The Tanner

The remains and surrounding property originally belonged to Richard Barry, whose family probably settled here in the 1750's after spending a generation in Cecil County, Maryland. Barry was the first tanner in the region, and his tannery, where he processed animal skins, stood a hundred yards to the right; ruins of its chimneys remained visible until the 1990's, giving Tanner's Creek its name. Before and during the American Revolutionary War, he was one of Mecklenburg County's most outstanding citizens and served his community, state, and nation in many ways. He is also remembered for allowing the Scots-Irish Presbyterian evangelist John Thomson to preach under a poplar tree nearby, and those outdoor worship services evolved into the founding of Hopewell Presbyterian Church, where Barry is buried in the historic cemetery. The community was once known as Hopewell, a name later honored by the nearby high school, and the Barry family property in Maryland was also called Hopewell. The ruins are the final remnants of Barry's property, including a house built about 1806 for his daughter Jane. Its surviving chimney shows a diamond black design, the only brickwork left in the county with this once popular pattern, and the foundation stones still reveal the layout of two fireplaces that would have heated two separate rooms divided by an internal wall. Efforts to preserve the building were made in the late 1870's and early 1900's, and Charlotte restoration architect Jack O'Boyte even drew blueprints for its restoration and later designed the layout for this park, but the siding and roof were too far gone. Before demolition, interior paneling and the mantelpiece for the standing chimney were preserved, and that mantel is displayed at the visitor center at Latta Plantation House in Latta Park because Jane Barry's namesake, her niece, married William Azmon Sample and eventually lived there. Barry also figured in local Revolutionary War history on February 1, 1781, when at age fifty-five he was on the east bank of the Catawba River trying to help prevent the crossing of a much larger British force under General Lord Cornwallis; after General William Lee Davidson became the first American killed that day, Barry was one of three friends who received Davidson's body and brought it back to Hopewell Church for a secret burial.

Huntersville, North Carolina · United States