Hope Plantation is in Windsor, NC. It was the home of former NC Governor David Stone…read more Hope Mansion and the King-Bazemore House can be toured with a docent on certain days and times so check the website before visiting to make sure it will be open. You start your visit and buy your ticket at the Roanoke-Chowan Heritage Center. It has restrooms, a gift shop and two rooms to view that provide background information about the property. You can either walk or drive to the houses as they are a distance away. I was not sure what to expect when I decided to visit Hope Plantation and did not expect that the tour would be as long as it was and so thorough. It is possible that my tour was longer than normal as I was very interested in all of the facts provided. I was very impressed with this property; the history and the restoration. I try my best to find the hidden gems to visit so was excited that I found another. Both houses are on the National Registry for Historic Places. The land of the plantation sits was from a land grant by King Charles II of England. It was to lure settlers from Virginia and was given to Francis and Elizabeth Hobson. Elizabeth inherited the property after her husband died and later married Zedekiah Stone. The story told is that Elizabeth missed her homeland Hope Parish so the property was named Hope. David Stone was given the Hope tract of land as a wedding present. He constructed the Hope Mansion. The house was completed in 1803. It is of a Georgian style with Federal Period influences. The enslaved community provided the labor to run the plantation. The highly skilled labor can be seen with the craftsmanship of the home. After David Stone died, his son sold the property. It changed owners many times. In 1960 though the property was deteriorated and Bertie Country residents worked to save the property. They created a historical association and raised the funds to purchase the property. Then went on to restoring the mansion through research. The outside was completed in 1969 and by 1972 the restoration was completed. The King-Bazemore House was relocated to the plantation in 1974 to be restored. It is an example of a colonial home and would be compared to the Hobson-Stone House that was destroyed when the mansion was built. I highly recommend visiting this property in Bertie County if you love history and historic properties. You will not be disappointed. These properties are amazing and the restorations impeccable.

From the owner: Restored home of former North Carolina Governor David Stone (1770-1818). Located four miles west of…read moreWindsor, NC, the plantation complex offers unique insights into the late 18th & 19th century rural life in eastern North Carolina and the South.

Yes, I drove an hour round trip to take a picture of a sign but this one is special. It denotes the…read moretime that the United States bombed North Carolina, nearly a hundred years after the end of the Civil War. The marker reads, "Nuclear Mishap. B-52 transporting two nuclear bombs crashed, Jan. 1961. Widespread disaster averted; three crewmen died 3 miles south." Okay, all kidding aside. Three Air Force crew died and in the process, prevented what would have been an unspeakable tragedy. It is a serious matter. During the height of the Cold War, the United States had a policy of keeping armed aircraft in the air at all times in the event of a conflict. Nuclear deterrence and all that. Well, this B-52G Stratofortress took some structural damage during an air refueling and while preparing to land at nearby Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, it experienced a major failure of the right wing. The plane broke up and exploded at 8000 feet. "As a result of the breakup of the plane, two MK39 nuclear weapons were released at a height of between 10,000 and 2,000 feet. Seven of eight arming, fusing, and firing switches and devices in one bomb automatically actuated. Only a crew-controlled switch prevented a nuclear detonation. Since its parachute deployed, one bomb had only minor damage when it fell about a mile from the crash site. The second bomb fell free, without its parachute deploying, and broke apart on impact." "Components of the bomb were sought for several weeks. The decision was made to leave remaining portions of the weapon containing uranium, believed to have entered the water table, in the ground. As a precaution, the government purchased part of the site and still maintains an easement in order to prevent digging in the vicinity. Periodic groundwater tests, still conducted by the state, have revealed no contamination." As the sign mentions, the actual crash is three miles away and the grounds are secured. Here in downtown Eureka, there isn't much. A small sandwich shop is near the sign if you're hungry. [Review 15486 overall, 990 of 2021, number 3029 in North Carolina.]

The House In the Horseshoe is a historical gem for North Carolina. The property is on over 2500…read moreacres of land. The house is named after the Deep River that bends like a horseshoe. The house is a mile from the river but the views are stunning. The cotton gin has been turned into a museum. There are a lot of displays you can read to learn more about the property. There is also a short video that is a great introduction to the house. Guided tours of the house occur on the top of the hour. A $2 donation is asked at the visitor's center to help reserve the property. The tour ran about 45 minutes and covered the history of the time, the residents of the house and the architecture. The house is also known as the Alston House. Alston was attacked in his house during the Revolutionary War and there are still bullet holes from the pellet guns. Governor Benjamin Williams also lived in the house. He planted the cotton and had a racetrack. The house is furnished with period pieces of the Colonial and Revolutionary Wars. Four rooms are on the tour. It was worth the drive to see this property and learn of its historical background.

A well preserved colonial house in a rural setting with beautiful vistas over fields of grain. A…read moreskirmish was fought in the house during the Revolutionary War. Many bullet holes were left unfixed. A very interesting story of the skirmish and the actions of the wife of the house is told by the tour guide. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and provided a detailed description of the house and the events that occurred there. The experience was interesting and relaxing.

I live in Massachusetts and visited a friend in Charlotte a few weeks ago. He'd wanted to visit…read moreStagville Plantation for a tour, so we took the drive. The woman who guided the tour was wonderful. I wish I knew her name - if she gave it, I didn't hear it. She started off by telling us that she would talk a little bit about the property and the buildings, but would focus mostly on the slaves who were held there, and what their daily lives were like. At no point did she seem like she had memorized a script. She spoke intelligently and knowledgeably, and really gave us a feel for what Stagville's enslaved people endured. She welcomed questions, and was very clear about what she knew, what she didn't know, and what she surmised. There were 2 people on the tour who, if I had been the guide, I would have wanted to slap. However, our guide handled their questions with tact... Our guide spoke about children being born into slavery on the plantation, and she said that the moment a baby drew their first breath, they were a slave. She said they were put to work at age 7, working from sunrise to sundown. Then she asked any children aged 7 or older to raise their hands, which they did. The guide said, "You would have been put to work at the age of 7," and one boy, around age 8 or 9, replied, "But I'm not black." (Yes, I wanted to slap him.) The guide replied, "No you're not. But I'm telling you about this so you can use your imagination to see what life might have been like." The second person I wanted to slap was a woman, probably in her 40s or 50s, who asked, "Were the slaves treated well?" (Do you see why I wanted to slap her? Does she not understand what slavery was?) The guide replied that she should be able to tell from the information being given on the tour, but that we would get back to that question later. Near the end of the tour, the guide asked the woman, 'What was your question again?" and the woman replied, again, "Were the slaves treated well?" The guide asked other people taking the tour for their opinions, and everyone was pretty clear with their responses. The guide handled it like a champ. All in all, this was a very informative, well planned tour about a horrible time in our history. I would highly recommend it.

This entrance is only for the visitor center guests, bathroom and few pictorials to look at. The…read moresite is huge, comprised of several land spaces that require driving to and from. Highly recommend going in at 1pm where there is a tour. If you go alone without a guide all you see is the buildings and just grass... Wish we knew ahead of time a bit more of this laidback type historic area where we met only one person in charge and she's already occupied with 2 other ppl explaining its history behind a desk.

Hello everyone, I had an absolutely fantastic, once in a lifetime experience at Patrick Henry's Red…read moreHill. The property is beautiful, relaxing and well-maintained. I highly recommend checking out this place. The admission is very affordable and the experience is worth the cost. I really enjoyed learning about the property from Patrick Henry's descendant. He was very kind and well-informed about the life of Patrick Henry. The first part of the experience includes a short film about Patrick Henry's life and family. Patrick Henry's descendant explained everything about Patrick Henry and was passionate about history. My family and I were very fortunate to have the whole property to ourselves. The property has breathtaking views and is very peaceful. I enjoyed walking the grounds and seeing the different historical buildings. The whole experience was truly memorable and enjoyable. I will definitely visit again when I travel to Virginia from Florida. I went to purchase a book in the gift shop about Patrick Henry and his descendant gave me a free copy. I really appreciated that and enjoy learning more about the founding fathers.

It's off the beaten path but a neat look back to Colonial times. A great patriotic look at one of…read morethe more outspoken voices of the American Revolution. Also has a nice display to honor the slaves and freedmen who made their homes there. It was a nice history lesion and afternoon spent in the beauty of the Virginia countryside

The Appomattox Court House NHP is a fraud! Ok here me out. I am somewhat of a history nerd but…read morethink broad strokes not necessarily on a micro level. Anyway, when I arrived, I went into the visitor's center like one always should when visiting a National Park. One of the Park Rangers started telling me about the property. "Currently you are standing in the Appomattox Court House......absolutely nothing happened in here! The surrender was just a football field's length away at the McLean House." What!? Why is it named after the courthouse then? Anyway, all jokes aside the place is great. As stated, the visitor's center is located inside the old courthouse and has the standard gift shop, museum, and movie theatre. Outside there are several buildings that include a bookstore, a Tavern, The Mclean House and several others. The Mclean House was actually torn down at one point and then rebuilt. The house is set up to look like it did then when Lee surrendered to Grant. While the Mclean house is the main attraction to the park, there are plenty of battlefields, markers and hiking trails around to explore. So why only 4 stars, well name it the Mclean House National Historic Park and I will give it another star.

I just had the HONOR to tour this BEAUTIFUL Historical Park. I am an Army Combat Veteran and by me…read morehaving the Honor to walk where there were Thousands if NOT Hundreds of Thousands Soldiers who marched into the Heat of Battle to stop the clutch and horrors of Slavery. The Battle sites is what I first went to view and yeah it hits you hard at all of the losses we had. Then I went to the Appomattox Court House and toured the grounds. Amazing place to take your kids there and to hear all of the History that we don't want to lose. To me, it was an Honor to walk where Victory for our Soldiers and our Country. I would for sure drive another 15 hours from Louisiana to go and Tour the grounds again.

This confusing setup has a bunch of national park land adjoined to a privately owned historical…read moresite. Focusing only on the national park site, I found a visitor center with an introductory movie. While I was perusing the exhibitions right outside the theater, they managed to close it and lock it without letting me know the movie was starting. Which is a little irksome, but may have worked out for the best as I got to the outdoor site and managed to get a run of it and take some pictures just as a weather front was heading in. Some people had traveled from Michigan to tour the area, which I think was a good decision for them as you don't get this kind of history up there. The national park site has some ruins and signage after crossing a boardwalk over the swamp. While not huge in scope; I spent maybe an hour on the site in total, it gives you a feel for the challenges that settlers would have faced. The signage provides compelling information for visitors of all ages, and the views of the waterfront and nearby ferry are majestic as well. You'll get a sense of historical nuance with a lot of players in the area, and an aesthetic experience as well. There is a wildlife drive and this place does have a parkway running to Yorktown, albeit currently not fully open due to major construction. I did not have time for everything the area has to offer on this passing visit, but there is a lot regardless of how much time you have.

Being a historical buff, thanks Dad, this is a MUST See!~ The employees take it to the next level…read moreof education, which can be seen throughout the location! This includes amazing, informative presentations and exhibits! ~ You can tell that the employee's love is what they do with speaking to them and watching them present to the public, the history. Don't miss this exceptional place during your visit to Jamestown, VA!!!![Especially around the Native American artifacts and presentation!!!]

This headquarters is connected to the Petersburg battle, but it's about 10 minutes away from the…read morebattlefield site. It's worth the drive over if you're already visiting the battlefield. It's a small house where you have to ring the doorbell to so the one employee knows to let you in, and then it's a tour on demand as it's not a high traffic site. The tour covers the history of the people who owned the house, the war and making the city a major port for goods, and how it was used by General Grant. There is a great map of the battlefield and some highly realistic and creepy mannequins to better illustrate the site. It's free, no gift shop, but an enthusiastic and informative tour guide. It's also got a nice view of the water.

When you get there, you'll watch a short film and then you can explore the small exhibit inside the…read morehouse. It's definitely worth visiting after you visit the battlefield.

This is such a cool little museum and place to see if you are wanting to do something unique in…read moreDurham that's rich in the city's history. Museum: 5/5 The museum has a ton of cool displays that show the early days of the tobacco industry and Duke family. Right outside of the museum is a large area with a trail that takes you by the Dukes original house, tobacco plants and the tobacco field. You are free to wonder the grounds. However, I recommend paying for the guided tour. With that you get to go inside the structures and hear all about the history of the property and early tobacco industry. In addition you get to learn a lot about the events that shaped the city. Price: 5/5 The museum and grounds is FREE! The guided tour is only $4. Coming from CA, it doesn't get much better than this! Customer Service: 5/5 The guide was great! Very friendly and very knowledgeable in the content. Parking: 5/5 Huge parking lot right in front. Parking was great.

I think it best to take the guided tour, you get a great history of the Duke family's transition…read morefrom farming to production - leading to an efficient industry. Highlights include entering the 2nd factory and the Duke family home. (And I can't get "Duke, duke, duke... Duke of Earl, duke, duke out of my head). You even get to whack tobacco. While the tobacco industry goes back earlier, it is just about the time after the Civil War ends that it really gets interesting, as soldiers coming home chew (or is that "chaw"), smoke, or sniff tobacco. Washington Duke capitalized on it. And now... there's a university and gardens named after the family - with a top notch basketball program, of course! The tour is about an hour. There are other building to see from the outside. Can ask as many questions as you like!