Press Releases

A free online program hosted by the Western Office of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources will examine the history of the railroad in western North Carolina.It is widely recognized that the railroad opened the mountain region to the outside world, but few realize the Western North Carolina Railroad between Salisbury and Murphy was built primarily with convict labor.

A fun activity soon will return to Reed Gold Mine. Visitors again will be able to pan for gold from April 1-Oct. 31, Tuesdays through Saturdays, weather permitting. Tickets are $3 per pan (plus tax) for individuals 8 and older and are available for sale at the site gift shop counter. Space is limited and there is a limit of two tickets per person. There are no advance reservations and tickets will be sold first-come, first-served. Session times will be sold and filled in order throughout the day.

A repaired historical highway marker recognizing a North Carolina civil rights leader soon will be reinstalled at its original location. Originally dedicated in 2011, the marker honors civil rights leader Ella Baker. It was damaged in 2019 and placed in storage. A ceremony unveiling the repaired marker will take place April 8 at 11 a.m. in Littleton, her childhood home. The marker is being returned to its location on Main Street (U.S. 158) near East End Avenue.

A new Highway Historical Marker soon will commemorate North Carolina’s oldest State Historic Site.

A man whose photographs of the North Carolina mountains played a crucial role in the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park soon will be recognized with a new North Carolina Highway Historical Marker in Asheville.The marker commemorates George Masa, who some have called the Ansel Adams of the Smokies. His photographs captured the unique beauty and majesty of the Smokies' mountains and valleys, persuading many that the Great Smoky Mountains were worth protecting as a national park.

The North Carolina State Capitol will host the traveling exhibit “Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina” from April 1 to May 31. Visitors to the Capitol can see this exhibit Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Over 10 panels, this exhibit features a four-century timeline of Jewish history in North Carolina, focusing on topics such as family, being southern, commerce, immigration, community, learning, and more.

 In 2022, the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is celebrating 50 years as a state cabinet-level agency with regional celebrations and online content throughout the year. DNCR is responsible for North Carolina treasures literally from A to Z – from the arts to the zoo – spanning the entire state.

The end of the Civil War brought several firsts for African Americans, .most notably the election to local, state, and federal offices. From the North Carolina state legislature to the United States Congress, African American North Carolinians served their nation in political positions.

The Town of Swansboro and the Swansboro Historic Preservation Commission have been awarded a 2021 federal Historic Preservation Fund grant for Certified Local Governments from the National Park Service, administered through the State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. The project is to conduct an architectural survey update within the boundaries of both the National Register-listed Swansboro Historic District (NR 1990) and the locally designated Swansboro Historic District.

A free online program hosted by the Western Office of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources will examine the formation of the Ku Klux Klan. Historian Steven Nash will present an in-depth look at the rise of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction and its terroristic campaign against the biracial Republican political coalition that emerged in the late 1860s.