Secretary and Bookcase

General Joseph Graham was the reputed owner of this imposing secretary and bookcase. Born in Pennsylvania, Graham moved to Mecklenburg County as a small boy with his widowed mother. He became a revered North Carolina Revolutionary War hero. After the war, he moved across the Catawba River to Lincoln County.  There he was an owner of the Vesuvius Furnace, a major iron producer. This secretary and bookcase has a history of having been made in Gaston County. It is typical of the large, impressive pieces created in the region and known as the “fluted pilaster group.” The maker, still unidentified, clearly catered to the elite landowners and businessmen in the area.