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Chatham County Line 7DeceMBer, 2012 – january, 2013
pittsboro’s Big Yellow House to be restored and occupiedIt was a wonderful bit of news to learn that a property that is an important bit of Pittsboro’s historic past has been acquired by new owners who intend to restore it to its original condition and make it their home. Mr. Ray Carney and his wife Janet have purchased the big yellow “Patrick St. Lawrence House” which has stood in Pittsboro since the town’s inception.
Patrick St. Lawrence originally main-tained a tavern about four miles east of Siler City, perhaps on or near the 500 acre estate of Dr. James McCarroll, a promi-nent citizen of Chatham County between 1773 and 1777. Dr. McCarroll died at the age of 43 on October 25, 1777, leaving behind his widow, Elizabeth, and 2-year old son, Thomas. Between 1780 and 1784 Elizabeth was given three grants of land by the State of North Carolina, one of which was in trust for her son.
About six years after McCarroll’s death, his widow Elizabeth married Pat-rick St. Lawrence, who appears to have taken over the administration of her affairs and was also appointed guardian to 8-year-old Thomas.
The North Carolina General Assembly was anxious to form a town near the Cha-tham Court House and in January 1787 appointed nine commissioners, including Patrick St. Lawrence, to purchase 100 acres of land north of Roberson Creek from one William Petty. They laid out 125 lots and streets surrounding a public square, which later became the location of a new court house.
During the same year the General Assembly appointed St. Lawrence to a 10 man board of trustees to establish an academy in Chatham for the education of youth. The county was selected because of its healthy climate compared to the malaria and fever laden Eastern lowlands, as well as relatively low cost provisions and accommodations.
As soon as the lots in Pittsborough, as it was then spelled, were plotted, Patrick St. Lawrence purchased the northwest corner lot overlooking the public square. This is where he built a substantial man-sion “for his bride.” A ballroom on one side of the hall could be expanded to join the two parlors on the other side by means of a hinged paneled partition that could be hoisted up and latched onto the ceiling. The entire first floor then became one massive ballroom, which also permit-ted the building to be used as an inn.
An ornate staircase was said to be constructed of imported woodwork, with massive newel posts in hexagonal shape, heavy handrails, and very sturdy balus-ters. The exterior of the house had beaded clapboard and molded sills, which suggest that it was perhaps a bit more extravagant than most of its contemporaries. The
house bore a coat of yellow paint, and stood out as a symbol of opulence.
St. Lawrence was an early member of the town’s Masonic Order and in 1790 was made a Mark Mason and a founding trustee of the prestigious Pitts-borough Academy. He seemed to be a well regarded member of the community.
Unfortunately, the substantial funds invested in constructing his grand yellow house caused both Patrick St. Lawrence and his contractor to become bankrupt. The house was put up for sale in 1798 and purchased for 720 Pounds by one of his creditors, Robert Donaldson of Fayette-ville. Chatham County Estate Records in the North Carolina State Archives show an inventory of Patrick St. Lawrence’s assets as including twelve pictures, a buffet, and billiard table — somewhat more expensive items than those owned by most local citizens of Pittsborough. The documents referring to the sale of these assets by the Sheriff of Chatham County referred to St. Lawrence as being “late of Pittsborough” which indicates that he had left town by that date. His wife Elizabeth was granted a separation by an Act of the North Carolina Assem-bly in 1800.
The late Wade Hadley of Siler City, an authority on Chatham History, found a statement regarding claims of British merchants after the Revolutionary War in the North Carolina Geneological Journal (Vol.X, No.4). It included a paragraph written by Col. John Hogan of Orange County in about 1804 which said that St. Lawrence had wasted his wife’s estate, ran away, and had died en route to the West Indies.
For many years, the area in which St. Lawrence originally lived, and the land owned by his wife Elizabeth’s deceased first husband, Dr. James McCarroll, was known as the St. Lawrence community. It had a new Post Office named for it in 1830, and the St. Lawrence Post Office address was used until November 1903.
Patrick St. Lawrence has been gone for over 200 years, but his yellow house still stands in Pittsboro, although not in its original location. In the 1920’s it was moved to a lot just south of the court house square and in 1957 the house was again moved a short distance to the south east at 205 South Street, Pittsboro, to make way for the expansion of the county
office complex.The yellow house is shown in a paint-
ing of Pittsboro done by Mrs. Annie Lutterloh Bynum when she was 92 years old. It is seen on its original site on the northwest corner of the court house square. The picture represents Pittsboro as she remembered it in the 1890’s. A copy of the painting can be found in “Since Then – A Short Illustrated History of Pittsboro North Carolina” by John Haughton London. That book can be perused but not borrowed in the Chatham County Historical Association Museum in the Court House (Wednesday, Noon–3 p.m.)
Under a succession of owners the yellow house has witnessed a cross section of Chatham life over the years. The inn must have been a popular place during Pittsboro’s Court Week, when throngs of observers and vendors came to town from all over the county. In 1806, the house hosted a three-day series of cockfights, with attendees coming from as far as Raleigh, which in those days of rudimen-tary roads, was a considerable trip.
By 1863, during the Civil War, the yellow house had become Mrs. Goldston’s Inn. Reflecting the inflated prices of the time, a room went for $7 a night, corn sold for $50 a barrel and good brandy cost $40 a gallon.
Patrick St. Lawrence house was the second house built in Pittsboro and is now the oldest surviving house in town. For years the structure stood alone on South Street, wrapped in historic memories, awaiting an uncertain fate. Now it has a
new message of hope for us, “Grow old along with me…the best is yet to come.”
Fred J. Vatter is Past President of Chatham County Historical Association and a Board Member.
Chatham’s Historical Heritage
by Fred j. Vatter, jr.
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Happy Holidays
from Chatham County
Line! This is our
Dec–Jan issue.Look for us again in
February, 2013.
