NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1975 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 954

HOUSE BILL 890

 

 

AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO THE WARREN COUNTY BICENTENNIAL COMMITTEE FOR THE RESTORATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATHANIEL MACON HOMESITE.

 

Whereas, Nathaniel Macon was born December 17, 1758, of one of the oldest families in the section of the State that became Warren County in 1779, attended Princeton, turned down an officer's commission to fight as a private in the infantry during the Revolutionary War, farmed a modest plantation (he could have had more), worked in the fields alongside his slaves, never built an elaborate mansion, was a charter trustee of Warrenton Academy, and believed in the people; and

Whereas, Nathaniel Macon was a nationally prominent senator and congressman from North Carolina, serving in the North Carolina State Senate for over five years (1781-1786) and in both houses of the United States Congress continuously for 37 years (1791-1828); and

Whereas, Nathaniel Macon became the recognized leader of North Carolina's Congressional delegation and of the Democratic Party; and

Whereas, he was Speaker of the House of Representatives for six years (1801-1807) and the only North Carolinian to enjoy that honor, and upon becoming a member of the United States Senate he served as President Pro Tempore of that body on three occasions; and

Whereas, Thomas Jefferson referred to Nathaniel Macon as "the last of the Romans"; and

Whereas, as a loyal public servant, Nathaniel Macon represented the interests of the people of North Carolina with honesty and with integrity; and

Whereas, the Warren County Bicentennial Committee has agreed to assist the Warren County Historical Society, Incorporated, in the raising of funds for the restoration of Nathaniel Macon's Home in Warren County, North Carolina, which is planned as the major focus of Warren County's Commemoration of the Bicentennial of the American Revolution and the formation of the county in 1779; and

Whereas, this restoration effort is in need of additional funds in order to be successfully completed by the time of the Bicentennial; Now, therefore,

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  There is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Division of Archives and History, Department of Cultural Resources, for assistance in the historical and archeological investigation and restoration of Buck Spring and its dependencies in Warren County for the 1976-1977 fiscal year the sum of twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars ($22,500), provided a like amount is raised by the Warren County Historical Society, Incorporated, after July 1, 1976.

Sec. 2.  Funds appropriated in the act shall be expended only in accordance with G.S. 121-11 and G.S. 143-31.2.

Sec. 3.  This act shall become effective July 1, 1975.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 26th day of June, 1975.