Israel Pickens
Cabarrus County, Cabarrus County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Israel Pickens 1780 1827. Congressman from N.C., 1811-1817. Moved to Alabama where he was governor, 1821-1825, & U.S. Senator. Born 2 mi. SW.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Israel Pickens (1780–1827) was born in the Cabarrus County backcountry and served as a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina from 1811 to 1817. Like many ambitious men of his generation, he then followed the frontier southwest to the new state of Alabama, where he became governor from 1821 to 1825 and later a U.S. Senator. His life traced the young nation's restless expansion.
Why it matters
Pickens embodies the westward-moving generation of the early republic, whose leaders carried the machinery of American self-government into the newly opened lands of the Deep South.
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Themes & tags
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