1855-1879

This artilleryman and ordnance officer came to Fayetteville in 1838 to direct the construction of the federal arsenal in Haymount. He oversaw the development of the arsenal for more than a decade, served as its commander and was credited with politicking in Washington to preserve the antebellum installation.

Bradford developed what is known as the Belmont area of Haymount, and Bradford Avenue was named for him.

At the start of the Civil War, Bradford hauled down the Stars and Stripes when the arsenal was surrendered to the Confederacy in May 1861, as the "Fayetteville Arsenal and Armory" soon began manufacturing guns for the rebel cause. He resigned from the U.S. Army and died as a Confederate officer.

Bishop Hood's top hat and Bible are displayed at the Orange Street school museum.

James Walker Hood, a black man from Pennsylvania who was largely self-educated, reportedly delivered his first abolitionist speech at age 15.

Hood founded the first Masonic lodge for blacks in the state, in New Bern; is credited with supervising the building of more than 500 churches in the state; played a major role in the state's Reconstruction-era constitutional convention of 1868; and was the assistant superintendent of education for North Carolina, in charge of the black schools.

Hood served as pastor of Evans Metropolitan AME Zion Church in Fayetteville and for more than 40 years as a bishop. Longtime Fayetteville residents recall his stately and distinctive house, which stood at the corner of Moore and Ramsey streets.

His story is emblematic of that of many young officers who served the Confederacy and later played major roles in the community.

Charles Wetmore Broadfoot left the University of North Carolina during his junior year to serve in the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry; served as an aide starting in 1862 to his uncle, Lt. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes, with whom he helped to organize the North Carolina Reserves; and was chosen lieutenant colonel of the 70th Regiment (First Junior Reserves), which he led at the Battle of Bentonville in 1865.

After the war, he was a well-regarded lawyer, served as a schools trustee and state legislator and for many years as the dean of the Cumberland County Bar. His son, Charles W. Broadfoot Jr., was a longtime clerk of court.

From 1825 to 1865, he was the owner, publisher and editor of The Fayetteville Observer, taking over the newspaper that had been established in 1816 and growing it to become the largest-circulation paper in North Carolina before the Civil War.

Edward Jones Hale's imprint is significant in many ways: in journalism, with his wartime newspaper providing a comprehensive source of battlefield news and serving as a strong voice for the Confederate cause with readership throughout the South; in politics, as a founder of the Whig Party in North Carolina before the war; and through his family, with his son E.J. Hale II going on to become a Confederate officer and postwar editor and diplomat.

After Gen. William T. Sherman's army destroyed the Observer in March 1865, E.J. Hale moved to New York and established a book-printing company; his son E.J. II re-established the Observer in 1883.

This son of noted black businessman Matthew N. Leary and Juliette Leary gained prominence during Reconstruction as blacks were finally allowed to play major roles in politics and public life.

John S. Leary was the second black man licensed as a lawyer in North Carolina and was the first dean of the law department at Shaw University.

During a 15-year period after the Civil War, he served as a Fayetteville city alderman, a state legislator, a school board member and a delegate to the Republican National Convention.

He moved to Charlotte in the 1890s and practiced law there until his death.