An eastern Carolina Christmas feast, natural greenery and decorations, and gospel and bluegrass music are a few of the features of the 1870s Christmas at Aycock Birthplace Dec. 8 and Dec. 10. The heavily laden table will illustrate the various meats, collards, biscuits and plum pudding that might have been served for the Aycock holiday meal, but will not be served at the free programs.
Many activities await visitors. Costumed interpreters will explain common rural Christmas traditions after the Civil War and demonstrate open-hearth cooking, then widely practiced. Tours will be given from 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Children will help present an old-fashioned shadow play in the site's 1893 one-room schoolhouse. They will dramatize a Christmas story being read by a costumed volunteer by manipulating cardboard cut-outs and making animal sounds.
On Tuesday the Primitive Baptist Singers will perform old-fashioned gospel music a capella style (no musical accompaniment) in the Ida H. Williams auditorium. The Harmony Boys of Mount Olive will provide entertainment Thursday evening.
Visitors will discover in the master bedroom of the historic house an interpreter dressed in 19thcentury clothing explaining how men prepared their families for Christmas. In the parlor an interpreter will explain seasonal traditions such as stocking hanging by the fireplace and homemade decorations for the tree, while an interpreter in the kitchen will demonstrate open hearth cooking. Guests can end the tour by sampling tasty hot apple cider.
In 1859, Charles B. Aycock was born in this simple, rural home. After being elected governor in 1900, he dedicated his life to improving public education in North Carolina. An 1893 one-room schoolhouse moved to the historic site demonstrates Aycock's commitment to education. This typical 19th century family farm includes the main house, separate open-hearth kitchen, corn crib and smokehouses.
To reach the site take U.S. 117 north 9 miles from Goldsboro or U.S. 117 south 14 miles from Wilson. Turn right from Goldsboro or left from Wilson onto Gov. Aycock Road. The site is 1-1.5 miles on the right. From I-95 take the 301 exit at Kenly. Take NC. 222 east for 10 miles to Fremont and turn right (south) on U.S. 117. Go 2 miles and turn left and proceed to 264 Gov. Aycock Road.
For further information, please call (919) 242-5581 or email aycock@ncdcr.gov. Aycock Birthplace is part of the Division of State Historic Sites within the Division of State Historic Sites in the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.