Person's Ordinary

Person's Ordinary is a one-and-one-half-story frame building in Littleton, North Carolina, that began as a roadside tavern. Its eastern portion, with a large stone chimney serving corner fireplaces, was probably built before the American Revolution. About 1800 a western section with a second stone chimney was added, along with Federal-style interior alterations. Inside, a modified Quaker plan, wainscoting and mantels of transitional Georgian-Federal design survive. The inn belonged to Thomas Person, a wealthy landowner who led the state's Radical faction, opposed centralized government, and helped win the charter of the University of North Carolina. It appeared on a 1770 map and served as the last coach stop between Hillsborough and Halifax. After Person's death in 1800 it passed to his adopted nephew William Person Little, who kept the tavern into the 1830s; the village took the name Littleton from the Little family. Later owners included the Mosby family and the local school trustees. Restoration work was carried out by the Littleton Woman's Club.