What’s in a Name?: The Regulator Bookshop

The name of The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, North Carolina, is “a reference to obscure local history,” explained Tom Campbell, co-owner of the bookstore with John Valentine. “In the 1760s in this part of North Carolina, there was an uprising against the colonial government, which was based near the coast. In this part of the state there were just small farmers, and the corrupt colonial officials were stealing people’s farms for nonpayment of taxes.”

According to Campbell, these officials were largely demanding payments in cash, but people living out on the frontier used a barter system, not cash, so many ended up losing their farms.

“These farmers called themselves the Regulators because at first they were naively petitioning the state’s governor for better regulation of these corrupt colonial officials, but the governor responded to their petition by calling out the troops,” he said. “There was a battle about 15 miles from here in which the governor’s troops faced a bunch of ragtag farmers.”

At the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771, the governor had to order his troops, who were also mostly farmers, to fire three separate times, shouting, “Shoot them! Shoot them, by God, or shoot me!” Ultimately, the soldiers obeyed orders, Campbell said, and the rebellion was put down. In the aftermath, some of the Regulators were hung in Hillsborough, which is about 10 miles from Durham.

“When we first opened the store in 1976, no one really knew very much about the name,” said Campbell. “We thought it was local, historical, a bit obscure, and rebellious, and we liked all of those connotations. Lately the Regulator name has become much more popular — there’s now a Regulator Brewing Company in Hillsborough.”

But even today, 40 years since the bookstore’s founding, the name’s rebellious connotations still provide an accurate reflection of its objective.

“When Regulator Bookshop first started out, we had a certain political and social orientation, which was probably even more pronounced back then, because we were carrying books on feminism and social change that weren’t widely available. We were one of the only alternatives around here at the time,” Campbell said.

“We still certainly do have that same social and political orientation.” And in an oblique reference to North Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2, which he and many of the state’s other indie booksellers have spoken out against, he added, “It’s rebellious just being an independent bookstore in North Carolina these days.”

In addition to its reflection of an aspect of local history, Campbell appreciates The Regulator name for the story he gets to tell.

“There is still a fair amount of local people who don’t know where the name comes from,” he said. “And we get a lot of people from out of town as well, so we do get asked about the name a good amount, and it’s kind of fun to tell the story.”