STATE-WIDE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED UNDER PROVISIONS OF A LEGISLATIVE ACT PASSED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
A state-wide campaign for the purpose of raising funds to purchase and operate the Zebulon Baird Vance home in Statesville, North Carolina was launched under the provisions of a Legislative Act. The General Assembly passed a joint resolution that was introduced in the Senate by Senator Hugh G. Mitchell which provided for the creation of the Zebulon Baird Vance Memorial Commission of twenty-five members. This resolution was introduced with the endorsement of the N.C. Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
The Commission was authorized to solicit and receive donations of money or any other real or personal property to be used for the acquisition of the property in Statesville, North Carolina which was occupied by the great Statesman and War Governor Zebulon Baird Vance and preserve the same as a permanent Memorial.
The Governor of North Carolina was authorized and empowered under the Bill to appoint the Commission and to fix the date and place for holding its organization meeting. The members and officers of the Commission served without compensation.
The Vance Home was located on West Broad Street in Statesville, North Carolina and once occupied by Governor Vance and his family in 1865. Governor Vance designated the house as the temporary State Capitol during the period of time Raleigh was under the control of the Federal troops.
It was in this house in May 1865, that Governor Vance was arrested by the Federal troops under an order issued by the United States Secretary of War. He was removed from Statesville to Salisbury by the Federal troops and he was sent from there to Washington, D.C., where he was imprisoned in the Old Capitol Prison in a cell with the Governor of Virginia for a period of several months.
The North Carolina Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy at their State Convention held in Greensboro on October 21-22, 1942, adopted a resolution endorsing the movement for the State to secure the Vance home in Statesville as a State Shrine.
The Vance Memorial Committee of the local chapter of the U.D.C. was composed of Mrs. H.P. Grier, Sr., chairman, Mrs. W.A. Thomas and Mrs. W.M.Moore, in the cooperation with Mrs. John Rowe, President, North Carolina Divisionof the UDC of Hickory, North Carolina had been very active in launching the state-wide movement for the acquistion of the Vance home. All local members of the UDC were enthusiastically supporting the movement.
VANCE HOUSE WEEK PROCLAIMED
Vance House week was proclaimed by Mayor Fred Alexander as Sunday, September 2, through Saturday, September 8, 1951 as a preface to intensify efforts to complete the restoration project the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy had a formal opening of the house in Grace Park on Saturday, September 1, from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. with hostesses on duty all day showing the public what had already been done.
Mayor Alexander said in this proclamation:
"By heroic effor of Statesville chapter, United Daughters of Confederacy, and civic contributions the Vance House museum has been established. The house has been moved to Grace Park, restored to its former charm and is ready to be opened as the city's first museum. It is a pleasure for me as mayor of this city, for and on behalf of the citizens of the town to set apart the week of September 2-8, 1951, as Vance House week and I do hereby call upon each citizen to give due recognition and point with pride to this accomplishment in our city."
This historic house was the home of Gov. Zebulon Baird Vance, North Carolina's war governor and his family during the closing months of the War Between the States and it was here that Vance was captured by federal troops and taken to prison. It stood on West Broad Street and was given to the UDC by Robert Black. The house was moved and restored.
There were a number of relics of the period contributed for the museum and several othes were loaned. Those were to be catalogued and displayed to advantage and, since a caretaker lived in the house, it was to be available for the public to view at all times.
For the formal opening, Blackwelder Furniture Company furnished the rooms in period reproductions and those were to be on display throughout Vance House week, when it was hoped that the public would take advantage of the opportunity to see what had been done on the project.
During the week newspaper articles told about contributions which were made and more in detail the progress to date. On Thursday evening, September 6, Spainhour's put on a mamouth Fall Fashion Revue at MacGray Auditorium to benefit the Vance House. Complimentary tickets were available at Spainhour's and from UDC members.
Valuable prizes were awarded and contributions were received for the Vance House project. Over 1,000 invitations were mailed to UDC Chapter officers, all over the state to the formal opening and a large crowd was anticipated on Saturday.
Mrs. Bonner Knox, Mrs. E.R. Rankin, and Mrs. H.O. Steele were members of the Vance House committee working with UDC members and the Chamber of Commerce to establish the historic shrine.