North Carolina
Museum of History
In downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, the North
Carolina Museum of History houses permanent collections that
concentrate on the state's military history, the North Carolina
Sports Hall of Fame, decorative arts and others, that include a
diverse variety of short-term and traveling exhibits; with
special programs that include music concerts, family events and
craft demonstrations. Their excellent museum shop houses many
crafts that have been created throughout the state and other
historical items to remind you of this great trip. Frederick
Augustus Olds, the father of the North Carolina Museum of
History started collecting relics from around the state during
the late 19th century, traveling the state and acquiring
artifacts of the past and the stories that had been associated
with them. Olds had collected a great amount of objects that
pertained to the state's history while others seemed quite
strange, like a box of rocks; but he did amass a big private
collection that he merged with the state's at their museum that
would become called the Hall of History and it would open to the
public. There were 37 cases that contained everything from a
studded shoe buckle owned by James Iredell to the death mask of
Confederate general Robert Hoke. In 1914, the historical
commission took over operations of the hall of history and then
proceeded to move the collection to the Ruffin Building, but
that soon filled up and more space was needed. In 1939, it would
move to the Education building, with areas specific to relics
and exhibits and in 1965, the hall was officially renamed the
North Carolina Museum of History and moved to the archives and
history/state library building in 1968. In 1988, it broke ground
for a new museum between the old state capitol and the newer
legislature building, with the new permanent home finished in
1994. It provides a research library, conservation labs, 55,000
square feet of space, a design shop, 315 seat auditorium, museum
shop, offices and relic storage space.
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