Elected to Serve: North Carolina's Governors

Podcast

From pirate encounters during colonial times to today’s budget concerns, North Carolina’s foremost leader has always faced challenges. Learn about the twists and turns of nearly 300 years of a lively gubernatorial past in the exhibit Elected to Serve: North Carolina’s Governors at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. Admission is free.

In the exhibit Elected to Serve, see campaign buttons and
other political memorabilia from past gubernatorial campaigns.

Elected to Serve explores how governors have shaped our state and improved Tar Heel life in areas such as agriculture, industry and education. The exhibit also highlights the contributions of several first ladies to North Carolina. Additional sections focus on political campaigns, voting and inaugural traditions.

Numerous artifacts, photographs and portraitsrange from a 1775 North Carolina $5 bill with an image of Tryon Palace to the first ticket sold in 2006 for the N.C. Education Lottery, supported by Gov. Mike Easley. A selection of Inaugural Ball gowns, always popular with visitors, includes the 1893 silk dress created for First Lady Eleanor Carr and the satin gown that First Lady Mary Easley danced in at the 2005 Inaugural Ball.

Gov. and Mrs. Dan K. Moore greet the crowds on
Inauguration Day, Jan. 8, 1965.

Sixty-six governors have led the state of North Carolina, and dozens more presided over the colony before statehood. “Some have made us proud, some have made us angry, and some have made us laugh, but all have worked to make North Carolina a better place,” says RaeLana Poteat, associate curator at the N.C. Museum of History.

Their accomplishments are endless. For example, Gov. Zebulon Vance led the state during the turbulent Civil War years, and O. Max Gardner started programs to help Tar Heels survive the Depression. In the mid-1900s, Kerr Scott brought electricity and phone service to rural North Carolinians and improved roads to “get the farmer out of the mud.” Gov. Terry Sanford initiated the first state-level antipoverty program in the nation, and Gov. James Martin recruited new industries that brought approximately 500,000 jobs during his term from 1985 to 1993. The efforts of these educators, soldiers, farmers, businessmen, lawyers and others have left strong legacies that continue to affect North Carolinians.

Elected to Serve highlights the roles of several first ladies who supported causes. First Lady Fannie Yarborough Bickett, for instance, appeared with her husband before the N.C. legislature in 1920 to promote woman suffrage. During World War II, Alice Broughton supported the war effort by opening the Executive Mansion to house soldiers and by growing a Victory garden on the mansion grounds. Education was a top priority of Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., and First Lady Carolyn Hunt helped develop a statewide reading initiative and volunteered regularly in reading programs.

Whatever 2009 brings for North Carolina’s first woman governor, Beverly Perdue, she will have a long legacy on which to build. Be sure to see Elected to Serve, and discover how the contributions of former governors have enriched the Old North State.

For more information about the N.C. Museum of History, call 919-807-7900.

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