Press Releases

A North Carolina state historic site, one of only a few known surviving houses from the American Revolution that still bear the scars of the war, was recently selected to receive federal preservation grant funding.A $444,926 grant from the National Park Service Semiquincentennial Grant Program of the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) will be used to do important preservation work at the House in the Horseshoe (ca. 1770) on the Deep River near Sanford, N.C.

A North Carolina state historic site, an incubator of civil rights leaders – not only in North Carolina but throughout the world – recently was selected to receive federal preservation grant funding.A $555,334 grant from the National Park Service African American Civil Rights Grant Program awarded in June will be used for the preservation of the Tea House at Charlotte Hawkins Brown State Historic Site in Sedalia, N.C.

It’s time to get buggy with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences as they host BugFest, the largest one-day bug-centric event in the country. Satisfy all your web weaving, wing flapping, dungball rolling, creepy crawling and (of course) bug munching pursuits in one day: Saturday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. It’s free!

The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation is seeking public input on the Pisgah View State Park Master Plan. The Master Plan will be a 20-year plan that covers the entire state park, which contains over 1,600 acres spanning Buncombe and Haywood counties and is sited within the Spring Mountain range and Southern Appalachian escarpment, an ecologically significant region. Pisgah View is the 35th state park added to the North Carolina State Parks System, and the tenth state park in the mountain region of North Carolina.

Hikers soon will be able to enjoy a new stretch of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in Johnston County.Visitors are invited to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site on Friday, Sept. 15 at 10:30 a.m. Plan to arrive by 10:15 a.m., to give ample time to park a short distance away from the trailhead. Dress appropriately for the conditions: sturdy shoes and insect repellant are recommended. Light refreshments will be available before the ceremony.

The life of a prominent religious and educational leader during the late 1800s will be recognized with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker.The marker commemorating Dr. Nicholas Franklin Roberts will be unveiled during a ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 16 in his hometown of Seaboard, N.C.

A Town Hall meeting in Swansboro, originally set for Aug. 31 by the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology (OSA), has been rescheduled for Sept. 14. The meeting will be held Thursday, Sept. 14, from 6-8 p.m. at the Swansboro Area Heritage Center, 502 W Church St, Swansboro, N.C.

A notorious 1830 state Supreme Court decision often cited by abolitionists in the 1850s soon will be commemorated with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker.The marker, which will be placed in Edenton, N.C., near the site of the original offense, chronicles the outcome of State v. Mann. When the North Carolina Supreme Court overturned the conviction of John Mann, it gave the absolute right of control over an enslaved person to a slaveowner, and, by proxy, someone in temporary possession of an enslaved person.

There’s a Whole Lotta Otta at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher (NCAFF) thanks to prolific parents Leia and Quincy, a pair of Asian small-clawed otters. They welcomed two litters of three pups in less than a year. The rambunctious romp of otters is complemented by Asta and Ray, the mother-son duo who live around the corner—all told 10 otters in the Otters on the Edge habitat.

The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation recently awarded $3,025,636 in grants for 13 land acquisition projects through the Complete the Trails Program Fund. These grants will leverage more than $13 million in matching funds to help local nonprofit partners acquire land for state trails projects in nine North Carolina counties.