Bennett Place State Historic Site will host its annual anniversary program on Saturday, April 25, from 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. The program commemorates the surrender of 89,270 Confederate troops negotiated by Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston and U.S. Army Major General William T. Sherman. The generals met three times at James and Nancy Bennett’s farmhouse in April 1865, ultimately agreeing to what became the largest surrender of the American Civil War on April 26, 1865. Bennett Place is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites within the N.C.
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2026 Race for the Planet hosted by the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher (NCAFF) is more than your ordinary 5K, it’s an invigorating reminder of how everyone has a part in protecting the planet and this year, it’s during the 50th anniversary of the North Carolina Aquariums. Runners are invited to run with a purpose on Sunday, April 19 at 8 a.m. at Battle Acre Park and then stay a bit to celebrate at a post-run festival. The Aquarium is part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
America’s first formal call for independence, a document known as the Halifax Resolves, is coming home to North Carolina for a short time as part of the state’s commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary, Governor Josh Stein announced today. The document will be exhibited in the new visitor center at Halifax State Historic Site from April 10 through Oct. 6.
A new digital exhibit about North Carolina's first governor is now online.
North Carolina will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Halifax Resolves with “Prelude to Revolution: Halifax Resolves Days,” an immersive three-day event featuring living history vignettes, lectures, live colonial music and Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corps performances, historic trades and weapons demonstrations, a military parade, tours, and more. The event will also officially open Historic Halifax State Historic Site’s recently renovated visitor center to the public, unveiling a modern facility and a new exhibit detailing Halifax’s significant role in the state’s history.
The North Carolina State Capitol will host a free educational program titled “Built To Last: The N.C. State Capitol,” on Wednesday, March 25 from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. This interactive learning experience will explore the 19th-century trades and skilled labor that constructed the historic building from 1833-40. All activities will take place outside on the west grounds of the Capitol, rain or shine. The State Capitol is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Although the Palmer Memorial Institute (PMI), a private school for African American youth, closed its doors as an educational institution in 1971, modern students are learning new lessons at the school-turned-historic site. At the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, the legacy of the school’s founder, Dr. Brown, and her vision for PMI continue to inspire real-world opportunities for scholars. The Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The Museum of the American Revolution’s First Oval Office Project, featuring a hand-stitched replica of George Washington’s sleeping and office tent which served as the command center for the Continental Army, is coming to the Tryon Palace historic site in New Bern March 26 -28. Tryon Palace is part of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR).
Curious about Kinston during the Civil War? The CSS Neuse Museum invites the public to step back in time on Saturday, March 7, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., for “Kinston’s Civil War Experience: Homefront, Sailors, and Soldiers.” This engaging and immersive event will explore life in Lenoir County in the 1860s. The CSS Neuse Museum is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
In the ultimate battle for survival, every animal has a plan. Explore the striking ways nature fights back in “Staying Alive,” a new special exhibition showing at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences from March 14 through Aug. 23. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.