Historical Park

The Museum's blacksmith shop is a reproduction and was built on the grounds in the 1990s. It represents what was a necessary structure for many old farm home sites.

Additionally onsite is the 19th century general store and Natural Wells Post Office donated by the Stephen Boone family. It was once operated by James C. Boone, who was Postmaster from 1892-1903 and the structure was located about four miles west of Rose Hill.

The post office/general store was renovated in 2018. Feel welcome to take a seat inside the store and play a game of checkers.

Built in the late 1930s by Dr. W. Dallas Herring of Rose Hill, the cabin represents a typical home used by settlers before the Revolutionary War. Until its move to the Museum, it was used for Dr. Herring’s office; for the Rose Hill Town Library; Boy Scouts meetings; and was also located on the James Sprunt Community College campus in Kenansville.

Dr. Herring is considered the philosophical godfather of North Carolina’s Community College System and is best known for his belief that education should be available
to all.
 

In 2018 the log cabin was renovated, thanks to a generous grant from the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NC DNCR).

Our little one-room schoolhouse was built in 1875 and is made of hand-hewed timbers chinked together. Originally a plantation dependency building, this structure later functioned as a granary - more specifically, a corn crib or corn house. After it was moved to the Museum’s grounds in the 1980s, an adaptive restoration was done in order to have it represent many one-room schoolhouses that were used in Duplin County. 

Donated by the D. W. "Bill" Jones family, it was located off Highway 117 in Wallace, NC.

Meats (especially pork) were commonly preserved with salt. A small smoky fire was kept going for several days to further cure the meat. Other foods, like apple butter and pickles, were also stored here in crocks or barrels.

This building was donated in 1985 by Edith B. Hoy and Rachel McNeill in memory of Abb J. Blanton. It was located off Highway 24 in Kenansville, NC.

The tobacco barn, a type of functionally classified barn found in the United States, was once an essential component in the process of air-curing tobacco. Built in 1925, our tobacco barn was used until 1978. 

Donated by the Grover Rhodes family.

Currently under renovation.