The signers said that Great Britain had pushed the colonists to unite and use force to protect themselves from the government, and that they would continue to resist until Britain and America could reconcile under constitutional principles, “an event we most ardently desire.”
“This predates the Declaration of Independence by over a year, which is something I think we can be proud of,” said history and political science instructor Christopher Thrasher of Fayetteville Technical Community College.
The signing of the Cumberland Association and Liberty Point Resolves was a part of the long-simmering revolution among the American colonists, Thrasher said. “Revolution was not an overnight process,” he said. “It’s something that took a lot of build-up, and this document is part of that build-up, in my opinion.”
People in other communities signed similar documents or otherwise shifted toward revolution before the Declaration of Independence was signed, Thrasher said.
“There were lots of people that were taking lots of steps early on,” he said. “There’s a reason why those representatives gathered to write the Declaration of Independence. They didn’t all just wake up on July 4 and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got an idea.’ There was this long, gradual process that took a number of years. And I think our Resolves, our Cumberland County Association, was one of the groups that was kind of doing that.”
The exact location of the signing is lost to history, Thrasher said. Today, Liberty Point in Fayetteville is where Person Street and Bow Street meet downtown to form a point-shaped intersection. There, in a tiny park, a stone marker with the names of the signers notes the history.
Liberty Point is across the street from where Saturday’s ceremony at First Presbyterian Church will be held.
“It’s just a very important part of Fayetteville history that sometimes gets lost,” said David Mann of the local Sons of the American Revolution chapter. His group and others hold a commemoration annually.
Cumberland County invites the public to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Cumberland Association this Friday and Saturday.
Saturday’s event includes public speakers, a procession of people in Revolutionary War era clothing, a color guard, a reading of the names of all 55 signers, a wreath presentation, and other activities, Mann said.
The commemoration is presented by the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Children of the American Revolution and the Lafayette Society, according to a public service announcement.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at [email protected].
Did you find this story useful or interesting? It was made possible by donations from readers like you to the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation so CityView can bring you more news and information like this.
Paul Woolverton joined CityView in November 2023 following more than 30 years with The Fayetteville Observer. In his free time, Paul performs and volunteers with the Sweet Tea Shakespeare community theater troupe in Fayetteville.
