Martha McFarland McGee Bell Monument, Guilford Courthouse
This monument consists of a large rectangular granite block atop a granite base. There is a bronze plaque in the center with an inscription. Although the inscription has a date of 1928 the marker was not dedicated until 1929 to honor the defiant Martha Bell.
MRS. MARTHA MCFARLAND MCGEE-BELL / 1735-1820 / LOYAL WHIG- ENTHUSIASTIC PATRIOT / REVOLUTIONARY HEROINE / WE ARE INDEBTED TO E.W. CARUTHERS / FOR THE EVENTFULSTORY OF HER LIFE / ERECTED BY / ALEXANDER MARTIN CHAPTER, D.A.R / HIGH POINT, N.C. / 1928
Guilford Battleground Company
February 23, 1929
36.131650 , -79.845730
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Baker, Thomas E. and Michael H. White. The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, North Carolina, (Greensboro, NC: Guilford Courthouse NMP, 1991)
National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. North Carolina National Register of Historic Places. "Inventory Form - Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," (accessed November 6, 2019) Link
“Historical News.” The North Carolina Historical Review, vol. 6, no. 2, 1929, pp. 210–212, (accessed April 20, 2018) Link
“Mrs. Martha McFarland McGee-Bell,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed April 11, 2018) Link
Yes
Granite, bronze
Alexander Martin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Mrs. R.K. Stewart, Alexander Martin chapter regent and Mrs. J.S. Welborn, chapter historian, led the dedication service. The chief address was given by A.R. Newson, Secretary of the North Carolina Historical Commission.
Martha Bell was born 1735 in what is now Alamance County, North Carolina. She married John McGee, a farmer but then remarried to William Bell after John’s death. William Bell lived in Randolph County and had a mill called Bell’s Mill on the Deep River. After the battle of Guilford Courthouse, Martha was confronted by General Lord Cornwallis and his men at her gritmill. She threatened to burn the mill if the British men hurt her or the property but Cornwallis promised to protect her and the mill.
The memorial is located in Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, along a walking path behind the Visitor Center.
The marker stands in the woods, surrounded by mature trees of the National Park.
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