The North Carolina Museum of History

This post is a bit of a throwback! Join me as I share my story of traveling to North Carolina over the December holiday break of 2019. I visited two state museums during my stay. This blog post focuses on the first.

The day after Christmas I boarded a plane for my first solo international flight. After dating my partner for over a year, I was headed on my first visit to his home state: North Carolina. He had spent the holidays with his family and I was excited to meet them.

I got up in the wee hours of the morning to start my journey at the Halifax Stanfield Airport. After some delays from Halifax, running through the labyrinth that is the Toronto Pearson Airport then to find out that my connecting flight had been delayed anyways, eventually I boarded a small plane to Raleigh, North Carolina. Flying is not my forte. I’ve never been lucky when it comes to flying, but my first glance at North Carolina started to make me feel like I’d finally caught a break.

The Appalachian Mountains that I saw from the plane over North Carolina. There are dozens of mountains (if not more) that seem to never end. I had never seen anything like it before! — Wow, look at those mountains! They’re is part of the Appalachian Mountains, which spans through several states and into Canada.

After having some time to relax from the stresses of flying and meeting my partner’s wonderful family who hosted us, we did some exploring!

Of course, for me exploring often includes some history related adventures. And North Carolina certainly has lots of history. What better spot to delve into the state’s history than the North Carolina Museum of History?

The outside of the North Carolina Museum of History in the winter. — Here’s the outside of the museum!

Plaque at the front of the North Carolina Museum of History. On top is a statue of a clothed wolf, which represents Sir Walter Raleigh (the namesake of Raleigh, North Carolina where the museum is located). — The entryway of the North Carolina Museum of History. The wolf represents Sir Walter Raleigh. The English writer and explorer is the namesake of North Carolina’s capitol city.

About the Museum:

First of all, I have to note that this museum is free! That’s right, FREE! Providing free museum admission to the public allows education to be more accessible for all, and I must commend the state of North Carolina for putting this level of funding into their state museums. On top of that, the museum is a Smithsonian affiliate!

The NC Museum of History has three floors, two of which are open to the public (elevators are available).

The first floor houses the main exhibition, “The Story of North Carolina”. It is the largest exhibition the museum has ever produced. The exhibition is a permanent part of the museum. Across the hall is the entry and gift shop. The second floor is filled with offices (aka staff only).

The third floor has smaller and/ or temporary exhibits, such as “Quilt Speak: Uncovering Women’s Voices Through Quilts” and “Toy Boom! Toys from the 1950’s and 60’s”.

Today’s coverage will sadly only include the main exhibition. As it took hours to go through, we didn’t make it upstairs, however there’s still TONS to cover!

A floor plan map of the North Carolina Museum of History. — My well loved map of the NC Museum of History.

About “The Story of North Carolina” Exhibition:

“The Story of North Carolina” is a chronological exhibition which spans from the state’s early peoples to almost the present day, from about 14 000 years ago to the 20th century. The museum prides itself on providing hands on experiences, meaning that the exhibition is filled with interactive artifacts and models. On top of this, there are plenty of interpretative plaques, diagrams, stories and perspectives from a wide scope of historical characters.

A map of "The Story of North Carolina" exhibition. — Map of “The Story of North Carolina”!

There’s no way that I can go into detail about every part of the exhibition. It took my partner and I more than 3 hours to explore. However, I’ll give an overall summary of the exhibition and parts I found notable. This will result in some parts of the main exhibition being left out, but also means that there’s more to uncover for yourself!

“The Story of North Carolina” is split into 12 different subsections:

An Ancient People
Establishing Settlements
A Rough Frontier
Building Community
Unrest and Revolution
Forging a New Nation
Providing for Family
Living Together
North Carolina in Crisis
Hope, Fear, and Freedom
Into the Modern Age
An American State

Rather than pointing out each of these sections individually throughout this post, I have decided to divide the exhibition by overarching themes.

Indigenous Life

“The Story of North Carolina” starts of with a look at indigenous life. I personally don’t feel that “An Ancient People” is the most appropriate name for this section of the museum. It implies that these customs are archaic or or no longer exist. From another perspective, the term may be meant to be respectful to the rich and enduring history of indigenous people in North Carolina.

As a Canadian, one thing that abruptly stood out to me was the wide use of the terms “Indians” or “American Indians”. These are not politically correct or acceptable terms to use in Canada. Currently, the state of North Carolina has deemed the use of “American Indian” as an appropriate term to address indigenous groups in an overarching manner, but it must be recognized that not all individuals necessarily accept the usage of this term. The term “American Indian” or “Indian” will be used in this blog post only to refer to parts of the exhibition due to its use in the Museum. More than anything, it is important that we respect how people identify themselves and how they would like their stories shared.

Artwork of an "Indian House" on a panel outside of a recreation of an "Indian House". — Artwork outside of the remodeling of an “Indian House”.

The exhibition demonstrates what everyday life was like in North Carolina before colonization, from describing housing, food, roles of family members and traditions. As colonial powers came to the area, impacts on life are shared.

Rather than segregating history into groups of people and their experiences, the NC Museum of History intertwines their stories chronologically. This is a wise choice. Everyone’s experiences make up the historical narrative of the state, and it would be an injustice to confine any group to one part of the museum.

A plaque stating "The arrival of Europeans changed everything". — The shift to colonial history in “The Story of North Carolina”.

Colonialism and Immigration

The next three sections of the exhibition deal with immigration, establishing communities and the challenges groups faced with cohabitation.

First detailing the histories of indigenous groups in North Carolina before colonization, the narrative then moves to their interactions with Europeans, political instability and rebellion, pirates and shipwrecks, European and African immigrants, and the mix of customs and culture that came with these interactions.

Violence, Forced Migration and Slavery

On the topic of immigration and culture sharing, it’s important to recognize that many of these relationships were not positive. Interactions with European settlers also meant hostilities, loss of resources, deaths, and enslavement of Indigenous people.

When their populations declined due to this inhumane treatment, those of African descent were forced to migrate from either Africa or other colonies to be used as slaves. Slavery and racism are some of the biggest recurring topics throughout the exhibition.

Plaque and artifacts on "Eastern and Piedmont Indians". — Groups settled in North Carolina influenced each other’s cultures, from food, farming, clothing, artwork, traditions, and technology.

Pirates and Plundering

Wait Kirby, did you also mention pirates?!

Turns out, North Carolina has a deep connection to piracy. Blackbeard, the infamous pirate, not only visited the state but even lived there for extended periods. Other well-known pirates such as Anne Bonny also passed through the area.

North Carolina had very loose laws when it came to piracy. This leniency made North Carolina an attractive place for pirates to plunder or hide out.

The "Blackbeard flag". It is a black flag with a skeleton who has horns. The skeleton is holding an arrow that pointed at a red heart. The heart seems to be dripping. — The flag pictured is known as the “Blackbeard Flag”, though it is disputed if Blackbeard actually used this particular style of flag.

War of Independence

Political instability was not only caused by pirates, but by a growing tension between the British Crown and Americans.

The War of Independence, which early Americans (in 13 colonies) fought against the British to shift from a colony to a country is one of the most celebrated parts of American history. Covering political unrest, battles, key figures and groups, “The Story of North Carolina” reflects on the state’s role in creating a new nation. America won it’s independence, but remained divided as a society.

Racism Continued

Though the war and years afterwards were exciting for many who had gained newfound freedoms, not everyone was treated equally. Like many American Indian groups, the Cherokee were targeted by Indian Removal Acts.

These policies were created to force the Cherokee off their lands, often with threats of violence. After North Carolina implemented a new state constitution in 1835, the Cherokee were forced to take the infamous “Trail of Tears” west, leaving their homes and resulting in the deaths of many on the rough journey.

Another group that did not share in these freedoms was the African American community. Slavery continued to be used under the guise of labour demand and economic prosperity. The exhibition includes stories of African Americans who resisted, rebelled, escaped or helped others escape slavery.

An example of slave quarters in historic North Carolina seen at the North Carolina Musuem of History. — An example of slave quarters. Often these houses were overcrowded, including one main room and a loft.

Life in 19th Century North Carolina

The focus of the exhibition takes a turn after this to everyday life. Included are the types of homes, chores, jobs, clothing, roles and general lifestyle of a North Carolinian in the 19th century. Themes like education, agriculture, transportation and the Tar Heels all tie these smaller, everyday details together.

A typical 1830's farm layout in North Carolina. The map has a main home, several buildings, including a barn, chicken house, shed, and a kitchen. A garden and Tabaco crop can be seen. At the North Carolina Museum of History. — A typical 1830’s North Carolina farm.

My boyfriend Seth milking a fake cow. — Try your hand at milking a cow!

An example of a 19th century home in North Carolina. It is very small, with a fireplace and some equipment downstairs. This includes a loom and sewing equipment. The upstairs is where household members would sleep. — An example of a 19th century home.

This section of the museum stresses that families had to be jack-of-all-trades before industrialization boomed. As manufacturing developed through the 19th century, previous inventions were improved on for mass production.

For example, before 1850 there were not left and right shoes! Both shoes were made to be exactly the same. Shoemakers would use straight wooden cutouts to make both the left and right shoe.

By the time the Civil War had started, shoes had begun to be made by new machines rather than by hand, which meant that they were produced faster and more efficiently.

American Civil War

North Carolina was actively involved in is the American Civil War. From 1861 to 1865, the American colonies were split in a fight between the Confederacy (southern states) and the Union (northern states).

Though there are often several motivations for war, the central cause of the Civil War was the disagreement about the enslavement of African Americans. Generally speaking, the Union wanted African Americans to be freed while the Confederacy wanted to continue practicing slavery.

When Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election in 1860, he promised to prohibit slavery. Refusing, the Confederacy withdrew from the United States. North Carolina eventually seceded to the Union, who won the war.

Acknowledging its past as a Confederate state, the museum features not only confederate flags, uniforms, and stories of battles, but faces North Carolina’s painful history of racism. The Story of North Carolina shares multiple perspectives of the war and the struggles of a divided people.

A warning that the next two images contain artifacts related to racism, including a confederate flag and a KKK mask. If this may be triggering to you, please skip the next two images.

A confederate flag at the North Carolina Museum of History. — A Confederate flag.

Though the Union won, racism did not come to a stop in North Carolina. Following the end of the Civil War, the Jim Crow laws were instated. These laws legalized and further normalized racial segregation. Racist groups like the KKK terrorized and murdered minorities.

A handmade KKK mask from historic North Carolina. — A KKK mask.

Industrialization and Innovation

Afterwards, the exhibition transitions to the modern era. Industrialization helped bridge the gap to the 20th century. The Story of North Carolina puts advertising and inventions front and center.

Some examples of how North Carolina influenced innovation. — Did you know that Pepsi Cola was created in North Carolina?

An outhouse that looks like Shrek's outhouse. — I found Shrek’s outhouse! Haha.
North Carolina was instrumental in an education campaign the warned people about sanitation issues surrounding privy use. This campaign helped to eliminate widespread diseases like typhoid and hookworm.

While speaking of inventors, there’s no mistaking that the Wright Brothers deserve a spot in the limelight. They flew the first plane in North Carolina, making the state known as the “first in flight”.

A video playing of the Wright brothers flying a plane on a beach. — The Wright Brothers section of the museum. where a film is shown of the Wright Brothers flying a plane on a beach.

World Wars

Like many places in North America, the state made its own contributions to fighting in the two world wars. As a historian who focuses on women’s contributions during the Second World War, I was thrilled to see the museum concentrate on their roles.

Examples of materials that women and others helped salvage during the Second World War. — During the Second World War, scrap collecting was an important part of salvaging materials that could be used for the war effort. It is also one of many ways that the ‘average person’ helped fight from the Homefront.

An example of a poster asking female nurses to enlist in the Army Nurse Corps. — A poster encouraging female nurses to enlist in the war effort.

One surprising aspect of North Carolina’s history for me was that there are over 40 submarines wrecks off the coast of the state. Due to the large number of submarines used during the Second World, the Atlantic was a battleground. Many of these sunken submarines remain at the bottom of the ocean today.

A map of submarines that sunk off of the coast of North Carolina during the Second World War. — The map above shows the location and names of submarines that sank off the coast of North Carolina during the Second World War.

Segregation and the Civil Rights Movement

The exhibition comes to a close with the civil rights movement. Examples of segregation, such as the “Colored” and “White” doorways shown below, let the visitor see the divisions that Jim Crow laws maintained. Protesting racism meant standing up against the status quo, and the exhibition spotlights stories of riots, protests, and changes to laws. Many of the state’s social, economic, political and other structures were built on racism. Just like other states or countries, the legacy of racism impacts the present.

Two doorways. One says that white people can walk through, while the other is for "coloured" people. This is an example of historic segregation in North Carolina. — Towards the end of the exhibition, visitors must walk through these doorways.

Conclusion of the Exhibition

A final video “The Story of North Carolina Continues”, bridges the gap between the past and present. As a farewell to the patron, the exhibition comes to an end after the film.

What was my impression of North Carolina’s History Museum?

Overall, I found the exhibition to be inclusive of multiple historical perspectives. Focus on indigenous peoples does wane after the 19th century subsections on home life. I would personally like to see further focus on indigenous peoples through the exhibition, with topics such as residential schools and indigenous people’s roles in civil rights movements expanded. Calling for the further inclusion of other minorities, such as other immigrants beside the British or English speakers would diversify the collection.

Though the museum did play it safe in sections, the exhibition covers an impressive amount of history through stories, plaques, artifacts, models, and films. The space the exhibition occupies is one of the largest I have seen. The layout is organized, making sure that the visitor knows which way to continue without missing anything. Level flooring and large pathways makes the space easily accessible. Plaques are well written and presented in a clear colour palette.

Would I recommend a visit?

Absolutely. My visit to the North Carolina Museum of History remains one of the highlights of my trip. If you’re a big history buff, I would suggest planning two half-days at the museum. Though “The Story of North Carolina” was exciting and educational, we were certainly hungry after the three hours!

The Raleigh Times

To satisfy our hunger, we went searching for a local restaurant and found the Raleigh Times. The restaurant is newspaper/ print house themed. Their menu included a variety of local craft beers. If you’re looking for a Southern dish, the Shrimp and Grits was delicious. With seating available on multiple floors inside and a rooftop patio, the space was warm and welcoming.