A Patriotic Family Road Trip in North Carolina

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Kill Devil Hills, NC

Kill Devil Hills, NC. The spot where two Ohio bicycle mechanics first flew, December 17, 1903.

Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site

Midland, NC

The site of the first documented gold find in the United States, a 17-pound nugget used as a doorstop until 1802.

Bennett Place State Historic Site

Durham, NC

The farmhouse where Joseph Johnston surrendered nearly 90,000 Confederate troops to William T. Sherman in April 1865, the largest surrender of the war.

Historic Stagville

Durham, NC

The remains of one of the largest plantations in the South, with rare two-story slave quarters and a great barn built by enslaved carpenters.

Bellamy Mansion Museum

Wilmington, NC

An 1859 antebellum mansion with surviving slave quarters, built partly by enslaved and free Black craftsmen.

North Carolina State Capitol

Raleigh, NC

Raleigh's 1840 capitol is one of the best-preserved examples of Greek Revival civic architecture left in the country.

Charlotte Museum of History

Charlotte, NC

A history museum around the 1774 Hezekiah Alexander House, the oldest surviving home in Mecklenburg County.

Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site

Winnabow, NC

The ruins of a colonial port where citizens defied the Stamp Act in 1766, with a Civil War earthwork fort on the same ground.

Burgwin-Wright House

Wilmington, NC

A 1770 Georgian house that Lord Cornwallis used as his headquarters in 1781, before the march to Yorktown.

Joel Lane Museum House

Raleigh, NC

The 1770s home of Joel Lane, who sold the state the land for its new capital in 1792, the oldest house in Raleigh.

Billy Graham Library

Charlotte, NC

A museum of the evangelist's life and ministry, with his restored boyhood home and the graves of Billy and Ruth Graham.

Sullenberger Aviation Museum

Charlotte, NC

An aviation museum home to the Airbus of US Airways Flight 1549, which Captain Sully Sullenberger landed on the Hudson in 2009.

Mint Museum Randolph

Charlotte, NC

The William Strickland building of the Charlotte branch of the U.S. Mint, which coined Carolina gold, moved here in the 1930s to become North Carolina's first art museum.

North Carolina Museum of History

Raleigh, NC

The state history museum across from the Capitol, with the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and exhibits from the first peoples forward.

Cape Fear Museum

Wilmington, NC

One of the oldest history museums in North Carolina, founded in 1898, on the history of the Lower Cape Fear.

NASCAR Hall of Fame

Charlotte, NC

The sport's hall of fame and museum, from moonshine runners to the modern Cup Series.

Historic Occoneechee Speedway

Hillsborough, NC

A dirt track that ran in NASCAR's first season in 1949, one of the last surviving tracks from that year, now a walking trail.

President James K. Polk State Historic Site

Pineville, NC

Reconstructed log buildings and a visitor center on the farm where James K. Polk was born in 1795.

Mordecai Historic Park

Raleigh, NC

A historic park holding the small house where President Andrew Johnson was born in 1808, beside the 1785 Mordecai House.

Salisbury National Cemetery

Salisbury, NC

A national cemetery whose trenches hold thousands of Union soldiers who died at the Confederate prison in Salisbury.

Raleigh National Cemetery

Raleigh, NC

A national cemetery established in 1865 for Union soldiers who died in central North Carolina, now serving veterans of every war.

Wilmington National Cemetery

Wilmington, NC

A national cemetery established in 1867 for Union soldiers who died around Wilmington, now serving veterans of every war.

Fort Dobbs State Historic Site

Statesville, NC

A rebuilt 1756 frontier fort, North Carolina's only state historic site from the French and Indian War.

Airborne & Special Operations Museum

Fayetteville, NC

A museum outside Fort Bragg telling the story of American paratroopers and special operations forces since 1940.

Battleship North Carolina

Wilmington, NC

A World War II battleship that earned 15 battle stars in the Pacific, berthed on the Cape Fear River since 1961.

Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site

Four Oaks, NC

The site of the March 19–21, 1865 battle, the largest ever fought in North Carolina and the last major Confederate offensive.

Fort Fisher State Historic Site

Kure Beach, NC

The remains of the earthwork fort whose fall in January 1865 closed Wilmington, the Confederacy's last major open port.

Moores Creek National Battlefield

Currie, NC

The site of the February 27, 1776 Patriot victory over Loyalists, which pushed North Carolina to be first to call for independence.