From towns to battlefields, these 17 sites across our state still echo with the footsteps — and sacrifices — that helped forge a new nation.
Hidden History: Fort Dobbs
In Statesville, pre-Revolutionary War life is interpreted and shared by volunteers at one of North Carolina’s state historic sites.
Hidden History: Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway
In the heart of North Carolina, the state’s largest privately owned short-line railway is rekindling an appreciation for “slow travel” with a glittering fleet of restored train cars.
Sleeping Beauties
In Candor, the Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway is reawakening an appreciation for railroads and “slow travel” with a glittering fleet of restored train cars.
Hidden History: U.S. Navy B-1 Band
In 1942 at UNC Chapel Hill, young musicians marched into history as the Navy’s first all-Black unit band.
Banding Together
In 1942, 44 young musicians marched into history as members of the Navy’s first all-Black unit band.
Hidden History: OKeh Records’ Asheville Sessions
Many think country music began in Bristol, Tennessee, but writer Brad Campbell uncovers more to the story. In Asheville, OKeh Records recorded regional musicians playing ballads and other traditional sounds in 1925, two years prior to the Bristol sessions that shaped the trajectory for one of music’s most enduring genres.
