The Joseph McDowell House is a historic house and museum located in Marion , McDowell County, North Carolina . It was the home of Colonel Joseph "Pleasant Gardens" McDowell , the founder and namesake of McDowell County. It is currently undergoing extensive renovations, and is closed to the public.
17-446: The McDowell House was built in 1787, and is one of the oldest surviving frame houses in western North Carolina. Along with the nearby Carson House , it is an important piece of McDowell County history, and is currently in the process of major restoration. Built by Colonel Joseph McDowell, an American Revolutionary War hero who fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain . Joseph McDowell was
34-644: A member of the Overmountain Men, traveling with Col. Charles McDowell’s regiment to the Watauga settlements in September, 1780 and on to Kings Mountain in pursuit of British Major Patrick Ferguson’s Loyalist regime. McDowell County is named in his honor. It is the last standing home place in North Carolina for which a county was named. In addition to fighting at the Battle of Kings Mountain , Colonel McDowell served in
51-464: A museum and library. The Carson House maintains a unique collection of research materials and books, along with dozens of family histories. The Mary M. Greenlee Genealogical Research and History Room has been a part of the house since the early 1970s, and is constantly adding to its archives. Today, The Carson House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places , and is open to the public as
68-639: A museum. In 2007, it was listed as a certified destination on the NC Civil War Trails Program . John "Hazzard" Carson served in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution. His military record included the following positions: He may have attained the rank of colonel after the Revolutionary War. Joseph %22Pleasant Gardens%22 McDowell Joseph "Pleasant Gardens" McDowell (February 25, 1758 – May 18, 1795)
85-782: The 3rd United States Congress from 1793 to 1795. However, these accomplishments are sometimes credited to Joseph "Quaker Meadows" McDowell, although the Dictionary of American Biography notes that the Congressional directory may be correct. He was a delegate from Burke County to both the Hillsborough Convention of 1788 and the Fayetteville Convention of 1789 that approved the United States Constitution . McDowell died on May 18, 1795, on his estate in what
102-613: The 3rd U.S. Congress of 1793-95. He was a son of "Hunting" John McDowell, who received a Royal Land Grant from Governor Tryon on December 22, 1767 for 640 acres (2.6 km) on the Catawba River , a portion of which is the site of this home. The McDowell House was identified in the 1982 Comprehensive Management Plan for the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail as one of only 34 non-federal historical resources which are directly or indirectly related to
119-567: The Carson House served as a stagecoach inn and social center. Important historical figures such as Davy Crockett , Sam Houston , and Andrew Jackson stopped here. The latter reportedly lost money gambling on the horses that raced at the Carson Plantation. Dan Kanipe, one of the two survivors of General Custer 's unit in the Battle of Little Bighorn , lived in Marion. For some time he lived at
136-464: The Carson House. The property was bought in the late 1800s by John Seawell Brown, and was preserved by three generations of the Brown family. Brown was a three-term North Carolina State Senator who was instrumental in the founding of McDowell County. The Carson House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. After extensive renovations, the house was opened to the public in 1964 as
153-630: The Greenway. Phase II of the Greenway was completed in March 2015 and extends an additional 0.7 miles to the Joseph McDowell House on US Highway 70 West and beyond. Phase II includes a paved greenway trail, paved driveway and parking lot at the McDowell House property, an amphitheater, fitness stations and a canoe launch off of US Highway 221 North Business. If you start on one end of the Greenway, walk to
170-691: The Joseph McDowell Historical Catawba Greenway was completed in Summer 2010 and Phase I opened to the public in September 2010. Phase I of the Greenway offers a one-mile recreational trail, picnic area, fishing pier, wildlife observation deck, and access to the Little Round Hill Trail. In 2014, the McDowell Trails Association completed the paving of the 0.5 mile Little Round Hill Loop Trail located off of Phase I of
187-579: The Trail. In early 2008, the home and grounds were purchased and steps are being taken to create a restoration and use plan. Also in 2008, the McDowell House was officially added to the Overmountain Victory Historic Trail. Upon completion of the home restoration, this historic home will continue to serve to interpret the McDowell family history, and the history of McDowell County. Construction of
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#1732876279386204-462: The area now known as McDowell County was a large producer of gold, and people from all over the country came to "strike it rich" before the California Gold Rush of 1849. The 1843 meeting to formally organize McDowell County , from sections of the counties of Burke and Rutherford counties, took place in the home of Col. John Carson . The new county was named after Col. Joseph McDowell ,
221-519: The hero of the American Revolution at the Battle of King's Mountain . Originally, the county commissioners wanted the county seat to be located near the Carson House, but concerns about disrupting plantation life resulted in the Carson family donating 50 acres (200,000 m ) a few miles east for the county seat. Col. John Carson's son, Joseph McDowell Carson, built Green River Plantation near Columbus , Polk County, North Carolina . For many years,
238-505: The other end, walk once around the Round Hill Loop and come back to the beginning, you will have walked approximately 3.2 miles and have completed a 5K. This North Carolina museum-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Carson House (Marion, North Carolina) The Carson House is a historic house and museum located in Marion, North Carolina . It
255-531: The other in a subordinate role as a captain. Although "Quaker Meadows" Joe is usually hailed as the Major McDowell who was the hero of the battle, some descendants of "Pleasant Gardens" Joe maintain that it was their ancestor who led the Burke County militia, a claim which is contradicted by contemporary evidence. "Pleasant Gardens" McDowell was later appointed a North Carolina militia general, and served in
272-472: Was an American lawyer, soldier, and statesman from Morganton, North Carolina . His estate was named " Pleasant Gardens ", and he was nicknamed "Pleasant Gardens" Joe to distinguish him from his cousin, Joseph "Quaker Meadows" McDowell . The two men are not always clearly distinguished in historical records: both were at the 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain , one as a major leading the Burke County militia, and
289-463: Was the home of Col. John Hazzard Carson , and served as the McDowell County courthouse when the county was first organized in 1842. Built in 1793, the Carson House is one of the oldest standing structures in Marion, along with the nearby Joseph McDowell House . Large walnut logs were harvested from nearby Buck Creek to construct the massive three-story plantation house . Between 1804 and 1827,
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