Moonshining in Burke County: The Career of N.C. ABC officer Fred Hennessee

Long before the European settlers arrived, the western North Carolina area was inhabited by the Catawba and Cherokee Indians. In 1752 Moravian Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenburg came to North Carolina in search of land for Moravian settlement. His travels led him into the western part of the state where he made the first written description of what later became Burke County.

On June 1, 1777 the North Carolina General Assembly passed an act dividing Rowan County. Lands to the north and west became Burke County, named after Thomas Burke, then a representative in the Continental Congress. In October 1784, in a Newbern session, the General Assembly appointed a commission to lay out the town that would become Morganton. Their work appears to have been completed in the summer of 1806. The town was named in honor of Daniel Morgan who was considered to be a hero in the Revolutionary War.

The origin of illegal moonshining really began in England in 1659 when the first homemade liquor tax was enforced along the border of Scotland and in Ireland. Homemade liquor was often a way of life for these families as well as a source of additional income. When the Scot-Irish began settling in Pennsylvania and piedmont North Carolina, they brought their whiskey making skills with them. New North Carolina tax laws spurred unreported distilling practices and facilitated the career of the revenuer.

Tax laws could not be strictly enforced in the mountains of North Carolina and whiskey became the prime money crop of country farmers. Moreover, the tax was highly resented. The distilling of spirits from corn was the only way farmers in Western areas of Pennsylvania and North Carolina could profitably sell their surplus corn crops. This dislike of liquor taxes led to the Whiskey Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania, one of the first challenges to the new Federal government.

Hikes in taxes on spirits were supported by tea-totalers and evangelical abstainers. Hence, liquor taxes were often known as "sin" taxes. The tax on whiskey would come and go through the years, the tax often being more than the retail cost of the product. Revenuers were often unwilling to venture back in the mountains to look for moonshiners due to the fact that it frequently lead to skirmishes.

Fred Hennessee was born in Morganton on March 9, 1926. He attended Morganton High School, but never graduated. He joined the Navy at age 17, and served in the Pacific in WWII. After returning home Hennessee operated a grocery store at Lake James and owned a service station. During this time he married Mary Louise Rose and had two daughters.

In 1961 Hennessee began his law enforcement career as a Morganton city police officer. Later, he joined the Burke County sheriff's department, rising to deputy sheriff. In 1968 he became an officer for the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board, where he worked for the next 20 years. During those years as an agent, he spent most of his time hunting, seizing, and destroying illegal stills. It was very involved work, often requiring that he and his fellow officers spend hours looking for stills after a tip off. They would frequently go undercover, lying in wooded areas for long periods of time watching the stills, gathering proof of their operating status and ownership. Hennessee was quite the character, often being greeted at suspects' homes by curious children and referring to himself as "Uncle Fred" so they would not know he was with the ABC. His personal index records indicate 153 seized and destroyed stills during his career.

Some other aspects of Hennessee's career involved doing undercover work for neighboring counties, working with ABC stores to protect bank deposits, and liquor license enforcement on local night clubs. The latter often involved not taking a shower for several days and washing his mouth out with whiskey to be a believable customer.

Towards the end of Hennessee's career, his work as an ABC officer began to change with the growing presence of other controlled substances such as marijuana. The marijuana fields were often full of trip wires and traps to harm officials. Hennessee cited this change as contributing to his decision to retire in 1988. He felt moonshiners were most often the kind of people you could sit down and have dinner with, men just trying to make ends meet. The people involved in the sale of drugs were the true criminals.

After retirement, Hennessee continued to participate in the Burke County Law Enforcement Officers Association. In August 1988 he received the Long Leaf Pine Award. This is the highest civilian honor for service in North Carolina given by the governor.

Hennessee passed away on March 27, 1997. The scrapbook collection was created by Fred and passed on to his daughters after his death. The collection's condition was fair upon its delivery. Much of the biographical information about Hennessee's life and career was provided by his daughters and brothers as well as the Sheriff John McDevitt.

Sources:

The Burke County Historical Society. Burke County Heritage - North Carolina. Winston Salem: 1981, pp. 1-9.

The News Herald. "Moonshining: Family Tradition for 304 Years". Morganton: October 25, 1963, pp. 1,3.

The News Herald. "Retired ABC Officer helps revamp cave". Morganton: June 1, 1989, pp. 1C.

Hennessee family: Sharon, Margaret, Carl, Ervin - friend: Sheriff McDevitt

9 March 1926

Born in Morganton, North Carolina

ca. 1940-43

Attended Morganton High School

ca. 1943

Left school to join the Navy during WWII, serving in the Pacific

ca. 1945-59

Operated a grocery store at Lake James. Owned a service station in Morganton.

1948

Married Mary Louise Rose

ca. 1960-64

Entered law enforcement, beginning as a Morganton city police officer and then becoming a Burke County deputy sheriff

1964

Became a ABC officer in Burke County, still discovery near Icard, NC

September 19, 1967

Liquor still destroyed near Valdese, Mountain Springs Rd.

January 3, 1968

Still discovery near Linville River

January 9, 1969

Still under construction discovery off Linville Church section

February 2, 1970

Liquor raids in Burke County

April 9, 1970

Still discovered and destroyed in the Sunnyside section off old Highway 18 south.

13 October 1970

1964 Pontiac car seizure (liquor in trunk) belonging to Harry Conley

1971

Still discovery in Hildebran, North Carolina

21 February 1972

Glen Alpine still discovery

17 January 1973

Still discovery on Warlick Chapel Road, Burke County, North Carolina

26 October 1981

Discovery of a still in barn off U.S. 64 South

1988

Retires; receives Long Leaf Pine Award in August of that year

June 1989

Helps restore a former moonshine cave as a tourist attraction

27 March 1997

Died in Morganton, NC at the age of 71.