Joseph Hewes Memorial, Edenton
The monument consists of a granite plinth on a single base. The plinth is topped with a low
pyramid shaped top with a chalice standing at the peak. The plinth and base have rounded
edges. Inscriptions appear on the south and north face.
Next to the memorial a storyboard highlights the achievements of Joseph Hewes and suggests a self-guided city tour with historically significant sites.
Images by Kim Weaver Spurr:
Contemporary view of the memorial |
About Joseph Hewes, Godfather of the US Navy
Front: TO THE MEMORY / OF JOSEPH HEWES / APRIL 28, 1730 / NOVEMBER 10, 1779 /
MODESTLY BUT WITHOUT STINT HE GAVE / HIS LABOR AND HIS MEANS TO THE CAUSE / OF
FREEDOM / VESTRYMAN OF ST. PAUL’S PARISH / EDENTON / SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF
/ INDEPENDENCE / DELEGATE FROM NORTH CAROLINA TO THE / CONTINENTAL CONGRESS /
SECRETARY OF THE NAVAL COMMITTEE / FRIEND AND PATRON OF JOHN PAUL JONES
Back: ERECTED BY / THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES / 1932
Chowan County
April 28, 1932
36.056770 , -76.608130
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"Joseph Hewes," FindAGrave.com, (accessed May 18, 2022) Link
"Signers of the Declaration of Independence Plaque, State Capitol, Raleigh," from “Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina”, http://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/, (accessed April 28, 2016) Link
Barefoot, Daniel W. Touring the Backroads of North Carolina’s Upper Coast (Winston- Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 1995), 100-102
Martin, Micheal G. 1988. "Hewes, Joseph," NCpedia.org, (accessed September 3, 2013) Link
“A Monument to Hewes Unveiled,” Statesville Record And Landmark (Statesville, NC), April 29, 1932
“Monument to Joseph Hewes Being Cut,” Statesville Record And Landmark (Statesville, NC), January 29, 1932
“To Unveil Monument at Edenton to Joseph Hewes N.C. Revolutionary Hero,” The Robesonian (Lumberton, NC), April 4, 1932
Yes
Georgia marble
United States Congress
$2,500
Rear Admiral McDougald, commandant of naval operations at Norfolk Navy Base, gave the principal address during which he traced Hewes’ part in the struggle for independence.
Hewes was one of the most celebrated members of the Continental Congress. As secretary of
the Naval Board it was Hewes who secured John Paul Jones first commission in the Continental
Navy. On May 27, 1776 by presenting the Halifax Resolves to the Continental Congress he may
have been the first to appear before that body to directly call for independence. On July 4, 1776
he was one of three North Carolinians to sing the Declaration of Independence. The Hewes
Monument is the only monument to a signer of the Declaration of Independence erected by
congressional appropriation thanks to the efforts of Representative Lindsay Warren.
[Additional information from NCpedia editors at the State Library of North Carolina: This person enslaved and owned other people. Many Black and African people, their descendants, and some others were enslaved in the United States until the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in 1865. It was common for wealthy landowners, entrepreneurs, politicians, institutions, and others to enslave people and use enslaved labor during this period. To read more about the enslavement and transportation of African people to North Carolina, visit https://aahc.nc.gov/programs/africa-carolina-0. To read more about slavery and its history in North Carolina, visit https://www.ncpedia.org/slavery. - Government and Heritage Library, 2023.]
A plaque commemorating Signers of the Declaration of Independence is located in the rotunda of the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, NC.
In 1897, a monument to William Hooper and John Penn was unveiled in Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.
The monument is located on the south end of the courthouse green of the old Chowan County Courthouse. It faces E. Water Street on the water front near the battery of Revolutionary War cannons. A short distance to the north on Colonial Avenue is the Edenton Tea Pot. The Chowan County Confederate Soldiers Monument originally stood right behind the Joseph Hewes memorial in front of the historic Chowan County Courthouse on King Street. It was moved to its present location on South Broad Street in June 1961. Edenton Bell Battery C.S.A. cannons are facing the waterfront at 505 South Broad Street on the side lawn of the Penelope Baker House Welcome Center. The Silent Service Memorial bench is at 503 S. Broad Street.
The memorial faces the waterfront and is surrounded by shady trees and greenery.
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