Tryon Palace

Josiah Keller — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 22:51:43 +0000

Tryon Palace was built in New Bern at the request of William Tryon, a British soldier and colonial administrator. After taking office, he worked with architect John Hawks on the design, as a centrally located government building. By 1770, the building was finished, and Tryon moved in, before leaving to become the governor of the Province of New York just a year later. In 1775, near the beginning of the American war for independence, patriots took control of the Tryon Palace, and used it as the State capitol building. When Raleigh became the capitol some 18 years later, the palace was put to use in other ways, including a boarding house, school, and Masonic lodge. A fire in 1798 destroyed all but the Kitchen & Stable Office, and the kitchen was dismantled in the early 1800s.

In the late 1930s, a movement was begun to restore & preserve colonial New Bern, boosted further by the discovery of the original Tryon Palace plans. In rebuilding at the original place they faced monumental obstacles, including the removal of 50 buildings, rerouting North Carolina Route 70, and building a new bridge over the Trent River. When they finally were able to begin the building & restoration, they found the original foundation directly underneath where the old highway had been. After years of painstaking work, in 1959, the Tryon Palace opened to the public.

Today, Tryon Palace is one of North Carolina’s finest historical sites, with its accompanying History Center and museum. Central to the whole experience is of course the palace. Demonstrations & guided tours are given by costumed reenactors, who bring history to life, and life to history. The grounds have more than two dozen features, which include acres of magnificent gardens, historic buildings, a performance hall, a playground, a café, education centers, and more. See a map of Tryon Palace’s grounds here.

Special events occur frequently, so you should check their calendar before planning your visit.

Tryon Palace is open 9 am–5 pm Monday through Saturday, and noon–5 pm Sunday. Building tours have differing times, which you can find here. Admission is $20 for adults & $10 for grades 1–12 for a full pass to everything, $12/$6 for a galleries pass (museum, History Center, and gardens), and $6/$3 for the gardens pass. More info here.

Address:
529 South Front Street
New Bern, NC 28562

Official Website

North Carolina Museum of History

Christopher Tingom — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 00:03:41 +0000

Raleigh, NC, holds one of the coolest history museums in the state, the North Carolina Museum of History. The museum has exhibits on the history and story of North Carolina, Russian Tsars artifacts, Carolina bluegrass radio music, the Civil War (art), a whole section about important documents in U.S. history, and another full exhibit on the Watergate scandal that brought down President Nixon.

A large focus of the museum is on war history, and most of that is about The Civil War. But it has a secondary emphasis on sports history, and holds the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

The museum was formed from the personal collection of Frederick Augustus Olds, a well known resident of the state in the late 19th century. He merged his collection with a collection of items owned by the state of North Carolina at the time, and it became the “Hall of History.” Over time, this became known as the North Carolina Museum of History and finally moved to its current location in 1994. The museum is over 55,000 square feet and is definitely worth visiting.

Address:
5 E Edenton St.
Raleigh, NC 27601

Hours: Wednesday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Phone: (919) 807-7850

Places to See in North Carolina » Museum

Tryon Palace

North Carolina Museum of History