Anne Hooper Plaque Dedication

Behind every great man…

Hillsborough is extremely proud to be the site of the grave of North Carolina’s greatest patriot, William Hooper, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In fact, the town has been so proud of this site that when Guilford Courthouse arranged to have Mr. Hooper’s body exhumed and re-interred in their battlefield park, town leaders supposedly negotiated a compromise where some of his body and the original marker would be returned to Hillsborough.

However, another famous Hooper lived on Tryon Street and is buried in the Old Town Cemetery: Anne Hooper, William’s wife. Anne was as involved in Revolutionary politics as a woman of her time could be. Not only did she support her husband by maintaining their farm and caring for their children so he could go to Philadelphia for the Continental Congresses, she also wrote letters to the governor and other political figures in attempts to influence policies.

At the time of her death, Anne was living in the house (two doors down from the Museum) known today as the Nash-Hooper House. Accordingly, she was most certainly buried either with her husband or beside him. This placement was – and still is – the standard. This site in the Old Town Cemetery is also the resting spot of their grandson. Orange County historian Mary Claire Engstrom maintained that the property belonged to the Hoopers and not the town in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Yet, no marker or monument exists in the OTC to commemorate her life.

We will remedy this oversight on March 14.

Representatives from the national Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Sheryll Albert, a local descendant of the Hoopers, and local historians will make presentations. Refreshments will be provided by local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution. And a wreath will be laid at the burial site.