Williamsboro or Williamsborough is an unincorporated community in

Vance County, North Carolina Vance County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,578. Its county seat is Henderson. Vance County comprises the Henderson, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included ...

, United States. It was established in about 1755 as Williamsborough in

Granville County Granville County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,992. Its county seat is Oxford. Granville County encompasses Oxford, NC Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

in the

Province of North Carolina Province of North Carolina was a province of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712(p. 80) to 1776. It was one of the five Southern Colonies, Southern colonies and one of the Thirteen Colonies, thir ...

. It became part of Vance County in 1881 when Vance County was founded. Williamsboro is located in Williamsboro Township, which is an administrative division of Vance County.

History

The town of Williamsborough was established by Nathaniel Williams and his wife Elizabeth Washington. They were the parents of

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

, who served in the Continental Congress and as a judge on the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Judge John Williams donated the land where the town was built and it was named after him in 1779. Williamsborough served as a temporary capital of North Carolina between the summer of 1781 and February 1782, after the capture of Governor Thomas Burke during the American Revolution. Williamsborough was original called "Lick" because it was a watering hole for cattle and then "Nutbush" because of the nearby creek with that name. The town grew up along the east-west and north-south stagecoach lines. The Nutbush Address was given by George Sims on June 6, 1765. Sims was from Nutbush. This address was a protest about provincial and county officials and the fees they charged residents of Granville County. This later led to the

Regulator Movement The Regulator Movement, also known as the Regulator Insurrection, War of Regulation, and War of the Regulation, was an uprising in Province of North Carolina, Provincial North Carolina from 1766 to 1771 in which citizens took up arms against colo ...

in North Carolina. When the

Raleigh and Gaston Railroad The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad was a Raleigh, North Carolina, based railroad opened in April 1840 between Raleigh and the town of Gaston, North Carolina, on the Roanoke River. It was North Carolina's second railroad (the Wilmington and Weldon Rai ...

was built in 1840, it bypassed Williamsborough. This, along with the end of slavery after the U.S. Civil War and the demise of plantation life, led to the decline of the town of Williamsborough. The town has been known as Williamsboro since 1893. There was a post office from May 14, 1879 to February 15, 1909. The first postmaster was John E. Haithcock. There is also a Williamsborough Township in Vance County, North Carolina. This township is a rural, non-functioning county subdivision of Vance County that was created to conform to the North Carolina Constitution of 1868. Historic sites in or near Williamsboro include: * Belvidere historic plantation, built in 1850 * Bingham School, the first armed forces academy, was built in 1826 by Captain D. H. Bingham in Williamsborough. It served for a short time as a training school for military officers. * Burnside Plantation House, originally built in 1800 * Pool Rock Plantation, built in 1757 * St. John's Episcopal Church (Williamsboro, North Carolina), built in 1757 and the oldest frame church in North Carolina

Geography and demographics

Williamsboro Township is bounded by Townsville Township to the north; Dabney and Henderson Township to the south; John Kerr Reservoir, Middleburg Township, and Warren Township to the east, and Granville County to the west.Map of Vance County

References

* {{authority control Towns in North Carolina Towns in Vance County, North Carolina