This marker is not part of the state marker program. It appears that it was installed by a local…read moregroup. The marker reads, "William Dallas Herring. 1916-2007. Education Visionary "Father," North Carolina Community College Chairman, State Board of Education, 1957-1977; Chair, Duplin Co. Board of Education, 1951-1955; Mayor, Rose Hill, 1939-1951. His home is one block west." In really small print, "Understanding, knowledge, wisdom, skill, perception, learning for all, total education constitute the apotheosis of democracy." Online, there is some more information. "William Dallas Herring began his career in education politics on the school board in Duplin County, North Carolina, and eventually became chairman of the North Carolina State Board of Education. In Duplin County and statewide, Herring sought to consolidate school districts and give as much control as possible to local decision-makers. His devotion to comprehensive education (as opposed to choosing to support either vocational or liberal arts education) sometimes put him at odds with other board members and state leaders."" [Review 14014 overall, 1336 of 2020, number 2654 in North Carolina.]

Amazing place that has been restored to look as it did. It is a tour that is given by some very…read morenice ladies in the visitor center. You do have to pay a small fee but is totally worth it!! It is said to be haunted!! The landscaping is beautiful, as well as the outbuildings.

Yes, I drove an hour round trip to take a picture of a sign but this one is special. It denotes the…read moretime that the United States bombed North Carolina, nearly a hundred years after the end of the Civil War. The marker reads, "Nuclear Mishap. B-52 transporting two nuclear bombs crashed, Jan. 1961. Widespread disaster averted; three crewmen died 3 miles south." Okay, all kidding aside. Three Air Force crew died and in the process, prevented what would have been an unspeakable tragedy. It is a serious matter. During the height of the Cold War, the United States had a policy of keeping armed aircraft in the air at all times in the event of a conflict. Nuclear deterrence and all that. Well, this B-52G Stratofortress took some structural damage during an air refueling and while preparing to land at nearby Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, it experienced a major failure of the right wing. The plane broke up and exploded at 8000 feet. "As a result of the breakup of the plane, two MK39 nuclear weapons were released at a height of between 10,000 and 2,000 feet. Seven of eight arming, fusing, and firing switches and devices in one bomb automatically actuated. Only a crew-controlled switch prevented a nuclear detonation. Since its parachute deployed, one bomb had only minor damage when it fell about a mile from the crash site. The second bomb fell free, without its parachute deploying, and broke apart on impact." "Components of the bomb were sought for several weeks. The decision was made to leave remaining portions of the weapon containing uranium, believed to have entered the water table, in the ground. As a precaution, the government purchased part of the site and still maintains an easement in order to prevent digging in the vicinity. Periodic groundwater tests, still conducted by the state, have revealed no contamination." As the sign mentions, the actual crash is three miles away and the grounds are secured. Here in downtown Eureka, there isn't much. A small sandwich shop is near the sign if you're hungry. [Review 15486 overall, 990 of 2021, number 3029 in North Carolina.]

I went to the Christmas lights festival tonight? It was beautiful for $10/person. There was a lot…read moreto do and it was decorate beautifully. You were able to tour the main house, too. They did a really great job for this! Food trucks, bar, photo ops, etc. beautiful place!

I had a nice visit at the Poplar Grove Plantation after figuring out where to park. What was…read morewritten on the ticket in great detail was not correct. They changed the parking to the next street and you aren't to enter at the flags like the ticket directions told you. I took a guided tour and learned about the Foy family that had a peanut and sweet potato farm. But the more important part of the story was about the Gullah Geechee people. I had first learned about them when I was in Beaufort SC. But there is a corridor that goes from Wilmington to St. Augustine, FL to protect the Gullah Geechee culture. Poplar Grove was built by the Gullah slaves who were very skilled. 59 lived on the property. They took care of the construction; lumber milling; brick making; tending to the livestock and crops as well as domestic chores. They need to be the focus of the tour.

Harmony Hall was built in 1772 and is a real gem. It is open to tour Wednesdays through Saturday…read morefrom 10am to 4pm. When you arrive at the front door, just knock as they keep the door locked. The volunteer working will provide the background of the house. North Carolina's first Governor made Harmony Hall act as the Capital of the state during the war to protect the records. The house may have been used as a hospital at one point. 10 of 12 children of one family died here and another man committed suicide. So there has been a lot of tragedy there. Two floors of the restored house can be toured as well as the one room schoolhouse and garden. The house has 18th and 19th century furnishings. Upstairs one room has a very large doll collection. The schoolhouse shows what it would have been like to attend school in a room with desks and blackboards. A skeleton key is used to unlock the building. A garden club keeps up the garden's beautiful flowers. Harmony Hall is worth a visit. There is no admission fee but donations are accepted to maintain the property.

Nice place to take the Grand kiddos for a walk...run down the trails. Throw rocks (pinecones) in…read morethe pond, look for tad poles. Have a pic nic. Great for a few hours of killing boredom with littles.

Not the most exciting trail, but worth doing if you have some down time and want to see some…read moreRockefeller History. The Carver Creek State Park is broken into two different sections: Long Valley Farm Access (with the historic Rockefeller Retreat House) and the Sandhill Access (just flat trails for hikers/horses). They are about 20 minutes apart. Between the two, I'd go to the Long Valley Farm Access since the history component whereas the other is just trails. Overall, there is really not much else here and you can complete it within an hour an a half or so. The loop is 2 miles long, but if you go straight back then it's about 1.5 miles total.

Nice little NPS site. Good interpretative content. Grounds very well maintained. Friendly…read morerangers. Top tier junior ranger program. Probably a 90 minute stop. A place worth checking out.

(This visit was made during the times of Covidious. When things return to a look of normality -…read moreyour experience likely will vary.) We made our trek to Moores Creek during Covid which of course means that aside from the trails and the parking lot (restrooms reopened on 7/1/20 but our visit was a few days prior) everything here in terms of programming or the visitors center is closed until NC enters stage 3. From the NPS website: "The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, fought between North Carolina Patriots and Loyalist militia forces, demonstrates the bitter internal divisions that marked the American Revolution. The Loyalists, mostly Scottish Highlanders wielding broadswords, charged across a partially dismantled Moores Creek Bridge. Nearly a thousand North Carolina Patriots waited quietly with cannons and muskets poised to fire. Expecting to find only a small Patriot force, the Loyalists advanced across the bridge. Shots rang out and when the smoke cleared, some 30 to 70 Loyalists lay dead or wounded. Among the dead was Lt. Col. Donald McLeod, who had led the charge. Stunned, outgunned, and leaderless, some of the Loyalists surrendered, while others retreated in confusion. Moores Creek is the site of the first Patriot victory in the American Revolution and the site of the last Scottish Highland broadsword charge. The victory ended British authority in the colony and stalled a full-scale British invasion of the South for nearly four years. This decisive victory spurred the creation of the Halifax Resolves on April 12, 1776, which instructed North Carolina's delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence. North Carolina was the first American colony to take such action. Less than three months later, the United States would ratify the Declaration of Independence." Nice. Neat. Clean. This is very much a C-List NPS stop which doesn't mean that it's not interesting, but it means that within the grand scheme of the Revolutionary War what took place here was a small one time affair that played a minor role in the eventual outcome. The below map shows the three trails that the site offers. The Tarheel Trail gives via placard an overview of the area and some backstory as to why the British were interested in the region (mostly for it's timber). www.nps.gov/mocr/planyourvisit/maps.htm The History Trail should be done counterclockwise simply because the placards tell the story of the battle in that direction. It doesn't make as much sense doing it in reverse, trust me. Off of the History Trail is a small boardwalk area that takes you over the top of Moores Creek itself. Swampy and buggy as all hell. The area floods often enough that the NPS has concerns about the long term viability of being able to interpret/use the grounds as they are currently laid out. www.starnewsonline.com/news/20200703/flooding-could-make-moores-creek-battlefield-inaccessible-in-20-30-years Overall the park is well maintained and easy to navigate. It's size also makes it something that can be explored and enjoyed in an hour or two. Valley Forge this is not, but it's still worth a visit to this hidden gem. (For the record, one of the rangers who seemed like he was really bored came out to meet us on his golf cart while we were on the History Trail and gave some very good info about the park. A+)

The Averasboro Battlefield Museum is a smaller museum but has detailed exhibits with Civil War…read moreartifacts. You will learn about the battle that occurred on the grounds. It is part of the North Carolina Civil War trail. You can see the battlefield for yourself rather than just reading about it. Outside on the barn, are quilt patterns used by escaped slaves to follow safe trails to freedom. There are 18 quilt patterns displayed as well as what each meant. The museum has restrooms outside that are cleaned and well maintained. Chicora Civil War Cemetery is down the road and is part of the museum. If you are in the area and enjoy history, make sure to check out this free museum.

The tour guide/owner was nice and full of information. Not a very large area, but is full of…read moreinteresting information.

This is worth the $15 self tour or $20 guided tour admission. The home is very well kept after…read moreseveral restorations. The slave quarters were difficult to tour, especially juxtaposed to the grand, spacious and opulent mansion. All of the stories are well-documented since there were memoirs. The history, even some of the ugly parts, are shared on the markers. We spent a good amount of time touring the place, and it was very beautifully decorated for Christmas during out visit. Picturesque.

I stopped in for a tour last week and unfortunately they were only having self-guided tours where…read moreyou had to scan each QR code with your phone for the details. But the history of the home, the Bellamy family and enslaved workers were fascinating. The home is beautiful. I want to return around Christmas time for a guided tour.

The Poe House is next door to the Museum of Cape Fear and that is where to sign up for your tour…read moreand where the tour starts. A volunteer takes you through the house of E. A. and Josephine Poe. Mr. Poe owned Poe Brick Company. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. The house is currently getting some much needed maintenance and painting done so make sure to check in advance if it will be open the day you want to visit. The guided tour takes about an hour. The house is a Victorian Style and built from a kit. The wrap around porch and the intricate detailing outside is impressive. The inside of the house is in great condition and has tall ceilings; wide doors and the woodwork is very impressive. It gives a glimpse into early 20th century life. The house has two staircases one for the family and another for the servants. The servants were provided living quarters. The kitchen is detached from the house as the oven was on all day. I highly recommend visiting this beautiful house.

We visited the Poe house yesterday, and really enjoyed it. The house was beautiful, our tour guide…read morewas great even dressed the part. She was very knowledgeable. It was nice to learn how they lived and the family. Next door we visited the gift shop but didn't have time to visit the museum part. (Will have to come back) Also it was free, with donations welcome.