According to Sylvia Render, prominent businessman Dr. Edward J. Lilly (1813-1890) "let Charles enjoy what was considered the finest collection [of books] in the community-most of it imported from England and Scotland" (19). Dr. Lilly's home still stands today on Morganton Road almost directly across from the former site of Confederate statue at the intersection of East and West Dobbin.
Multiple hotels have stood at the corner of Hay and Donaldson Streets. Though no hotel stands here now, the current office building, built in 2000, features an homage to one of the earlier buildings. The historical record especially focuses on the Hotel Lafayette, which existed in two different incarnations on the site.
One of 40 National Historic Landmarks in North Carolina, the Market House is one of the more unique buildings in the state. Modeled after similar buildings in England, it was built in 1832 on the same spot where the former statehouse had once stood (this burned down in a great fire in 1831, which destroyed other buildings in the city). As its name indicates, the building served as a market; local farmers sold their produce and meat on the ground floor under the arches. The upper floor was used as the town hall until 1907. It seems that space houses a small museum or is available to rent for meetings. The Market House is also known as a place where slaves were sold up through the Civil War (slaves were sold at the destroyed statehouse as well).
George Haigh, who would go on to own the Fayetteville Observer, owned a bookstore on the northwest corner of market square during the time that Charles Chesnutt lived in Fayetteville. Chesnutt often visited Haigh's store to talk, debate, and read. It was here that Chesnutt received some of the frankest advice on race and the South.
Clarendon House stood on this space during the late 19th century and was the residence of Emil Neufeld, a young German immigrant who tutored Charles Chesnutt in the language. Currently, the location features smaller storefronts and the Fascinate-U Children's Museum, which occupies the former city hall building. During Chesnutt's time, Clarendon House was flanked by print shops, barbers, and small grocers.
Evans Metropolitan was founded by Henry Evans, "the son of free Negroes from Virginia, a shoemaker by trade, and a licensed Methodist preacher. En route to Charleston, S.C., about 1780, he stopped in Fayetteville. Dismayed by the depravity of the slave populace, he decided to stay and preach" (Rives). Evans remained in Fayetteville until his death in 1810.
The plot contains the graves for Andrew Jackson Chesnutt, his second wife Mary Ochiltree, their children, and other extended family members: all relatives of author Charles Chesnutt. Parking is available along Ann Street or Lamon Street. The burial plot is in the section of the cemetery known as Brookside, which was built for African American burials following the Civil War.
Andrew Jackson Chesnutt, the father of author Charles Chesnutt, returned to Fayetteville from Ohio in 1866 and set up "business in a grocery store in Gillespie Street between the Market House and Russell Street" (Helen Chesnutt 4). As of the publication of an 1885 Sanborn Fire Insurance map, most of Gillespie Street between Franklin and Russell Streets was either vacant or occupied by livery stables, so it stands to reason that the grocery store existed between the Market House and Franklin Street.
The likely location of the childhood home of Charles W. Chesnutt and the inspiration for the home in his novel "The House Behind the Cedars."
Andrew Jackson Chesnutt, the father of author Charles Chesnutt, was living here at the time of his death in 1920.
In 1877, North Carolina selected Howard as the location of a training school for "colored" teachers. These teachers would fill the faculties of rural schools for recently freed slaves in the aftermath of the Civil War. State Colored Normal School would ultimately relocate to its Murchison Road location in 1908 and become Fayetteville State University in 1969.
Ezekiel Ezra Smith served as the head of State Colored Normal School (now Fayetteville State University) from 1883 until 1933. His home on Blount Street, built in 1902, was within walking distance of the school until the campus was moved to Murchison road in 1909. The building has recently been renovated by the City of Fayetteville.
Home of the in-laws of author Charles W. Chesnutt. Chesnutt lived here from 1878 to 1880 with his wife Susan immediately following their marriage.
The likely location of the farm once owned by Andrew Jackson Chesnutt, father of author Charles Chesnutt. The farm is now on industrial-zoned property that borders the Cape Fear River. Access is likely limited and any sightseeing is inadvisable. Charles Chesnutt himself never actually owned the property but did live here during his youth.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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Author Charles Chesnutt’s journals from 1874 to 1882 draw a picture of a restless young man of mixed race who spent much of his time in Fayetteville seeking an education both formal and informal. This tour highlights locations which were important to Chesnutt's life in Fayetteville during those years.
