2024 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Annual Civil War School Days
Bennett Place State Historic Site will host the 9th Annual Civil War School Days program on April 17, 2024. Join to explore how both soldiers and civilians experienced the American Civil War through demonstrations and hands-on activities over multiple rotating stations. Topics include but are not limited to Civil War era medicine, the wartime postal service, and military drill. The program will include a live musket demonstration.
The event runs from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Reservations are required. Please note that two identical programs will be hosted on April 16 and 17. Teachers may select one date.
Please contact Bennett Place staff with questions or to reserve a spot for your class!
FREE for public schools. $1.00 per child for private schools
Earth Day at Bennett Place
– 1:45
For this event, we’re proud to partner with Duke University students to highlight how history & science can go hand-in-hand to teach us about the world around us. At 1pm, Duke graduate student Kalei Porter will lead a guided tour of the nature trail to explore how history and science meet.
From 11am to 1pm, visit the Duke students’ tables to learn more about how we can learn about the Bennett family from the modern environment. You’ll also learn how to get involved and help scientists better understand our changing ecosystems and environments through your smartphone!
Important Tour Notes: Advanced registration is encouraged. Tour capped at 25 people. The tour will last a maximum of 45 minutes. Tickets are $2 for adults (13-64 years old) and $1 for children and seniors. Payment accepted on the day of the event.
159th Annual Surrender Anniversary Event
On April 26, 1865, Confederate General Joseph Johnston’s surrendered his force of nearly 90,000 troops to U.S. Army Major General William Sherman. The two generals and their staff met three times at James and Nancy Bennett’s farmhouse in rural Orange County, North Carolina. The surrender laid out here was by far the largest and ended the war in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
Now, 159 years later, join us to commemorate the reunion of the nation that occurred at Bennett Place. Join costumed interpreters and learn more about military and civilian life during the Civil War.
“The Day Had Come” : Emancipation & Bennett Place
– 9
The Civil War surrender at the Bennett farmhouse sealed the fate of slavery in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. To cap off the 159th anniversary of the surrender, we’re hosting a new event to commemorate slavery’s end and honor the 331,000+ enslaved men, women, and children in North Carolina at the time of the Civil War.
331 luminaries will dot the historic Hillsboro Road on our grounds — one for each 1,000 people enslaved in the state. As you walk along the road, you’ll hear stories about the enslaved and their lives as free people after the Civil War. At the end of your path, pause to reflect on the incredible milestone of emancipation.
A commemoration ceremony will occur at approximately 7:45 p.m., with site staff providing a brief history of slavery and emancipation in our state. Afterwards, historic sites staff and visitors are welcome to “light” LED candles in honor of the enslaved.
