Old Rowan House

According the Heritage of Rowan County, the Rowan House was built in 1772 by carpenter Joseph Atkins for Henry Hughes.  Legend has it that Andrew Jackson lived at the Rowan House while studying law under Spruce Macay and that Jackson played cards with Mr. Hughes in the basement for his room and board.  When Jackson left, he owed Hughes a considerable sum of money, but after the Battle of New Orleans, Hughes marked the bill “Paid in Full.”

Other notable guests include George Washington who stayed during his Southern Tour in 1791, while the hotel was operated by William Slaughter.  The hotel had twenty rooms, a dining room, parlor, bar, and stable that housed sixty horses.  In the 1850s, 12 additional rooms were added, and the cost of a room was $1.50 per day.  Razed in the 1950’s, Security Bank occupied the site for years and more recently, it is the site of the City of Salisbury offices.

Pub. by Theo Buerbaum, Salisbury,N.C. (no series no.)

Source: 

Brawley, James Shober The Rowan Story 1753-1953: A Narrative History of Rowan County North Carolina Salisbury: Rowan Printing Company, 1953

Brawley, James Shober  “History’s Footnotes” The Salisbury Post May 10, 1959

Heritage of Rowan County, North Carolina, Volume 1, 1991, edited by Katherine Petrucelli, Salisbury: Genealogical Society of Rowan County, 1991

Andrew Jackson
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/andrew-jackson/

Theo Buerbaum

The materials in this collection are made available courtesy of Rowan Public Library for use in research and private study. Images and text may not be used without prior permission from Rowan Public Library, Edith M. Clark History Room.

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