west of this marker.
The Halifax Resolves
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On April 12, 1776, North Carolina's Provincial Congress meeting at Halifax authorized its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence — the first official action by an entire colony calling for a break with Britain. Adopted nearly three months before the Declaration of Independence, the Halifax Resolves put North Carolina at the leading edge of the independence movement. The date still appears on the state flag and seal.
Washington's Southern Tour
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North Carolina Constitution of 1776
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On December 18, 1776, months after the Declaration of Independence, delegates meeting at Halifax adopted the first constitution of the independent state of North Carolina, together with a declaration of rights. It established the framework of state government for the newly sovereign state. Halifax was already a hotbed of Revolutionary sentiment, having earlier produced the Halifax Resolves calling for independence.