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North Carolina's Governors
John Motley Morehead (1796-1866), owner of the "Blandwood" estate in Greensboro and the first governor inaugurated in the present Capitol, presided over an era of industrial development and, after his term, promoted construction of the North Carolina Railroad. Born in Virginia, he and his parents moved to Rockingham County when he was two. Young Morehead studied at David Caldwell's school near Greensboro and entered the University of North Carolina in 1817. He completed his education by studying law with Archibald D. Murphey and set up an office in Wentworth. Morehead's political views were honed by residency in a then western county and his association with the visionary Murphey. Morehead's activity and high visibility made him the logical choice of the Whig Party which sought to continue the progressive program begun during the previous administration. Though popular enough to be elected governor in 1840 and again in 1842, Morehead found himself facing a legislature controlled by conservative Democrats. He pushed for a broad program of internal improvements but made little headway. One achievement was the establishment of a school for the deaf. The blind, whose education he also advocated, were not admitted until years later. The school for the sight-impaired still bears his name. After his terms as governor, Morehead became the state's foremost promoter of railroads, particularly the North Carolina Railroad which he served as president from 1850 to 1855. He also invested in a cotton mill at Leaksville and other manufacturing enterprises, and was on the board of trustees of the University of North Carolina. As the secession crisis mounted, Morehead favored maintaining the union and attended the Washington "Peace Conference" hoping to avert the impending conflict. With its failure, he viewed secession as an unavoidable necessity and threw his allegiance to the South. He died in Greensboro in 1866 and was interred in the yard of the First Presbyterian Church.
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