Charles
Manly was born in Chatham County in 1795, son of Basil Manly and
Elizabeth Maultsby. After graduating with honors from the
University of North Carolina in 1814 at the age of 19, he was
hired as a tutor for the children of John Haywood of Raleigh.
Manly also read law with Haywood and was admitted to the bar in
1816. In 1817 he married Haywood’s niece, Charity Hare Haywood,
and settled in Raleigh.
Manly
was elected reading clerk in the House of Commons in 1823 and was
chief clerk for seventeen years. He also practiced law in Pittsboro,
for soon after coming to the bar he was elected county attorney and
must have traveled from Raleigh to discharge these duties, staying
with his sister Louisa Thompson. Manly was elected Governor of North
Carolina in 1848, serving one term.
Manly was a
devoted supporter of his alma mater, serving as
secretary-treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the University of
North Carolina from 1821 until 1869, except for his years as
governor. He died in 1871 and is buried in the City Cemetery in
Raleigh.
Governor
Manly’s Law Office
In 1842 Manly
purchased land near what is now SunTrust Bank on Hillsboro Street,
hiring local craftsman George Ellington to build a one-room
structure that tradition holds is the same building now standing
north of the Masonic Lodge in Pittsboro. Manly called his office
“Fort Snug,” and it became a meeting place for area lawyers. He sold
the property in 1857, and the building was eventually moved to the
back of a lot on Salisbury Street owned by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Blair.
In 1966 the
newly-formed historical society voted to accept the building from
the owners, and to
move and restore it as part of the county’s bi-centennial
celebration, using furnishings loaned by Harvey Gunter, former
Pittsboro resident and a benefactor of the Manly office. The
structure has since been maintained by CCHA and serves as a small,
but fine example of a nineteenth century office.
The structure
was repaired and repainted in 1995 under the direction of Wayne
Kirts and in 2006 as an Eagle Scout project directed by Reid
Montgomery. In 2007, with the aid of a generous grant by Harvey
Gunter, the Manly Law Office was fitted with period-appropriate
green shutters. Painstakingly painted by Jane Pyle and Nancy
Simons,
and installed by Doug Cordaro and Carl Bigness—all CCHA
volunteers—the shutters give the office a more finished look. New
curtains made by Judith Peterson complement the exterior
improvements.
As with all
old structures, the Manly Office requires periodic maintenance and
repairs. On the CCHA agenda for 2009 are plans to replace the “tin”
roof of the structure with a cedar shake roof that is likely to more
closely approximate the original. Also needed are repairs to rotting
sills under both doors.
The Manly Law Office needs a steward—a
docent-housekeeper to open the museum and be present on First
Sundays and for tours, someone who would sweep
and dust periodically; in short, a mother-hen. The Masons mow
the grass but do not prune the boxwood or shrubbery or keep the
weeds off the sidewalk.
A really dedicated volunteer could research nineteenth-century
detached law offices and make plans for a more authentic
restoration.
Donations to support the ongoing maintenance of the Manly Law
Office and grounds are gratefully received.
To volunteer
write to us athistory@chathamhistory.org Contributions can be made at the
museum or by mail sent to CCHA, PO Box 93, Pittsboro NC 27312.
Help Received
In December, thanks to a kind
benefactor, the Charles Manly Law Office roof was
replaced with cedar shingles. Not only does this repair
a roof in need, it is made of material more authentic to
the period.
Manly
was elected reading clerk in the House of Commons in 1823 and was
chief clerk for seventeen years. He also practiced law in Pittsboro,
for soon after coming to the bar he was elected county attorney and
must have traveled from Raleigh to discharge these duties, staying
with his sister Louisa Thompson. Manly was elected Governor of North
Carolina in 1848, serving one term. 
move and restore it as part of the county’s bi-centennial
celebration, using furnishings loaned by Harvey Gunter, former
Pittsboro resident and a benefactor of the Manly office. The
structure has since been maintained by CCHA and serves as a small,
but fine example of a nineteenth century office. 
Simons,
and installed by Doug Cordaro and Carl Bigness—all CCHA
volunteers—the shutters give the office a more finished look. New
curtains made by Judith Peterson complement the exterior
improvements.
