Orange County Remembrance Coalition unveils historical marker honoring victims of lynching

On Feb. 15, the Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition unveiled a historical marker at the Orange County Historical Courthouse honoring Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Daniel Morrow — three men who were lynched in Hillsborough in 1869 after being accused of barn-burning.

Thomas Jefferson and Lucinda Morrow married while enslaved by Jesse Morrow in Orange County in 1848. By the late 1860s, as emancipation became realized in Orange County, the Morrows had six children.

In late July 1869, three barns were burned in Orange County — those of Jesse Morrow, who had previously enslaved the Morrow family, William Jones, whose land the Morrows had resided on and been evicted from, and Franklin Minor. The barns, which were about three miles apart from each other, were reported as being ablaze simultaneously. 

Just a few days after the barn burnings, 19-year-old Washington Morrow and 20-year-old Nelson Morrow, the eldest sons of the Morrow family, were charged and jailed on charges of arson related to the barn burnings. 

On Aug. 7, 1869, Washington and Nelson Morrow were pulled out of their cells in the Orange County Jail by a mob of about 100 Ku Klux Klan members. The mob questioned them but, no longer believing they were responsible for the barn burnings, eventually let the men go. However, as the two ran away from the klan, the klansmen shot a barrage of bullets at the men, striking Washington Morrow in his thigh. 

Nelson Morrow escaped unhurt, but Washington Morrow passed away shortly after from his injuries. 

Two months after the lynching of Washington Morrow, in October 1869, the klan attacked Thomas Jefferson and Lucinda Morrow’s home, as well as that of Daniel and Sally Morrow, Lucinda Morrow’s brother and sister-in-law, respectively. Thomas Jefferson Morrow and Daniel Morrow were dragged to nearby woods and hung from trees. Lucinda Morrow reported that a note was pinned to Thomas Jefferson Morrow’s chest reading, “All barn-burners, all women offenders, we Kuklux hang by the neck till they are dead, dead, dead.”

After spending six months in jail, Nelson Morrow was acquitted of the arson charge for burning the barns.

Now, the OCCRC is commemorating the lives of the Morrow men and enlightening the community on Orange County’s history through the historical marker, Rep. Renée Price (D-Caswell, Orange), the organization's co-chair, said.

She said the historical marker was developed in collaboration with the Equal Justice Initiative, a national organization working to memorialize victims of racial violence with historical markers throughout the United States with its Community Remembrance Project.

The unveiling ceremony featured musical performances from Brown Sugar Strings and the Jones Grove Missionary Baptist Church. Speakers included Brandon McRae, the senior digital analyst at EJI, Natalie Rodriguez, the associate director of the NC African American Heritage Commission and Glenn Hinson, a professor at UNC leading the Descendants Project. 

Sonny Kelly, the ceremony’s keynote presenter and the CEO of Legacy Heirs Productions, took on the role of Nelson Morrow during part of his speech.

“By the grace of God, I was acquitted six months later,” Kelly said, embodying Nelson Morrow. “Took me six months to get justice. Took them twenty-four hours to get they injustice from my brother’s body.” 

At the end of the ceremony, attendees moved outside and Price revealed the historical marker. The marker is situated behind the Orange County Historical Courthouse at the corner of East Margaret Lane and Court Street.

“Because of the county’s failure to act [in 1869], it’s very appropriate that the marker be on the site of the county courthouse — particularly the old courthouse, which was the courthouse that existed in 1869 — to demonstrate that the county now accepts responsibility,” Sally Greene, a member of the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, said. 

On one side of the marker, facing the Orange County Historical Courthouse, is text describing the lynching of Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Daniel Morrow. The other side of the marker, written by EJI, features information about the history of lynching in the United States. 

“I hope that through information [and] understanding, that we all can acknowledge the past as we work in the present, and to try to understand our shared history so that we have a good foundation for a brighter future where people are able to work together in unity and in community,” Price said. 

@DTHCityState | city@dailytarheel.com

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the Morrow family had resided on and been evicted from Jesse Morrow's land. The Morrow family only resided on and was evicted from William Jones' land.