Press Releases

The Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum at the Palmer Memorial Institute State Historic Site is excited to announce its slate of holiday programs for the 2021 season. Starting the first week of December, the Visitor’s Center will be open to the public and staff will have children’s craft bags available along with a story walk featuring “The Nutcracker in Harlem” by T. E. McMorrow with illustrations by James Ransome. Staff will also be giving candlelit holiday-themed tours of the campus on Saturday, Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

 By December of 1756, Fort Dobbs was complete. Its garrison of 50 North Carolina soldiers prepared to spend the first of many winters in the building as they guarded the western edge of settlement in the British colony during the French and Indian War. 

Join the State Capitol and Governor Roy Cooper for the return of the annual tree-lighting tradition on Thursday, Dec. 9! The festivities will begin on Capitol Square at 5:30 p.m. with holiday music performed by the Raleigh Concert Band. The governor, Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Reid Wilson and other dignitaries will make their way to the South grounds at 6:15 p.m. to officially begin the ceremony. The lit tree will be visible the length of Fayetteville Street.

 ‘Tis the season! The holidays are fast approaching, and we invite you to begin your season festivities with us at Somerset Place State Historic Site during our 31st Annual Christmas Open House Sunday, Dec. 5, from 1-4 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. 

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary D. Reid Wilson and Department of Administration Secretary Pamela B. Cashwell will visit Town Creek Indian Mound State Historic Site Tuesday in Honor of American Indian Heritage Month, which is celebrated in November. The site, a significant Native American archaeological location, is located in Montgomery County near Mt. Gilead.  The Department of Administration acts as the business manager for North Carolina state government.

 A local historical group’s swift adoption of technology and social media promotion of its programming has been rewarded. The Southport Historical Society will receive the 2021 Albert Ray Newsome Award from the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies. The Southport Historical Society was chosen for its quantity and variety of high-quality virtual and hybrid programs since March 2020.

We are very excited to announce that on Nov. 5, Somerset Place will open a new traveling exhibit, "Navigating Jim Crow: The Green Book and Oasis Spaces in North Carolina.”

A pastor who wrote a key eyewitness account of 1898 Wilmington Coup soon will be recognized with a new North Carolina Highway Historical Marker in Wilmington. The marker honoring the Rev. J. Allen Kirk, who was a leader in the African American community in the port city, will be unveiled on the anniversary of the coup. Kirk was pastor of the prominent Central Baptist Church, now known as Central Baptist Missionary Church, the oldest African American church in Wilmington.

The state’s highest civilian honor, the North Carolina Award, will be presented to nine distinguished North Carolinians Thursday, Nov. 18, at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Governor Roy Cooper will present the award.    The award was created by the General Assembly in 1961 to recognize significant contributions to the state and nation in the fields of fine arts, literature, public service and science.   

The North Carolina Arts Council has awarded the