RALEIGH – When the presents are unwrapped and paper discarded, when the family like the turkey has been overly stuffed, when the last carol has been sung, the last holiday movie viewed, it’s time to escape. Luckily, there are 27 state historic sites and seven history museums across North Carolina which will be open most of the holiday season that offer free or low cost family fun. The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources offers destinations statewide.
Whether staying close to home or day-tripping, mountain or coast, delightful diversions are waiting. Among N.C. State Historic Sites in the east, most will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1. Visit www.nchistoricsites.org to view details of each site’s theme. Lots of holiday fare of colonial America will be found at Historic Bath, Historic Edenton, and Historic Halifax. Somerset Place illustrates ante-bellum North Carolina. The colonial Roanoke Island Festival Park will be closed Dec. 24 through 27, and Jan. 1, while the colonial Tryon Palace will be closed Dec. 25, 26 and Jan. 1.
Civil War historic sites in the east also will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and closed Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1. These include Bentonville Battlefield in Four Oaks, Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson in Winnabow, CSS Neuse/Gov. Caswell Memorial in Kinston, and Fort Fisher in Kure Beach. The 1900s Aycock Birthplace in Fremont also honors these hours. North Carolina’s pride of World War II, the Battleship North Carolina, in Wilmington, will be open every day, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Christmas Day, when the hours are noon to 5 p.m.
Also in the east, the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, will be open for regular hours except Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1; it is closed on Mondays. The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. except on Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1; it is closed weekends. The N.C. Maritime Museum at Beaufort will be open regular hours except Dec. 24-27 and Jan. 1. The N.C. Maritime Museum at Southport will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1; it is closed Mondays. Get maritime museums details on at www.ncmaritimemuseum.org.
In the Piedmont, historic sites will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1. Town Creek in Mount Gilead has additional hours of Sundays, 1-5 p.m., and Alamance Battleground in Burlington is open additionally on Mondays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The State Capitol is open those Sunday and Monday hours as well. The other piedmont sites are Bennett Place, Duke Homestead, and Historic Stagville, all in Durham; Charlotte Hawkins Brown Memorial in Sedalia, and House in the Horseshoe in Sanford.
The N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh will be open except for Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1. The museum will be open until 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve as part of the City of Raleigh First Night celebration, which requires a fee. The Knights of the Black Flag exhibit on pirates will be open until 10 p.m. that night, and closes permanently Jan. 3. The Museum of the Cape Fear in Fayetteville will be open regular hours but is closed on Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1.
In the west, the historic sites are closed Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1, and otherwise are open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This includes the Thomas Wolfe Memorial in Asheville, Vance Birthplace in Weaverville, Fort Dobbs in Statesville, Reed Gold Mine in Midland, Horne Creek Historical Farm in Pinnacle, James K. Polk Memorial in Pineville, and the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer. The Thomas Wolfe Memorial and the N.C. Transportation Museum are also open Sundays 1-5 p.m. The Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort is closed Dec. 24-27 and Jan, 1. The hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the museum is closed Sundays.
For additional information call (919) 807-7389 or (919) 807-7385. The Division of State Historic Sites and the Division of State History Museums are agencies of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural and economic future. Information is available 24/7 at www.ncculture.com.