Press Releases

First Day Hikes offered at all of North Carolina’s state parks on New Year’s Day brought a record 3,859 people to join 57 guided hikes across the state. Mild, dry weather made the hikes more attractive than those in 2018, which were marred by rain and winter weather.   To start the new year, hundreds of dogs, two llamas and a goat joined their human companions on various hikes. Participants ranged in age from newborn to 95 years young. Cliffs of the Neuse State Park set a record for their park’s first day hike program with 300 participants.

North Carolina’s New Year tradition of family adventure, exercise and reconnection with nature continues in 2019 with First Day Hikes throughout the state parks system on Jan. 1. More than 40 guided hikes are scheduled for New Year’s Day, ranging from short “leg-stretchers” to multi-mile rambles, most featuring educational programs led by rangers along the way. All state parks will be open on the holiday. In North Carolina, this popular tradition began at Eno River State Park more than 40 years ago. Eno River’s first day hike alone draws more than 800 visitors.

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources announces that 17 individual properties across the state, including seven shipwrecks, have been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The following properties were reviewed by the North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee and were subsequently approved by the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer and forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register. 

The State Archives and State Library of North Carolina are seeking volunteers to help make their materials more accessible to researchers by transcribing audio files of oral history interviews of North Carolina veterans. 

The North Carolina African American Heritage Commission will co-host an information session on its N.C. Green Book Project, Jan. 9, 6-7 p.m. at the Greensboro History Museum Auditorium, 130 Summit Ave., Greensboro, N.C. 

Asheville,N.C. - The Governor's Western Residence Holiday Open House scheduled for this weekend, Dec. 8-9, has been postponed due to the expected winter storm.    We are working to reschedule the Holiday Open House and will announce new dates as soon as possible.   

The North Carolina Historical Commission will meet via conference call Wed., Dec. 5 at 2 p.m.   The commission will review a list of items recommended for accessioning into the collections of the divisions of State History Museums and State Historic Sites. They will also consider a petition from the N.C. Department of Administration to relocate the Henry Oak Clay monument on North St. in Raleigh to another location on the same parcel due to planned construction on the site.  Meeting materials are available online at www.ncdcr.gov/nchc.

Celebrate the holiday season at the Governor’s Western Residence Holiday Open House, Saturday, Dec. 8, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 9, from 1-5 p.m., 45 Patton Mountain Rd, Asheville. Reservations are not needed to attend the open house. Guests are invited to tour the residence, which has been decorated for the season. For more information, please call (828) 225-0122.  

Get into the authentic feel of the holidays this year with a visit to a state historic site, museum, state park or aquarium. Enjoy colonial harpsichord music at Historic Bath, Jonkonnu dancing at Historic Stagville, or a hearty country meal at Horne Creek Historical Farm.

Bells will toll in unison across North Carolina and throughout the world at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day. Governor Roy Cooper has officially proclaimed Nov. 11, 2018 as the centennial of the end of World War I, calling on citizens and organizations across the state to toll bells at 11 a.m. to remember those who served.