Museums & Gardens

Our attractions are broadly divided into the three categories to the right, but individual facilities have their own unique features and characteristics. Museums, for example, include a new children's museum, a nationally renowned art museum, a planetarium and science center (where NASA astronauts trained), several sports museums and more. In a nutshell, there's something for everybody, and the best way to discover what appeals to you (and your family or friends) is to explore them, starting with their descriptions.

Eagle Masonic Lodge #19

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142 West King St (Downtown)
Hillsborough, NC 27278

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

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 theatre was rebuilt in the early 1940s.

Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail

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

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 in 2002), 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.

Horace Williams House

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

phone (919) 942-7818

Open Tue.-Fri., 10am-4pm; Sun., 1-4pm; closed Sat., major holidays and first two weeks in Aug.

The only historic house in Chapel Hill open to the public.  19th century house owned by a succession of University professors.  On the death of Horace Williams, a UNC philosophy professor, 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. 

Hughes Academy and the Regulator Monument

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

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 Charlie Justice Hall of Honor

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

phone (919) 966-2575

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

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

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.

Montrose Gardens

320 St. Mary's Rd
Hillsborough, NC 27278

phone (919) 732-7787

Open by appointment Tue. & Thu., 10am; Sat., 10am or 2pm.

Nationally known gardens begun in the 19th century by Gov. and Mrs. William Alexander Graham features large garden, specimen trees, rock garden, woods garden, scree, sunny perennial borders. Several 19th century buildings and architectural items remain. Guided tours. Per person, $10.

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center

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250 East Franklin St
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3480

phone (919) 962-1236

Open Tueday to Sunday (check Website for showtimes).

The historic Morehead Planetarium, the first planetarium on a college campus in the U.S., trained astronauts for NASA. Today, it offers behind-the-scenes views of current science research through shows, lectures, exhibits and more. A great trip for the whole family. Limited parking ($). Adults, $6; seniors, students & children, $5.

Morehead-Patterson Memorial Bell Tower

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South Rd and Stadium Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3475

phone (919) 962-1630

The tower (with hedge, lawn and flowers created by botany professor William C. Coker) was designed by McKim, Mead & White and given to the University in 1930 by John Motley Morehead III and Rufus Lenoir Patterson. It is 172 ft. tall, and its 10-bell carillon calls students to classes, provides twilight music and serenades football crowds departing the adjacent Kenan Memorial Stadium.

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Did You Know?

Ayr Mount Historic Site is one of North Carolina's finest Federal-era plantation homes, built in 1815 and lovingly restored and furnished in the period.