J. C. B. Ehringhaus
Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
J. C. B. Ehringhaus. Governor, 1933-1937, friend of education, member of General Assembly, solicitor. Birthplace 1/4 mile north.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
John C. B. Ehringhaus served as North Carolina's governor from 1933 to 1937, steering the state through the depths of the Great Depression. A former solicitor and member of the General Assembly, he was remembered as a friend of public education during years when school funding and rural relief were desperate concerns. This marker notes his birthplace a short distance to the north in his native Elizabeth City.
Why it matters
His governorship reflects how state leaders across the country wrestled with the Depression's strain on schools and public services, defending education even as budgets collapsed.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Food & drink
- Masala Bay Grill13.3 mi away · 1972 Caratoke Highway, Moyock, NC
- Frog Island Seafood Inc14.9 mi away · 3997 Caratoke Highway, Barco, NC
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Related people
- · J. C. B. Ehringhaus
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Joseph C. Price
Elizabeth City, NC
Born in Elizabeth City in 1854, Joseph C. Price rose to become one of the most celebrated Black orators and educators of his generation. He was a founder and the first president of Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, championing higher education for African Americans in the decades after emancipation. His eloquence carried him across the country and abroad before his death in 1893 at just thirty-nine.
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.
Peter Weddick Moore
Elizabeth City, NC
Born into slavery in 1859, Peter Weddick Moore became an educator and, from 1891 to 1923, the founding head of the state normal school that grew into Elizabeth City State University. Over three decades he built an institution devoted to training Black teachers for eastern North Carolina. His grave lies about a third of a mile southeast.
Elizabeth City State University
Elizabeth City, NC
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.