Hillsborough, NC — In a poignant ceremony on February 15, 2025, the Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition (OCCRC) unveiled a historical marker at the Orange County Historic Courthouse. This marker commemorates Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Daniel Morrow, three Black men who were victims of racial lynching in 1869.
The Morrows’ tragic story began in July 1869 when three barns in Orange County were simultaneously set ablaze. Washington and Nelson Morrow, the eldest sons of Thomas Jefferson and Lucinda Morrow, were arrested on suspicion of arson. On August 7, 1869, a mob of approximately 100 Ku Klux Klan members forcibly removed the brothers from the county jail. While Nelson managed to escape unharmed, Washington was fatally shot. Two months later, in October 1869, the Klan targeted the Morrow family again, abducting and lynching Thomas Jefferson and his brother-in-law, Daniel Morrow. A chilling note pinned to Thomas Jefferson’s chest read, “All barn-burners, all women offenders, we Kuklux hang by the neck till they are dead, dead, dead.”
The unveiling ceremony featured musical performances by Brown Sugar Strings and the Jones Grove Missionary Baptist Church choir. Speakers included Brandon McRae of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), Natalie Rodriguez of the NC African American Heritage Commission, and UNC professor Glenn Hinson, who leads the Descendants Project. Sonny Kelly, CEO of Legacy Heirs Productions, delivered a powerful keynote, embodying the voice of Nelson Morrow to recount the harrowing events.
The marker, situated at the corner of East Margaret Lane and Court Street, serves as a testament to the county’s acknowledgment of its past. Sally Greene, a member of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, emphasized its significance: “Because of the county’s failure to act [in 1869], it’s very appropriate that the marker be on the site of the county courthouse… to demonstrate that the county now accepts responsibility.”
This dedication is part of a broader initiative by the OCCRC, in collaboration with the EJI’s Community Remembrance Project, to memorialize victims of racial violence and educate the community about its history. Rep. Renée Price, co-chair of the OCCRC, expressed hope that this marker will foster understanding and unity: “I hope that through information [and] understanding, that we all can acknowledge the past as we work in the present… for a brighter future.”
For more information about the lives of the Morrows and the OCCRC’s ongoing efforts, visit their official website.
