Col. John Hardee House

This is the house of Col. John Hardee, which was located at what is now the entrance to the Brook Valley subdivision off Highway 33 East, Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina. Due to the large size of Beaufort County, in 1760 the North Carolina General Assembly approved an act that divided the county, designating the western portion as Pitt County effective 1 January 1761. They appointed commissioners to erect a suitable courthouse, prison, pillory, and stocks for the new county. The commissioners included John Hardee, his son-in-law, John Simpson, and Isaac Buck. These men were neighbors of James Albritton Sr., with all of them living on the south side of the Tar River.

Col. John Hardee's house served as the Pitt County courthouse from 1761 until 1774, when they established Martinsborough as the county seat. Originally named after Royal Governor Josiah Martin, the political situation following the Revolutionary War prompted citizens to change the name to "Greenesville" after Patriot hero Gen. Nathanael Greene. They soon shortened it to "Greenville," the modern spelling. This 1920 image shows the house in a dilapidated state a few years before it was demolished. (Photo courtesy of East Carolina University Digital Collections).