North Carolina Museum of History

10/09/2026

Our construction site has a friend! This resident hawk is often seen flying around our museum’s site and recently posed for a glamour shot.
North Carolina is home to many bird species, and they are being considered as we move through construction. To help protect our feathered friends, bird-safe glass will be installed on the building.

10/08/2026

New American History and Monticello recently created a website with learning resources and a video series called “States of Independence.” The series documents the role each of the 13 original colonies played in the Revolutionary War. We’re proud to say that the series representative for North Carolina is our own Sally Causey Bloom, curator of distance education and project manager of the museum’s “It’s Revolutionary!” A250 initiative. Click the link in the first comment to watch Sally discuss how different people in our state shaped the war for independence.

10/08/2026

Former North Carolina First Lady Dottie Martin (1937–2026) passed away last week at 89. Her husband, Governor Jim Martin, served from 1985 to 1993. During her tenure, Martin was a champion for protecting children. She chaired the Governor's Commission on Child Victimization, investigating local challenges regarding child welfare. She also initiated the roadside wildflower program launched by the NC Department of Transportation to beautify highways. The program recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and continues to plant over 100 types of flowers on North Carolina’s highways.
Pictured is a photo of First Lady Martin taken during her husband’s first term, a book she commissioned to celebrate the Executive Mansion’s 100th anniversary in 1991, and an NCDOT wildflower program pamphlet. For more information, click the links in the comments.

10/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our It's Revolutionary! educator workshop at UNC's Wilson Library. Visit the North Carolina Museum of History website to see the entire It's Revolutionary! series, find educational resources, and get information about our Witnesses to the Revolution exhibit. (Link in first comment.)

10/07/2026

10/07/2026

History and science collide in this Lewis and Clark program put on by North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences!

10/06/2026

Today’s likely belonged to a woman from what is now Lee County. The tan gauze dress with embroidered flowers features the dropped sleeves and full skirt that were fashionable during the 1850s. Fashion-conscious women achieved voluminous skirts by wearing multiple layered petticoats and horsehair crinolines until the lightweight cage crinoline emerged in the late 1850s and allowed skirts to expand to even greater diameters.

10/05/2026

In Costa Rica, brightly hand-painted ox carts were used to transport products, especially coffee. Today they represent the culture and identity of the country. Luis G. Lobo, former executive vice president and manager of multicultural banking at BB&T, donated the pictured ox cart. He and his parents immigrated to Lincolnton from Costa Rica in the late 1960s.

10/03/2026

We’re celebrating by highlighting some of the most fetch pink fashions in the museum’s collection. The limit on ruffles does not exist. This circa 1905–1910 gown is associated with Durham resident Mary Gilmore Angier Stokes, sister of Sarah P. Duke and sister-in-law of Benjamin N. Duke. Made of printed cream, pink, and green silk, the gown features swirling cream ruffles and the “monobosom” and S-curve silhouette characteristic of turn-of-the-century fashion.

10/03/2026

We’re celebrating by highlighting some of the most fetch pink fashions in the museum’s collection. Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a dress personally made by Willie Otey Kay. This bridesmaid dress was made by Kay in 1971. The pearl beaded accents on the neckline and cuff make the dress so fetch!