Governor of North Carolina
On 26 April 1764, through family connections, he obtained the position of acting lieutenant governor of the Province of North Carolina. He arrived in North Carolina with his family, including a young daughter, as well as architect John Hawks, in early October to find that the previous governor, Arthur Dobbs, had not left. He said that he would not be leaving until May. Tryon found himself with no income (although he was Lieutenant Governor). In 1765, a house called Russelborough on the Cape Fear River near Brunswick Town was renovated to serve as Tryon's residence while he acted as Lieutenant Governor. Tryon assumed his position as acting governor when Dobbs died on 28 March 1765. On 10 July, the King promoted him to governor.
After assuming the office of governor, Tryon worked to expand the Church of England in North Carolina. There were only five Anglican clergy members in North Carolina at that time. Tryon pushed for the completion of abandoned construction projects of Anglican churches in Brunswick Town, Wilmington, Edenton, and New Bern. Tryon appointed members of the clergy for these churches and encouraged the construction of new churches, especially in rural areas.
There was a strong opposition in North Carolina to the Stamp Act of 1765. When the Stamp Act Congress was held, the colonial assembly was not in session, and hence delegates could not be selected to this congress. Tryon refused to allow meetings of the Assembly from 18 May 1765 to 3 November 1766 to prevent the Assembly from passing a resolution in opposition to the Stamp Act. Tryon said that he was personally opposed to the Stamp Act and that he offered to pay the taxes on all stamped paper on which he was entitled to fees. Tryon requested troops to enforce the act, but instead he was informed on 25 June 1766 that the act was repealed.
Tryon composed plans for an elaborate governor's mansion, which would also function as a central location for government business; Tryon worked with Hawks during 1764 and 1765 to draw up plans for an elaborate home for himself. In December 1766, the North Carolina legislature authorized ₤5,000 for the building of Tryon's mansion. Tryon told the legislature that the sum was not substantial enough for the plans he and Hawk had created; building it "in the plainest manner" would cost no less than ₤10,000 without including the outbuildings he envisioned. Hawks agreed to supervise the construction for three years and went to Philadelphia at Tryon's behest to hire workers; Tryon said native North Carolina workers would not know how to construct such a building. Tryon was able to convince the legislature to increase taxes to help pay for the project. The unpopularity of the new taxes spawned the derogatory nickname 'Tryon Palace'. In 1770, Tryon moved into the completed mansion. The house was "a monument of opulence and elegance extraordinary in the American colonies."
Although he accomplished some notable improvements in the colony, such as the creation of a postal service in 1769, Tryon is most noted for suppressing the North Carolina Regulator uprising in western North Carolina during the period from 1768 to 1771. The uprising was caused partly by taxation imposed to pay for Tryon Palace at New Bern (which Tryon made the provincial capital) and partly by tax abuse and fraud by western officials. Matters came to a head in May 1771, when colonial militia defeated 2,000 Regulators in the Battle of Alamance.
Following the battle, Tryon ordered the execution of seven alleged Regulators, convicted by Judge Richard Henderson. Most of the men were accused of violating the Riot Act, a crime temporarily made a capital offence by the General Assembly. The executed men included James Few, Benjamin Merrell, James Pugh, Robert Matear, "Captain" Robert Messer, and two others. Six other convicted Regulators – Forrester Mercer, James Stewart, James Emmerson, Herman Cox, William Brown, and James Copeland – were pardoned by King George III and released by Tryon. The Regulator uprising is viewed by some historians as a precursor to the American Revolution. Tryon then raised taxes again to pay for the militia's defeat of the Regulators.
Tryon's governorship ended, and he left North Carolina on 30 June 1771. Tryon Palace was reconstructed in the 1950s using the original architectural plans drawn by John Hawks.
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