Museums & Gardens

Eagle Masonic Lodge #19

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142 West King St (Downtown)
Hillsborough, NC 27278

Directions

eaglelodge19@hotmail.com

Open by appointment.

Chartered in 1792, Eagle Lodge meets in this Greek Revival building designed by state architect William Nichols and built in 1823 by John Berry. It’s a cube that measures 40 ft. in width, depth and height, with walls of solid brick. Through its history, the building has also served as an opera house, unofficial town hall and Civil War hospital.

Forest Theatre

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Country Club Rd (near Battle Ln)
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3475

Directions

phone (919) 962-0522

Open daily, dawn to dusk.

Outdoor drama was first performed here in Chapel Hill’s Battle Park in 1916 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. The site was chosen by William C. Coker, who also developed Coker Arboretum nearby in 1903. The theater was rebuilt in the early 1940s. University and community groups continue to perform here in the warmer months. Woodland trails into the 93-acre Battle Park start here.

Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail

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320 Elizabeth Brady Rd (at US Highway 70 and NC Highway 86)
Hillsborough, NC 27278

Directions

phone (919) 732-6886

Open daily, 8am-5pm (Jan.-Feb. & Nov.-Dec.); 8am-6pm (Mar. & Oct.); 7am-7pm (Apr.-Sep.).

Free four-mile trail around this 44-acre site— listed on the National Register of Historic Places—where Native-Americans and later settlers hunted and farmed, Gen. Julian S. Carr trained his horses, and the original NASCAR stock-car racers tested their driving skills from 1948-1968 around a one-mile oval track (shown in photo).

Horace Williams House

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610 East Rosemary St (Downtown)
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Directions

phone (919) 942-7818

Open Tue.-Fri., 10am-4pm; Sun., 1-4pm; closed Sat., major holidays and July 31-August 16 for cleaning and repairs

The only historic house in Chapel Hill open to the public. This 19th-century house was owned by a succession of University professors. On the death of Horace Williams, a UNC philosophy professor and the last owner-occupant, the University of North Carolina became the sole owner of the house named for him. Restored in 1974, the house is maintained by the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill as a cultural resource and art exhibition space.  Guided tours of historic Franklin Street leave the Horace Williams House each Sun at 2 pm. Cost $5. Guided tours of the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery leave from the cemetery gazebo (South Road across from Carmichael Auditorium) at 10am every Saturday. Guided walking tours suspended during entire month of August.

Hughes Academy and the Regulator Monument

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Cameron and East King Sts (behind Orange County Board of Education)
Hillsborough, NC 27278

Directions

toll-free (877) 732-7748; phone (919) 732-7741.

Exterior open daily, dawn to dusk; interior open by appointment.

The academy, founded by Presbyterian educator Samuel Wellwood Hughes originally six miles north of Hillsborough, offered programs in Greek, Latin and English from 1864 to 1914. The monument marks the site where six Regulators (Colonial farmers) were hanged on June 19, 1771, by Governor Tryon after they refused to pledge allegiance to the Crown following a battle at Alamance Creek. Their unmarked graves are reported to be nearby.

Kenan Football Center and Hall of Honor

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Bell Tower Dr (off South Rd)
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8500

Directions

phone (919) 966-2575

Open Mon.-Fri., 8am-5pm. Open on home-game days for three hours up to 30 minutes before kickoff.

The Kenan Football Center and Hall of Honor named for famed football star Charlie (Choo-Choo) Justice features the Heavner Theater for football archives, display cases of historical artifacts, memorabilia, interactive kiosks, multi-media presentations and vintage photographs.

Kidzu Children’s Museum

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105 East Franklin St (Downtown)
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Directions

phone (919) 933-1455

Open Tue.-Sat., 10am-5pm; Sun., 1-5pm.

Offers engaging, hands-on exhibits and programs to inspire young children (up to 8) and the adults in their lives to learn through play. Laughing Turtle Gift Shop. Adults and children 24 months and over, $4; under 2, free. All are free on Sunday.

Kuralt (Charles) Learning Center

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In Carroll Hall, off South Columbia St below East Cameron Ave
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3365

Directions

phone (919) 962-1204

Open Tue. & Thu., 2-4pm; other times by appointment.

The contents of Kuralt’s three-room penthouse office suite in Manhattan were donated to the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication by his widow Suzanna after her death in 1999. The center includes his CBS News office, complete with Oriental rugs, desk, floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelves, library, paneled walls, brick fireplace, his program tapes and many awards.

Maple View Agricultural Center

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3501 Dairyland Rd
Hillsborough, NC 27278

Directions

phone (919) 942-6122

Open Monday to Friday for school groups by appointment. Open weekends only for public starting May 1.

This 5,800-sq.ft. center has both classroom space and outdoor-based educational components, but it isn’t just for school children. It has four classrooms with different themes, including plants, crops and nutrition; soil science; animals; and insects, weather, life cycles, compost and more. On 23 acres outside are a vegetable garden, a North Carolina garden, which includes peanuts, tobacco, cotton and sweet potatoes. The center is available for school groups, curious visitors, birthday party rentals and local civic groups who need a large meeting room. In addition, the new Agricultural Center offers a full-service kitchen.

Montrose Gardens

320 St. Mary's Rd
Hillsborough, NC 27278

Directions

phone (919) 732-7787

Open year round for guided tours by appointment Tue. & Thu., 10am; Sat., 10am or 2pm.

This 61-acre property, a listed property in the National Register of Historic Places, features specimen trees, rock garden, wood gardens with massed plantings of unusual bulbs and hellebores and sunny perennial borders as well as 19th century buildings, decorative arbors, planters and architectural items. Nationally known gardens begun in the 19th century by Gov. and Mrs. William Alexander Graham, several 19th century buildings and architectural items remain. Guided tours plus tours for groups of 6 or more people may be arranged at other times. Per person, $10.