North Carolina Museum of History

North Carolina Museum of History

The North Carolina Museum of History is located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. Permanent exhibits focus on the state’s military history, decorative arts, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, and more. Visitors will see a wide variety of short-term and traveling exhibits. Admission is free, and special programs include craft demonstrations, music concerts and family events. The Museum Shop features North Carolina crafts.

The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives and History, an agency of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.

The museum is located at 5 East Edenton Street in Raleigh. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Contact: 919-807-7900 or ncmuseumofhistory.org.

History

Frederick Augustus Olds, known as the “father” of the North Carolina Museum of History, began collecting items from across North Carolina in the late 1800s. He traversed the state, acquiring pieces of the past and the stories associated with them. Some of the objects were related to events in the state’s history, while others might have seemed rather strange. (One item was simply labeled a “box of rocks.”) Olds amassed a large private collection, and on December 5, 1902, he merged his items with the collection owned and displayed in the State Museum (the modern-day North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences). This assortment of historical artifacts became known as the "Hall of History" and was opened to the public. Thirty-seven cases contained everything from a studded shoe buckle owned by James Iredell to the death mask of Confederate General Robert Hoke.

The North Carolina Historical Commission took over the Hall of History in 1914 and moved the collection to the Ruffin Building; however, this space quickly became limited. The hall made another move in 1939 to the Education Building, where an area was specifically designed to accommodate both artifacts and exhibits. With the continued growth of the collection, the expanded exhibit space, and an increase in staff, it was decided on July 1, 1965, that the Hall of History would be renamed the North Carolina Museum of History. The museum moved to the Archives and History/State Library Building in 1968. In 1973 the museum opened to the public and soon became a landmark for visitors to Raleigh.

Finally, on June 16, 1988, the State of North Carolina broke ground at 5 East Edenton Street to begin construction of a new building. Symbolically placed between the old North Carolina State Capitol and the newer Legislative Building, the museum’s permanent home was completed in 1994. For more than $29 million, the new building featured a research library, classrooms, a 315-seat auditorium, a design shop, conservation labs, artifact storage space, offices, the Museum Shop, and 55,000 square feet of exhibit space.

Exhibits

First Floor/Lobby

• “Museum Sleuths: Whatchamacallits and Thingamajigs” Case exhibit of unique and unusual objects from the museum's collection. Learn how the mysteries behind artifacts are uncovered (on display through September 2009).
• “From Horses to Horsepower” Lobby display of vehicles highlighting North Carolina's transportation history.
• “A Thousand Words: Photographs by Vietnam Veterans” Photographs taken by service personnel from North Carolina during their tours of duty in Vietnam. Exhibition created and curated by Martin Tucker (on display through December 2008).
• “Art DuckO: Waterfowl Culture in North Carolina” Decoys and other objects associated with waterfowl hunting and conservation in North Carolina, plus Audubon prints, photographs, and a flock of “ducky” artifacts. (on display through December 30, 2008).

Third Floor

• “Bearing Witness: Civil Rights Photographs of Alexander Rivera” Images of the African American community during the Civil Rights movement by photojournalist and Greensboro native Alexander M. Rivera Jr. (on display through March 2009).
• “’Showboat’: The USS North Carolina (BB 55) ” Small exhibit featuring artifacts, memorabilia and photographs that tell the story of the famous battleship (on display through November 2008).
• “Community and Culture: North Carolina Indians Past and Present” Small exhibit concerning cultural practices maintained in the state's American Indian communities.
• “Pleasing to the Eye: The Decorative Arts of North Carolina” Objects from the museum's collection, including furniture, ceramics, metalwork, silver, portraits, pottery, and textiles ranging from the 1600s to the late 1900s.
• “Everyday Artistry” Objects from the museum's collection, including quilts, furnishings, tools, and other objects illustrate how rural North Carolinians have sought to beautify their world through utilitarian artistry.
• The 1920s Drugstore Re-created interior of a typical North Carolina drugstore from the 1920s, complete with pharmacist's workroom and authentic marble-topped soda fountain.
• “Elected to Serve: North Carolina's Governors” Explores how governors have helped shape North Carolina through contributions to areas such as agriculture, industry, and education, while defining their roles as leaders (opens October 25, 2008).
• “A Call to Arms: North Carolina Military History Gallery" A look at North Carolina’s military heritage from the American Revolution to the Iraq War.
• The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame: Audio, video, and interactive biographies, plus Richard Petty's stock car, Meadowlark Lemon's uniform, and other sports artifacts.
• The Tar Heel Junior Historian Association: Award-winning history projects by North Carolina students.

External links

• Official site
• N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Official site
• Capital Area Visitor Services

Online exhibits

• A Call To Arms
• The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
• Mysteries of the Lost Colony
• Health and Healing in North Carolina
• The Civil War in North Carolina
• Crafted from Silver: Objects from the Museum's Collection
• Photo Tour of the NC Museum of History Exhibits

Other museums in the Division of State History Museums

• Museum of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City, N.C.
• Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, Fayetteville, N.C.
• Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center, Old Fort, N.C.
• North Carolina Maritime Museum, locations in Beaufort, N.C. and Southport, N.C.
• Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Hatteras, N.C.