Manuscript Location

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library

Place of Origin

United States ➔ North Carolina ➔ Lenoir

Date of Composition

1806-1808

Description

William Lenoir (1751-1839) was a Revolutionary War hero and a North Carolina politician, who served in the North Carolina state legislature from 1781 to 1795, as Speaker of the North Carolina Senate from 1790 to 1795. William Lenoir was married to Ann Ballard (1751-1833). The couple had nine children. Their comfortable home, built by Lenoir between 1788 and 1792, was named Fort Reliance after a Revolutionary War fort of the same name. Descendants of the Lenoir family occupied the home until 1961. The house has since been restored to its state when William Lenoir and his family occupied it, and is operated as a historic site. 

Compiled between 1806 and 1808, the William Lenoir's Distilling Book contains recipes as well as instructions for building a still enclosure. The book is part of the library's collection of the Lenoir Family papers. It is located in Subseries 3.1.4, Folder 289 of the finding aid to the papers.