Gov. John Motley Morehead

This article concerns the nineteenth-century governor John Motley Morehead. For his grandson, the twentieth-century businessman, chemist and philanthropist, see John Motley Morehead III.

John Motley Morehead (4 July 1796 - 27 August 1866) was Whig governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1841 to 1845. He is known as "the Father of Modern North Carolina."

Born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Morehead moved to Rockingham County, North Carolina at the age of two.

Morehead graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1817 and trained as a lawyer. He served in the North Carolina General Assembly for several sessions and was the first governor inaugurated in the new State Capitol.

During his term in office, (Morehead belonged to the Whig Party) he supported the new public school system, the extension of railroad lines, the improvement of rivers and harbors, and the construction of waterways and turnpikes. Governor Morehead was instrumental in raising private funds for a railroad line to accompany $2 million provided by the legislature. For his efforts, Morehead was elected president of the North Carolina Railroad.

In 1861, he represented the state at a conference to avoid war. With the failure of the conference and the secession of North Carolina, Morehead served in the Confederate Congress. Morehead died in 1866 and is buried in Greensboro, North Carolina.