Martha McFarland McGee Bell Monument

Guilford Courthouse

View complete article and references at Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina at: https://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/139

Description: This monument consists of a large rectangular granite block atop a granite base. There is a plaque in the center with an inscription. The granite monument was erected in 1928 to honor the defiant Martha Bell.

Inscription:
MRS. MARTHA MCFARLAND MCGEE-BELL / 1735-1820 / LOYAL WHIG- ENTHUSIASTIC PATRIOT / REVOLUTIONARY HEROINE / WE ARE INDEBTED TO E.W. CARUTHERS / FOR THE EVENTFULSTORY OF HER LIFE / ERECTED BY / ALEXANDER MARTIN CHAPTER, D.A.R / HIGH POINT, N.C. / 1928

Dedication date: 1929

Materials & Techniques: Granite.

Sponsor: Alexander Martin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Subject notes: Martha Bell was born 1735 in what is now Alamance County, North Carolina. She married John McGee, a farmer but then remarried to William Bell after John's death. William Bell lived in Randolph County and had a mill called Bell's Mill on the Deep River. After the battle of Guilford Courthouse, Martha was confronted by General Lord Cornwallis and his men at her gritmill. She threatened to burn the mill if the British men hurt her or the property but Cornwallis promised to protect her and the mill.

Location: Faces Old Battleground Road (East)

Landscape: In the woods between Old Battleground Rd and the Visitor center.

City: Greensboro

County: Guilford

Subjects: Historic Women Figures,Revolutionary War

11 July 2014 | Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina