Tory vs. Whig…Loyalist vs. Patriot…Neighbor vs. Neighbor…the Revolutionary War goes by many names. The scars of this personal and complicated war can still be witnessed at House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site. Come experience the American Revolution during the 237th anniversary of the House in the Horseshoe Battle Re-enactment Aug. 4-5.
Topics Related to Living History
Duke Homestead celebrates North Carolina’s food history and culture July 14 at “Pork, Pickles and Peanuts: Tastes of North Carolina.” This free, fun family event focuses on everything that makes the state taste great with the highly competitive and extremely tasty annual Barbecue Cook-Off and Pie Competition from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Food, fun, special events and history will take over the town during the Kinston BBQ Fest Saturday, May 5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition to classic cars and barbecue, see some of the period physician’s tools at a free medical program at the CSS Neuse.
The meeting of opposing generals inside the humble parlor of James and Nancy Bennett was a small part of making peace and ending the Civil War. Why did the negotiations take days longer than those at Appomattox? How did the ending impact black and white civilians, the free and enslaved? What role did the cavalry play? These are among questions to be explored Saturday and Sunday, April 21-22, at Bennett Place State Historic Site in Durham.
Surveyor, soldier, statesman, governor – Richard Caswell served North Carolina in many capacities and the Richard Caswell Memorial State Historic Site reopens April 7 with a celebration, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Damage from Hurricane Matthew led the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to temporarily close the Vernon Avenue site in October 2016.
From earlier days at Palmer Memorial Institute, visionary women shaped the institution into an elite preparatory school for African Americans that closed in 1971. Now functioning as the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, some of these women will be featured in “Leading Ladies of Palmer Memorial Institute” with tours March 3 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Fort Dobbs State Historic Site will offer a glimpse of the harrowing days of the Anglo-Cherokee War Feb. 24-25. The Cherokee had been allies of the British when the French and Indian War started in 1754, but tensions quickly spiraled into hostilities. The soldiers at the fort and local settlers were attacked by dozens of warriors in a confusing night time skirmish Feb. 27, 1760.
On a guided campus tour of Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum visitors will learn of notable personalities who have ties to Palmer Memorial Institute, the former incarnation of the museum. In its heyday in the 1940s and ’50s, Palmer was a unique private school for African Americans. The Feb.
Were 18th-century pirates literate? What sort of books did they keep on board ship? A fascinating new discovery at the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab in Greenville helps answer those questions.
While there are many followers of Jack Sparrow and his ship Black Pearl, of Pirates of the Caribbean fame, history lovers can follow the evolution of the flesh and blood pirate Blackbeard, and his flagship Queen Anne’s Revenge.