A thwarted religious plot by eastern North Carolina farmers to kill Gov. Richard Caswell in 1777 soon will be recognized with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker.
The marker commemorating the Gourd Patch Conspiracy will be dedicated on Wednesday, Jan. 15 on NC 42 in Tarboro.
When the North Carolina Constitution was written in December 1776 it did not include any state religion. Historians say a group of protestant farmers from Martin, Tyrrell, Pitt and Bertie counties opposed the state's new religious toleration policies and feared the Continental Army might ally with the Catholic powers like France and Spain.
They organized themselves using secret codes, hand gestures, and signs and met in a pumpkin patch near Tarboro to craft their clandestine plot.
John Lewellen, leader of the plot, planned to raid a powder magazine in Halifax and steal enough ammunition to oppose state authorities by force. Moreover, he wanted to kidnap or assassinate Caswell by timing his raid with the governor's visit to Halifax.
Lewellen was convicted of high treason and sentenced to death, but received the state’s first pardon from Caswell.
By granting Lewellen clemency, historians say Caswell's act of mercy radically strengthened the office and powers of the state’s chief executive.
