Source: Edenton Tea Party Plaque
Edenton Tea Party Plaque, Raleigh
This plaque, which is located in the Capitol rotunda in Raleigh, bears a relief carving of an ornate tea kettle surrounded by both inscriptions and a wreath of pine. An image of a colonial house surrounded by trees is carved into the kettle.
ERECTED BY THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
TO/ THE FIFTY-ONE LASTIES OF EDENTON, / WHO, BY THEIR PATRIOTISM, ZEAL AND EARLY / PROTESTS AGAINST BRITISH AUTHORITY, / ASSISTED OUT FORE FATHERS IN THE MAKING OF THIS / REPUBLIC AND OUR COMMONWEALTH.
THE TEA PARTY HOUSE / EDENTON NORTH CAROLINA
MDCCCCVIII
EDENTON TEA PARTY
OCTOBER 25, 1774
October 24, 1908
35.780410 , -78.639140
"Edenton Tea Party: An American First," North Carolina History Project, (accessed May 6, 2012) Link
"Edenton Tea Party: An American First," North Carolina History Project, (accessed May 6, 2012) Link
"The Edenton Tea Party," Stories of the American South", (accessed July 3, 2012) Link
North Carolina Booklet (Volume VIII, 1909), 151, 258-261, 265-297, (accessed May 16, 2012) Link
Folder 10a at in the E. E. Moffitt Papers, #519, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, see scans 51-57 Link
Folder 10b in the E. E. Moffitt Papers, #519, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Link
Folder 64 at in the E. E. Moffitt Papers, #519, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, see scan 15 Link
Folder_92_R16_C244b3, in Print Box 25, in the North Carolina County Photographic Collection #P0001, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Link
Grimes, J. Bryan. "Why North Carolina Should Erect and Preserve Memorials and Mark Historic Places: Address Before the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, Raleigh, N.C., November 4, 1909," ([Raleigh, NC: The News and Observer, 1909]), (accessed May 18, 2012) Link
Yes
Daughters of the American Revolution
When the plaque was unveiled, prayer was given by the Rev. Robert Brent Drane, addresses by Patrick Matthew, Lieutenant-Governor of North Carolina Francis Winston, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina Walter Clark, and a benediction by Benjamin F. Dixon. Mrs. E. E. Moffitt presented the plaque to Lt. Governor Winston, who accepted on behalf of the state.
In October of 1774, fifty-one women in Edenton North Carolina signed a pact in which they agreed to avoid buying British tea and clothing as a sign of resistance to the 1773 Tea Act.
The full text of the petition to the British monarchy read, "As we cannot be indifferent on any occasion that appears nearly to affect the peace and happiness of our country, and as it has been thought necessary, for the public good, to enter into several particular resolves by a meeting of Members deputed from the whole Province, it is a duty which we owe, not only to our near and dear connections who have concurred in them, but to ourselves who are essentially interested in their welfare, to do every thing as far as lies in our power to testify our sincere adherence to the same; and we do therefore accordingly subscribe this paper, as a witness of our fixed intention and solemn determination to do so."
The event was satirized by the English press but was lauded in the colonies. Like the Battle of Alamance, North Carolina residents during the 19th and early 20th century utilized the Edenton Tea party to present the roots of the revolution as beginning in the South instead of in New England.
The plan to put the names of all the signers on the plaque was nixed when it became clear there was no definitive list of who had participated, as the original text of the petition has been lost.
The plaque is situated in the Rotunda of the North Carolina Capitol Building.
E. E. Moffitt headed a committee of the Daughters of the American Revolution devoted to the creation of the plaque.
Know anything else about this monument that isn't mentioned here? If you have additional information on this or any other monument in our collection fill out the form at the Contact Us link in the footer. Thank you.
