ohio
Town Tuesday: Twin Chimneys 1768
Another one of Hillsborough’s oldest homes. ~Vic

Historic American Buildings Survey
February 1965
Twin Chimneys, so named for the paired chimneys in each gable end, is sited on a hill on West King Street, directly across from the Colonial Inn and the Parks-Richmond House […]. An iron gate from Stewart Iron Works in Cincinnati, Ohio, separates the house from the pedestrian traffic of the sidewalk. [It] is reputedly a pre-Revolutionary house, however, the exact date of construction is not known. It is important to note that a house is sited at the exact location on the 1768 Sauthier Map of Hillsborough but, it cannot be assumed that the houses are the same.



Photo Credit: Pinterest
This is a most delightful old house, with four huge chimneys and a second-floor balcony, from which a view of the busy thoroughfare, King Street, may have been enjoyed down through the years. The lot on which it stands was once owned by Edmund Fanning.
It is interesting to know that this house was the setting for the old romantic novel, “Joscelyn Cheshire.” According to the story, the heroine concealed her lover in the attic to protect him from Cornwallis’ army. The house served at one time as Hillsborough’s Post Office.
Archibald DeBow Murphey was a North Carolina politician known as the “Father of Education” in his state for his proposals that benefited public works and public education. [Murphey] died at Twin Chimneys in Hillsborough on February 1, 1832. He is buried at the Presbyterian Church […]. The town of Murphy, North Carolina (despite its spelling) was named after him.
Additional Information & Sources:
Twin Chimneys Photos (Library of Congress)
National Register of Historic Places Inventory (PDF) (North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources)
Twin Chiimneys (Open Orange NC)
Joscelyn Cheshire Full Text (Project Gutenberg)

National Ohio Day

November 2 has four celebrations. Today is National Ohio Day and recognizes the 17th state to join the U.S. Nicknamed the Buckeye State, Ohioans also claim Birthplace of Aviation (North Carolinians dispute this, good-naturedly) and The Heart of It All. It’s largest city, Columbus, is also its capital and, apparently, it is the only state with a State Rock Song.
Admitted to the Union on March 1, 1803, it’s name is taken from the Ohio River which is a Seneca word, Ohi:yo’, meaning “good river”. Ancient remains indicate cultures going back as far as 13,000 BC and, one in particular, the Pre-Columbian Adena, left behind the Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, a U.S. National Historic Place & Landmark. Known tribes were the Petun, the Erie, the Chonnonton, the Mingo Seneca, the Lenape, the Shawnee and the Iroquois Confederacy. All native tribes were eventually removed either by request, payment or, eventually the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
Ohio is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the Armstrong Air & Space Museum, the Loveland Castle and the Marblehead Lighthouse on Lake Erie.
Notable Ohioans/Buckeyes:
Tecumseh – Chief of the Shawnee (March 1768 – October 5, 1813)
George Armstrong Custer – Officer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876)
Phoebe Ann “Annie Oakley” Mosey – Sharpshooter (August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926)
Wilbur & Orville Wright – Inventors (Wilbur…April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912) (Orville…August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948)
Charles Milles Maddox Manson – Murderer (November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017)
Extensive List of Other Buckeyes
Also celebrated:
National Deviled Egg Day (Yum!)
National Jersey Friday (First Friday in November)
National Broadcast Traffic Professional’s Day (Observed on November 2 unless it falls on a weekend, then the following Monday)
Ending the post with, of course, Ohio’s State Rock Song:
Cheers and enjoy!
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