North Carolina Historic Sites

North Carolina is home to a dazzling number of preserved historic sites that have been continuously captivating residents and visitors' imaginations. These sites have played a role in directing North Carolina to its present and the state government has been doing their best to preserve each structure up to smallest artifact, for today's visitors and future generations to see.

One such site is the Alamance Battleground in Burlington, where an army of farmers called "Regulators" have formed a revolt against their royal governor William Tryon in 1771. The Regulators' lack of leadership, organization and adequate ammunition had to their loss. Nevertheless, the battle was a very important account, being a stark display of the commoners' dissatisfaction to the form of leadership that is being portrayed by the British colonizers. The battle field, marked by a granite memorial, has been preserved for the visitors to see. A short DVD presentation called "Alamance" is also available for viewing in the visitor’s center. Octobers in Alamance commences the Colonial Living Week, an event perfect for educational field trips wherein visitors can figure out more of the colonial-era through living history demonstrations.

The history of the Reed Gold Mine in Midland started out as an accident after farmer John Reed's son found a large yellow rock in their farm one Sunday in 1799. Without any knowledge what this 17 pound-rock is, they used it as a doorstop on their house until a Fayetteville jeweler identified the nugget and bought it for a very cheap amount. The following year, John Reed partnered with three local men, opened the land and started digging for gold and unraveled more of their projected treasure. The Reed Gold Mine is the first documented discovery of gold in the United States. To date, the the mine's underground tunnels have been restored for guided tours and visitors can take a look at exhibits of gold and historical mining equipment. Other events in Reed Gold Mine include the Halloween event, "The Bloody Reign of the Mad Miner" and the Christmas event, "A Golden Christmas."

Lovers of literature have been finding The Thomas Wolfe Memorial in Asheville a very significant place. Thomas Wolfe is a significant contribution in American literature. The novels "Look Homeward Angel" and "Of Time and the River" immortalized the Victorian structured boarding house where Wolfe spent his childhood, which he referred as "Old Kentucky Home" but would then eventually transformed into the writer's place of memorial. The house was constructed in 1883 by Erwin E. Sluder. In 1949, eleven years after Thomas Wolfe's death at a young age of 38, his brothers and sisters sold the house to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Association and opened it to the public as a house museum.

Other important historical landmarks in North Carolina include Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace in Waterville, Town Creek Indian Mound in Mt. Gilead, Stagville in Durham and Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo.