The House in the Horseshoe, also known as the Alston House, is a

historic house A historic house generally meets several criteria before being listed by an official body as "historic." Generally the building is at least a certain age, depending on the rules for the individual list. A second factor is that the building be in ...

Glendon, North Carolina Glendon is an unincorporated community in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. History Glendon sits at an altitude of 301 feet above sea level. It was originally known as Fair Haven. Residents of the community changed its name to Glen ...

in Moore County, and a historic site managed by the

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is a cabinet-level department within the state government of North Carolina dedicated to overseeing projects in the arts, culture, and history within the borders of the state. The cur ...

' Historic Sites division. The home, built in 1772 by Philip Alston, was the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

between

loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

under the command of David Fanning and

patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

militiamen under Alston's command on either July 29 or August 5, 1781 (the date being unclear in available records).William H. Thompson Jr.,"House in the Horseshoe", ''Encyclopedia of North Carolina'', William S. Powell, ed. (UNC Press, 2006) The battle ended with Alston's surrender to Fanning, in which Alston's wife negotiated the terms with the loyalists. In 1798, the home was sold to Benjamin Williams, who would become

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

from 1799 to 1802, and again in 1807–1808. Williams owned approximately 103 slaves and produced about 300 acres of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

annually at the site of the house. The Moore County Historical Association purchased the home in 1954, and ownership was then transferred to the state in 1955. The property was made a North Carolina Historic Site in 1971. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1970. The property is now used as a museum and as the site of Revolutionary War reenactments and living history demonstrations each year.

References

External links

North Carolina State Historic Sites pageNorth Carolina History Project, "House in the Horseshoe"
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Houses completed in 1772 Museums in Moore County, North Carolina Historic house museums in North Carolina Museums established in 1971 North Carolina State Historic Sites Plantation houses in North Carolina Protected areas of Moore County, North Carolina 1772 establishments in North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Moore County, North Carolina Houses in Moore County, North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-museum-stub