Historic Halifax

10/21/2026

Read all about a Hollister man publishing a novel about growing up in Halifax County in the 1970s and 1980s.

For Harry Johnson, a red Toyota Celica convertible represents more than a car he once owned.

10/21/2026

The North Carolina State Fair is going on in Raleigh right now through Sunday, Oct. 25. In 1777, the first session of the new North Carolina General Assembly was in session in New Bern. It had been created by the State Constitution framed in Halifax in December of 1776. During this first legislative session, an act was passed called “An Act for Establishing Fairs in the Town of Halifax in Halifax County.” The Act set up provisions for having a fair twice a year in Halifax on the first Thursday in May and November. The fair would last for three days. It specified that the fair would feature the sale of horses, “black cattle”, sheep, hogs, to***co “and every other natural production of the Country.” The Act also outlined rules to regulate sales and protect consumers from fraud, although the fraud that early legislature was concerned about was the quality of “blooded horses.” Anyone trying to sell a horse at the fair must register the horse’s information including bloodline, age, color, etc. with the county prior to the fair. Failure to do so could cost the seller a penalty of 10 Pounds, and not to be allowed to sell horses at the fair again.
To read the entire law, visit: https://www.carolana.com/NC/Legislators/Documents/Laws_of_North_Carolina_1777.pdf

10/20/2026

Today is our first "Dearly Departed in Halifax" Tour this year. This special tour of graves located around the Historic Site will begin at the Visitors Center at 2 PM. You can call ahead to purchase tickets at (252)583-7191. Can't make it today? Well, you are in luck! We are doing it again on Saturday, 10/24; Tuesday 10/27; Friday 10/30 and Saturday, Halloween 10/31. Call us at (252)583-7191 for more information or to purchase your tickets in advance.

10/19/2026

This day in history, October 19, 1781, General Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown. After occupying Halifax in May of 1781, Cornwallis’s British troops had crossed the Roanoke River, marched into Virginia, and by late summer, were in Yorktown expecting to be resupplied by naval ships that never arrived. General Washington and French General Rochambeau surrounded Yorktown, while a French Naval fleet closed off the Chesapeake Bay and the York River. With no place to run and low on provisions, Cornwallis surrendered on the 19th. Cornwallis claimed to be “ill” when it was time to turn over his sword to the victors. He sent his subordinate, Brigadier General Charles O’Hara to the surrender ceremony in his place. O’Hara first tried to surrender to General Rochambeau, who then directed him to General Washington. Washington recognized this ceremonial “snub,” and then directed O’Hara to surrender the sword to his own subordinate, Major General Benjamin Lincoln. It is said that as they surrendered, the British Army band played a common nursery song, “The World’s Turned Upside Down.” The painting pictured here by Louis-Charles-Auguste Couder, depicts that scene, with Rochambeau gesturing, and Washington and General Lafayette in the background. This painting is the in collection at the Museum of the American Revolution in Yorktown, VA. To read more about the Battle of Yorktown, visit the following links:
https://www.amrevmuseum.org/collection/the-siege-of-yorktown
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/charles-cornwallis-1st-marquess-and-2nd-earl-cornwallis-1738-1805
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/revolutionary-war-yorktown

10/17/2026

Have you visited our museum since the “NC Brigade Sketch” went on display? The sketch, on loan to us from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, depicts a group of Continental Soldiers from NC as they entered the city on August 25, 1777. The artist, Pierre Eugène du Simitière, concentrated on drawing an image of the people in that moment as he witnessed them. du Simitière went on to draw the “Great Seal of the United States” after the Revolution was won.
The image includes not only an officer on horseback, but also a soldier marching barefoot, a waggoneer steering the horses drawing the wagon, and two women riding in the wagon, one holding a baby. Not only does the sketch give us a snapshot of these North Carolinians but also shows us that a variety of people served in some capacity during the war. It is entirely possible that the subjects of the sketch mustered or marched through Halifax on their way to Philadelphia. In fact, there is a theory that the officer is Brigadier General Francis Nash, brother of future Governor Abner Nash. General Nash was recorded to be in Philadelphia on that day, and would be mortally wounded less than two months later, on Oct. 4, 1777 at the Battle of Germantown.
The sketch will be on display here in Historic Halifax until the first week of November. There is no admission fee to enter the museum or to take a self-guided tour of the historic site. For more information on the sketch, visit the Museum of the American Revolution’s website here: https://www.amrevmuseum.org/bringing-an-eyewitness-sketch-of-the-continental-army-to-life

10/16/2026

This weekend, staff and volunteers from Historic Halifax State Historic Site are hosting a Revolutionary War Encampment at Harvest Days. Here are some pictures from this morning.

10/16/2026

Here's some adorable piglets to brighten your day at the NC North Carolina Zoo.

10/16/2026

Harvest Days starts today and will continue through tomorrow. This fun family event includes hay rides, food vendors, animals, and Historic Halifax! We will be there with a militia encampment on both days. Please consult Halifax County's Cooperative Extension Office's Website here.
https://halifax.ces.ncsu.edu/halifax-harvest-days/

10/15/2026

Historic Halifax has two taverns on its property: the Eagle Tavern and the Tap Room. During the colonial period, taverns were much more than places to grab a meal or have a drink. They were places to gamble, socialize, exchange news, and—perhaps most importantly—talk politics. Sometimes those conversations included complaints about, and even resistance to, English rule.
In 1763, John Wilkes, a member of Parliament, published a satirical political pamphlet called The North Briton. Issue No. 45 strongly criticized King George III and his government. Wilkes was arrested and charged with seditious libel. He was later released after successfully challenging the legality of his arrest. “Wilkes and Liberty 45” became a rallying cry among people who opposed government policies and supported Wilkes. The phrase eventually made its way across the Atlantic and became associated with colonial resistance to British rule.
So how do we know that these ideas were discussed in North Carolina before 1776? In 2019, Dr. Charles Ewen, professor emeritus of anthropology at East Carolina University (ECU), led an archaeological field school that excavated part of a colonial tavern at Brunswick Town, North Carolina. The tavern is believed to have burned in 1766, based in part on an Irish halfpenny dated 1766 that was found at the site. While cleaning artifacts from the excavation, ECU student Adam Pohlman discovered a small glass jewel from a cufflink etched with the inscription: “Wilkes and Liberty 45.”
Cufflinks bearing this phrase have been found in England, but this was the first example identified in North Carolina. The artifact provides physical evidence that political ideas associated with Wilkes and opposition to British authority had made their way into the colony. And this brings us back to Historic Halifax.
The Fourth Provincial Congress met here in April 1776 and adopted the Halifax Resolves, instructing North Carolina’s delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence. We know that revolutionary ideas were circulating in North Carolina before the Declaration of Independence.
So, it is fun to imagine that frustrated Patriots in Halifax may have gathered in a corner of the Eagle Tavern or the Tap Room, quietly discussing politics, liberty, and the growing conflict with Britain. We may never know exactly what was said around those tavern tables—but archaeology can give us a glimpse into the conversations that were taking place. One last bit of trivia: Yes, John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, was named after this same John Wilkes. - SJ
Curious for more details? Visit: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-glass-pebble-links-north-carolina-tavern-seditious-colonists-180972585/. And: https://news.ecu.edu/2019/07/02/the-lost-tavern/

10/14/2026

Yesterday, Historic Halifax State Historic Site Staff visited the Anthropology and Archeology Departments of East Carolina University. We went on a tour, examined some Halifax County artifacts, and exchanged ideas about ways we could partner together for internships and hands on education for their students in the future. Special thanks to Dr. Chad Morris, Department Chair; Dr. Cynthia Grace-McCaskey;Dr. Emily Bartz; and Jana Miller. Pictured here: Stephen Johnson, Carl Burke, Kristal Chapman, Frank McMahon, Dr. Bartz, and Dr. Morris.