Press Releases

RALEIGH, N.C. – Born into slavery in Raleigh in 1803, Lunsford Lane worked industriously, started a business, and eventually bought his freedom. He also lectured to abolitionist groups and authored a memoir. The achievements and contributions of Lunsford Lane will be recognized with a N.C.

The sounds of artillery and musket fire will once again ring out at Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site. The annual summer artillery living history program will be held Saturday, Aug. 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The Division of Parks and Recreation (Division) is seeking public input on the Elk Knob State Park Master Plan. The Master Plan will be a twenty-year plan that covers the entire state park, which contains over 4,200 acres spanning Watauga and Ashe Counties. The park is sited within the Amphibolite Mountains, an ecological hotspot of global significance.

Spying is sometimes known as the world’s second oldest profession. Nineteenth century notions about a woman’s place and capabilities set the stage for hundreds of women to become spies during the American Civil War. “Beautiful Deception” is an exhibit at the CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center through January 2020 about some fabled Civil War era spies.

In the summer of 1755, a company of soldiers began construction of Fort Dobbs to protect the western frontier of the colony of North Carolina. A full-scale replica of that fort will open 264 years later, Saturday and Sunday, Sept.21-22, in Statesville.

The Algonquin Tennis Club was formed in 1922 in Durham to give aspiring African American tennis players a place to meet and play.

Governor Roy Cooper signed bills into law this month authorizing a new state park and three new state trails. The new laws (S.L. 2019-74, S.L.

Secretary Susi Hamilton of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources issued the following statement after learning of the death of Phil Freelon:
 

The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which manages the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, requests the public’s help in locating a missing historical marker. The marker was located at US 70 at Eno River bridge northwest of Hillsborough. It identified Hart’s Mill, which was located outside of present-day Hillsborough and was the site of a large, well-publicized meeting of Regulators opposed to British rule in 1766.

Take a break from the backyard barbecues and beach volleyball to savor history and nature this July 4 weekend.