Gourd Patch Conspiracy to be Featured on N.C. Highway Historical Marker

A thwarted religious plot by local farmers to kill Gov. Richard Caswell in 1777 soon will be recognized with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker.

The marker commemorating the Gourd Patch Conspiracy will be dedicated during a ceremony Jan. 15 at 1 p.m., at 14189 NC 42 in Tarboro, N.C.

John Lewellen, leader of the plot, was convicted of treason, but received the state's first pardon from Caswell. By granting Lewellen clemency, historians say Caswell's act of mercy radically strengthened the office and powers of the state's chief executive. It turned North Carolina's relatively weak executive office into a station that could restore order and mete out justice in a system of checks and balances. The trial and ensuing pardon also demonstrated the state's ability to withstand tests of its newly established legal system.

When the North Carolina Constitution was written in December 1776 it did not include any state religion. Historians say a group of protestant farmers from Martin, Tyrrell, Pitt and Bertie counties opposed the state's new religious toleration policies and feared the Continental Army might ally with the Catholic powers such as France and Spain. They organized themselves using secret codes, hand gestures, and signs and met in a pumpkin patch near Tarboro to craft their clandestine plot. Lewellen planned to raid a powder magazine in Halifax and steal enough ammunition to oppose state authorities by force. Moreover, he wanted to kidnap or assassinate Caswell by timing his raid with the governor's visit to Halifax.

When Caswell did not arrive in Halifax as planned, on about July 16, 1777, 30 armed Gourd Patch sympathizers, likely headed by Lewellen, went to Tarboro and tried to seize the powder magazine there. Lt. Col. Henry Irwin and the local militia quickly disarmed and arrested the entire group. Lewellen and other key leaders were charged with treason and men who were less involved in the plot were charged with misprision of treason. Soon all the plot's members began to make sworn depositions about their knowledge of and involvement in the plot, hoping perhaps to inform on one another and thereby lessen the consequences for themselves.

Trying the Gourd Patch Conspirators was a groundbreaking test of the state's new legal system. Using depositions from several co-conspirators as well as a long list of witnesses, James Iredell, the state's prosecutor and future supreme court justice, put Lewellen on trial for his life. On Sept. 20, 1777, the courts found Lewellen guilty of high treason. His execution was scheduled for Sept. 30, 1777.

Numerous petitions were made advocating for mercy towards Lewellen. One such petition was made by Col. William Williams, an intended victim of the conspiracy, and another by Lewellen's wife Mary Lewellen, who was accompanied by intended victim and her neighbor, Nathan Mayo. Ultimately, based on the numerous petitions received, Caswell granted Lewellen a pardon, the first of its kind for the state.

For more information about the historical markers, please visit https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2024/07/10/gourd-patch-conspiracy-e-131, or call (919) 814-6625.

The Highway Historical Marker Program is a collaboration between the N.C. departments of Natural and Cultural Resources and Transportation.

About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina - its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.