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North Carolina's Governors
Elias Carr (1839-1900), leader of the statewide Farmers' Alliance and the broader agrarian movement, exemplified the fading tradition of the planter-governor. Born in Edgecombe County, Carr attended the Bingham School, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Virginia. He prepared for the life of a planter, but the Civil War interrupted his plans. He enlisted in the Forty-first Regiment (Third Cavalry) in 1861. Nine months later he received a planter's exemption and returned home. Carr was dedicated to promoting agriculture and was elected the first president of the North Carolina Farmers' Association. He served on the first board of trustees of what is now North Carolina State University. But, the Farmers Alliance was the vehicle that cast the spotlight on Carr. Organized in North Carolina in 1887, the Alliance soon absorbed the Farmers' Association. Two years later Carr was elected president of the state Farmers' Alliance and was re-elected in 1890. A growing disenchantment within the Democratic Party between agricultural interests and those favoring business and industry threatened to split the party in 1892. Carr was the gubernatorial candidate most likely to hold the sparring factions together to prevent a Republican upset. Support of the Farmers' Alliance, along with the conservative Democratic vote, provided a comfortable margin of victory. Considering his lack of political experience and the polarized factions surrounding his administration, Carr had a successful governorship. He recommended legislation to improve the notoriously bad road system; enthusiastically supported the geological survey; and campaigned for better rural schools. Carr's ninety-nine year lease of the North Carolina Railroad to the Southern Railway in 1895 engendered massive criticism. That and the Fusionist-controlled legislature (a loose coalition of Republicans and Populists) virtually handicapped him for the last two years of his term. Carr died in July 1900 and was buried in the family cemetery on the grounds on his farm.
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