Hillsborough, North Carolina, USA

Last night in Saxapahaw for a while. Today, took my parents to Hillsborough, another place brimming over with history and culture. The modern town of about 6,000 people dates back to the mid-18th century, and it was also the site of Occaneechi Town before that. The Eno tribe lived in the area for a time, as did what is now known as the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. Though the Eno were apparently absorbed into the Catawba and probably other groups, the latter still live in North Carolina. In fact, they're having a pow-wow in nearby Burlington next weekend. How cool is that?

We had lunch at the Gulf Rim Café and chatted briefly with one of the proprietors, Joe Tullos, orginally from -- if I got it right -- Paroisse de Saint-Jean-Baptiste or St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. We tried a delicious Cuban pork sandwich, a shrimp sandwich and a couple of other items, all excellent. Plus, they carry Abita beer from Abita Springs, Louisiana! Mr. Tullos, who runs the Gulf Rim with his wife Andrea, is also a musician, a singer-songwriter.  Here's a link to their website: www.gulfrimcafe.com

Hillsborough, a de facto capital of North Carolina during the American Revolution, was seized by General Charles (Earl) Cornwallis' army for a time; and Loyalist David Fanning launched a surprise attack on it late in the war, capturing the Whig governor and his retinue and hauling them off to Wilmington after a sharp fight. Not the kind of thing that Americans now like to boast of, anymore than they do about the British-Canadian-Indian capture of Detroit during the War of 1812!  Fanning eventually went to Charleston, South Carolina, then to Saint Augustine, Florida until it was transferred back to Spain after the war, then on to Nassau in the Bahamas, and then to New Brunswick, Canada. It's always fascinated me what happened to the Loyalists after the war.

There's an interesting article on him by by Robert S. Allen in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Here's a snippet: Tough, wiry, plagued for a time by scald-head or tetterworm, Fanning was a stubbornly determined man who was a zealous and often brilliantly effective loyalist military leader. He was not a gentle man nor was he that type of philosophical loyalist, exuding refinement and contentment, who sat out the war in relative comfort in New York, Charleston, or England. Fanning fought tenaciously, fiercely, and sometimes cruelly against his ex-friends and neighbours, and his successes made him unpopular with the privileged loyalist “nabobs” of New Brunswick.

Overall, Hillsborough is a jumble of houses and other structures, many dating back to the 19th century, on hilly, wooded ground above the Eno River. Seems like a perfect place for artists and writers, which is probably why Annie Dillard, Lee Smith, Hal Crowther and Allan Gurganus all live there, at least part time.

Today's Rune: Defense.