Bertie County - Indian Woods Plantations

 1)Bryans of Snowfield
 2)Clark
 3)Pugh
 4)Smallwood
 5)
 6)Liberty Hall - Outlaw

Liberty Hall is a majestic but mostly unnoticed historical home located
just outside of Windsor on Indian Woods Road.  The house was once the
home of Captain Edward Outlaw and is listed on the National Register and
is being renovated.  The exterior of the house is a rare example of the
Italianate architecture and the interior is trimmed with Greek revival
woodwork.  The house was built in the 1850's by Lewis Bond. Bond and
his family moved to Tennessee and the house was sold to his sister and
her husband, Mr. and Mrs. John Peter Rascoe.  They gave the house to
their daughter, Lucy Rascoe, soon after her marriage in 1868 to Captain
Outlaw. 


Tradition maintains that a Northerner, S.L. Pennoyer, was the
contractor for the house and that it took three years to complete. 
Pennoyer is buried in the Rascoe family graveyard that is near the
house.  

Outlaw was born in 1840 in Bertie Co.  After the death of his
parents, his uncle, Col. David Outlaw, became responsible for his care. 
The colonel was a member of the legislature and was a United States
Congressman from 1848-1850.  Capt. Outlaw attended the University of
North Carolina before enlisting in the Confederate Army, serving in
Company C of the 11th NC Regiment.  He came through the war without a
scratch although it was said that he would charge the enemy at a
moments' notice.  After the war, he returned to Bertie Co. to serve as a
commissioner, a state representative, and a sheriff.  He died in 1921 at
Nags Head and was buried in his Confederate unform.  

He, his wife, and two of their 10 children are buried in the cemetery of St. Thomas
Episcopal Church in Windsor.  Liberty Hall has remained in the family
through the years.  The present owners are Carlton and Lucy Gillam of
Windsor.  She is a descendent of Captain Outlaw's wife. 

Restoration of this great house is under way, and the owners have tried to keep as much
of the original structure intact as possible.  The house has three
loors.  The first is the basement floor.  The floors on this level had
to be torn up when the renovations started.  When the floors were torn
up, a layer of plaster was found underneath.  Footprints of pigs and
dogs could be seen in the plaster, where the animals had evidently
tracked through the plaster during the original construction of the
house.  The walls on this level are brick and they serve to support the
rest of the house.  The interior of the house on the top two floors have
14' ceilings. The corner beams are all solid from the ground to the top
of the house.  The plastered walls in most of the rooms have been
knocked out, but in the hallway and around the stairs, it is still
intact.  In the hall at the entrance of the house, one can see where a
huge chandelier would have hung.  Tradition says that dances were held
in the large hallway of this house.  All of the mantels on the firplaces
in the house are original.  There are 12 fireplaces and two chimneys. 
The doors on the closets are original and inside the closets there are
still some of the hooks on which 19th century clothing hung.  The
banister on the stairway is constructed of solid walnut and is still in
excellent condition.  Work on the exterior is almost complete.  There is
a large porch on the front and one on the back. 

Near Liberty Hall is Bertie's GOSPEL OAK, a silent reminder of the days when traveling
preachers came through and members of the commuynity gathered under this
tree to hear religious sermons.  Traditional word of mouth stories about
this tree have been passed through the years.  Tradition says this tree
was also a meeting place for the Indians and the whites. 


Liberty Hall is the last remaining house in a neighborhood of six majestic homes.(The
Bryans of "Snowfield", the Clarks, and the Pugh,and the Smallwoods all had plantation homes here in Indian Woods)  The history and preservation
of this house and others like it are essential to the education and
culture of the Roanoke-Chowan area.  The house is not open to the public
for viewing, but visitors can ride by and enjoy the beauty of this old
home."
 Provided by Mollie Urquhart