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On Display at the Orange County Historical Museum
The Orange County Historical Museum offers permanent and special exhibits all year round. Permanent exhibits explore the development and history of Hillsborough in a chronological fashion, beginning with early Native American settlements, progressing through the 1950s. Special exhibits explore a variety of topics relevant to Orange County history, and are displayed in the second-floor gallery.
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| Current or Upcoming Special Exhibits
Check back soon for information about our spring exhibit!
Permanent Storyline Exhibits
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Freedom's Struggles: Reconstruction in Orange County
Opened July 31, 2009
This exhibit explores the roll of Orange County and its residents during Reconstruction, the time after the Civil War. It features tobacco paraphenalia including a reed and wood pipe, Webb and Co checks, and cigar molds.
Exhibit sponsored by the Orange County ABC Board.
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The Wrath to Come
Opened April 27, 2007
This exhibit explores the roll of Orange County and its residents in the American Civil War. It features the muster roll of the “Jeff Davis Boys,” a nursing dress, Civil War weaponry, and the canteen of Dennis Cates.
Exhibit sponsored by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation.
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Home Life: Women and Domestic Slaves during the American Revolution
Opened October 21, 2005
This exhibits discusses the lives of those people often forgotten when discussing the American Revolution-the women and domestic slaves at home. Using the museum's collection of domestic goods and centered on the hearth, the exhibit brings their history to the forefront.
Exhibit sponsored by Whitehall at the Villa Antiques/Whitehall at Fearrington and Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd.
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Regulation to Revolution
Opened May 27, 2005
This exhibit discusses a period that saw the creation of a new nation and a new national identity. Included are the War of Regulation, which rocked the Piedmont in the late 1760s and early 1770s; the American Revolution; and the Constitutional Convention of 1788.
Exhibit sponsored by Whitehall at the Villa Antiques/Whitehall at Fearrington and Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd.
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The Road to Orange
Opened July 30, 2004
The Orange County Historical Museum celebrated Hillsborough's 250th year with this exhibit. Artifacts on display chronicle the influx of European settlers into the North Carolina backcountry between 1740 to 1760.
Exhibit sponsored by the Hillsborough Historical Society.
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On Company Time: Orange County Textile Mills and Villages
Opened 2003
This interactive exhibition focuses on life in and around the textile mills in Carrboro, Hillsborough, and Efland. On display are artifacts representing daily life for mill village families, some of who are captured in photos from the Cone Mills (Eno Mill) Archives.
Exhibit sponsored by Eno River Development Company and Hillsborough Business Park.
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A Time of Hard Living: The Rip Van Winkle Period 1790-1850
Opened July 25, 2003
In the period after the American Revolution, while the rest of the United States embraced progress, North Carolina stagnated. The exhibit explains why the state gained the nickname "The Rip Van Winkle State" and how Orange County's politicians sought to change the social and political situation for the better.
Exhibit sponsored by Eurosport.
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Past Special Exhibits
Visit North Carolina Digital Heritage Center to see some of our items on exhibit.
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