Manly Law Office
By Mason Kratky and Mykalah Pettitt
Embedded Files
Introduction
The Manly Law Office is a one-room building in Pittsboro, North Carolina that is associated with Charles Manly, who served as a Governor of North Carolina in the 19th century. Although a small structure, the Manly Law Office possesses a fascinating and lengthy history involving both politics and architecture.
Exterior picture of Manly Law Office during winter.
Courtesy of the Chatham County Historical Association.
Charles Manly
Engraving of Charles Manly.
Courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of History.
Manly was born to Captain Basil Manly and Elizabeth Maultsby in Chatham County, North Carolina in 1795. He had five siblings, three brothers and two sisters. Two of Manly’s siblings have notable accomplishments; Basil Manly, who became President of the University of Alabama and was a founder of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Matthias Manly, who served as a justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court [1].
Manly was educated at William Bingham’s Pittsborough Scientific Academy, and later attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned an A.B. (Bachelor of Arts) and graduated with honors at the age of 19; later, he earned an A.M. (Master of Arts). After college, he was hired to tutor the children of John Haywood, an American Jurist and historian more well known as “the Father of Tennessee History.” Along with this work as a tutor, Manly read law with Haywood. Manly was admitted to the bar in 1816. In 1817, Manly married Haywood's niece, Charity Hare Haywood, and then settled in Raleigh, North Carolina [2]. In 1823, Manly was elected Reading Clerk in the House of the Legislature in Raleigh. He was Chief Clerk for 17 years, during which time he practiced law in Pittsboro. Manly soon after was elected county attorney. Manly joined the Whig Party in 1833 when it first formed. He was elected governor of North Carolina in 1848-1851, serving only one two-year term. He ran for another term, but was defeated in 1850 by David S. Reid, who he had previously beaten [3].
The Whigs were a party created in 1833 in opposition to the Democratic Party. They supported the government playing an active role in social life, as well as promoting a strong National Bank and protection of American industries. After gaining strong ground in North Carolina, the Whigs expanded the railroad systems and created the state public school system. Over the period of the party’s existence, many North Carolina Governors of the party were elected, including John Motley Morehead, Edward Bishop Dudley, William A. Graham, and Charles Manly. Though it was a powerful political party in the 1830s and 1840s, it lost support and disappeared in the 1850s. Most Whig party members joined the Republican party, but many Whig policies were modified by future Democratic leaders [4].
Newspaper article detailing Manly’s life and career. Courtesy of the Chatham Record.
As governor, Manly was particularly interested in helping the “insane” and mentally ill citizens of North Carolina. He worked with famous reformer Dorothea Dix as she requested aid from the state legislature to provide support for the mentally ill. He also notably helped procure the white marble used in the Washington Monument from Franklin County, North Carolina [5].
Even after graduating, Manly remained involved with his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served as secretary-treasurer on the Board of Trustees from 1821 all the way until 1869, except during his years as governor [6].
Besides his home in Raleigh, Manly had owned a small law office in Pittsboro as well as a 1,060 acre plantation that he purchased. Manly remained married to Charity Haywood their entire lives, and together they had eleven children, five sons and six daughters [7]. He was said to be a” fun-loving, gregarious person whose idol was William Shakespeare.” He enjoyed debate and acting in amateur plays at the local “improvised” theater in the Masonic Lodge [8]. Manly passed away in 1871 and is buried in Raleigh. Most of the Manly family is buried in a cemetery a few miles outside of Pittsboro. The graveyard is abandoned and on private property, so it is difficult to visit; if you can get a view of it, it is hard to recognize unless you read the markers due to how overgrown it is. Manly’s father is buried there, along with other relatives [9].
Architectural History
Picture of Manly Law Office exterior.
Courtesy of Chatham County Historical Association.
In 1842, Manly purchased land on Hillsboro Street. There, he hired George Ellington to build him a one-room building, the Manly Law Office, which was “squeezed into the first block on the east side of Hillsboro Street north of the courthouse” [10]. Manly practiced law in Raleigh, but his work frequently brought him to the court in Pittsboro; the building helped put a mark on the map and made his law practice relevant even during times when he was not in Pittsboro. Despite its small size, the office was a popular gathering place for area lawyers.
Manly sold the office and the southern part of his property to John W. Page in 1857. In 1860, it was acquired by Henry A. London [11]. The building was bought by Mrs. and Mr. Blair in 1957 and moved to the back of their property, and in 1965, they sold it to the Chatham County Historical Association (CCHA). The building currently sits north of the Masonic Lodge in Pittsboro, North Carolina [12].
The office has undergone renovations a few times to preserve it in a safer manner. Something that would be considered less historically accurate would be the popcorn ceiling, which Ms. Cindy Schmidt of the Historical Association would say is “totally 60s.” Along with this, the chimney has had to undergo renovations due to the number of times it was moved. Currently, support beams have had water damage causing the structure to bow in towards the center of the building shifting the door frames causing a leaky seal [13].
Picture of inside Manly Law Office.
Courtesy of Chatham County Historical Association.
Originally, the building was “staged” much differently than how it looks now. It is said that there were leather couches surrounding the sides and people would come to smoke cigars and drink while talking about possible help they might need [14].
Legacy
Manly was a Chatham County native and practiced law in Chatham County. Although he only served one term as governor, the accomplishment brought much pride to the small town of Pittsboro.
While the structure could have been torn down many times over its almost two-century existence, it has prevailed. The Manly Law Office has been preserved due to its significance for Chatham County History, existing at multiple different locations around the town of Pittsboro. Today, the office is used for tours to teach people about his significance both within Chatham County and across the state of North Carolina.
Drawing of done by Annie Lutloh Bynum of her memory of 1890s Pittsboro, featuring the Manly Law Office in one of its previous locations. Courtesy of Chatham Historical Museum.
Sources Cited
Sources Cited
Memory F. Mitchell, “Manly, Charles,” NCpedia, January 1, 1991. https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/manly-charles.
"Preservation Manly Law Office," Chatham County Historical Association, accessed March 22, 2022. https://chathamhistory.org/Preservation-Manly-Law-Office.
Ibid.
David A Norris, “Whig Party,” NCpedia, January 1, 2006. https://www.ncpedia.org/whig-party.
Fred J. Vatter, Jr., "Charles Manly, last Whig governor," Chatham County Line, October 2012.
"Preservation Manly Law Office," Chatham County Historical Association.
Mitchell, “Manly, Charles,” NCpedia.
Vatter, Jr., "Charles Manly, last Whig governor.”
"086 MANLY CEMETERY [D95.1] Chatham County North Carolina Cemeteries," Cemetery Census, June 8, 2021. https://cemeterycensus.com/nc/chat/
cem086.htm.Rachel Osborn and Ruth Selden-Sturgill, The Architectural Heritage of Chatham County, North Carolina (Charlotte, NC: The Delmar Company, 1991), 65.
Osborn and Selden-Sturgill, The Architectural Heritage of Chatham County, 100.
"Preservation Manly Law Office," Chatham County Historical Association.
Ibid.
Cindy Schmidt, interview by Mykalah Pettitt and Mason Kratky., Siler City, February 25, 2022.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse