stagville state historic site

Stagville is a grand look into history. I have visited with my daughters when one of the authors of the American Girl doll collection was reading from her book. There are special events and ongoing interpretations of a plantation which had slaves. Highly enlightening!

Very interesting historic site if you like history you will enjoy seeing the place. A lot of historic facts about the early plantation days

The guide is very interesting. They really know a lot about the history and time period of Stagville. My favorite part of the visit was the barn. Everyone really should go at least once. My husband and I have been over 3 times.

Stagville is a surprising gemstone of culture and history. We joined a 1 hour FREE tour with Jeremiah, the visitor center guide after we enjoyed a 15 minutes orientation movie about the area, plantation and enslaved communities. The visitor center has multiple certificates and printed domesticated people testimonies 250 years old about the enslaved people lives and the emancipation. The tour goes through the main plantation owners 250 years old house, followed by a short drive to Horton Grove, the enslaved people quarters and ends in the largest barn in the state.The only room for improvement is the fact the visitor center and the restored houses are outdated in terms of technology / authentic furniture.Highly recommended experience in the region!

If you visit the Durham area, go to this historic site! But make sure you check for the tour times, and arrive a bit earlier. They show an introductory video, and the visitor's center has some cool historical info. on the place. The tour itself was worth the time. You go into the buildings, learn about the history, building techniques and it gives you perspective, especially if it's been a few years since you studied U.S. History. The docent giving the tour was informative and knowledgeable.

What an experience. There is nothing "faux" about a visit to Stagville. It is the real deal. I loved hearing the story about a young slave girl whose life was the basis of an American Doll named Addy (at least there are numerous similarities between the records that were kept on the plantation and the American Doll's story.) I also loved going inside the barn (which many visitors miss because you have to drive there). My recollection is that this was once the largest building in the state. I also marveled at the child's footprint evident in the brick on the slave quarters. Don't miss this on your visit!

This visit was so interesting! You meet a guide at the visitors center. Watch a very worthwhile 15 minute film. Walk to the old house first. Get into your car and go to the three remaining enslaved homes. Get into your car and go see the original barn. Such an interesting story! They are able to tell it because of over 30,000 preserved family records at a local university. Donations are recommended.

I had a working meeting here and during lunch we explored the site. The repicas of slave cabins and the land owners house provided a grat insight into what life was like in the 1800's. Great educatio al site for all history buffs.

We did not really know what to expect at Stagville Plantation but were very pleasantly surprised! A young university student was our guide. Well informed and able to answer lots of questions. Tour starts with a short & informative video which fills the visitor in on background, ownership, etc. First portion of tour is the main house which seems a bit non-impressive on first view but is interesting inside and was probably the best house of it's time period in this area. Contains some period furnishings. Second part of tour is just down the road at a site which was part of the plantation at that time. There is a sharecroppers house (not viewable) and 3, 2 storey, slave cabins. Original & on site. First one is toured and they seem to be in fairly good condition although I am sure boards/roof have been replaced as necessary. Third portion of tour is a little farther down the road & is a historic barn from the plantation. It was the largest barn built in it's time and very impressive inside. Mules were housed here and you can see were they have cribbed the edges of the feeders. Must have been something when it was in use! Thoroughly enjoyed this one and happened to meet up with some of the tour guests again in New Bern!

Excellent and moving experience. The history held at Stagville is amazing. If you are a history lover or even have an ancestral connection to Durham you definitely want to see Stagville

The Stagville Historic site was a great place to visit and to take my daughter and niece to learn about their African-American history that is so often not taught in the school curriculum. As an educator, I feel it is important to learn about our history in order to move forward and make improvements in the future. What surprised me most was the craftsmanship and thought that went into building the slave quarters and barn. Movies and stories do not depict slave living as what we saw at Stagville. The disappointment comes in some of the comments made by the tour guide. One comment compared the mattress on the floor of the slave quarters and how children slept, to her children sleeping in sleeping bags or on air mattresses when company visits. How can she begin to think this is any kind of comparison? I would also like to comment on a review from someone previously who complained about having to drive from the main house to the Horton site. This inconvenience is not the fault of those preserving or working the site. It simply the way it was. Imagine being a slave or sharecropper having to walk the distance to work or after you have worked all day. I am appreciative that this site has been preserved. I was born and raised in Durham and do not recall ever hearing about the site. In grade school we always visited Duke Homestead and Bennett Place. I am glad I was able to find this site on the Internet.

I have been here several times. The people who maintain the site dont seem to care. The dont care if you are there, if you are not, they just dont seem to care period. Any association with them takes all the joy and wonder out of the place. I thought it was just an off day the first time but after getting the same feeling after three times. I figure it is better to find someplace else to go. Very disappointed with this one.

During my civil war tour I had some time and visited this excellent place. I am surprised by how few reviews it has - a real shame. Although it was cold and raining, my guide Beverly provided an excellent tour of the house, the barn and the slave quarters - well described in wbulleye's review below. She described the plantation as well as how the barn was built by enslaved tradesmen. The barn is very impressive. I recommend this place to everyone. You'll need between 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

We did not do the regular tour, and cannot comment on that, but signed up for a special event they hold called Let Them Be Heard. Back in the 1930s, the WPA established by Franklin Roosevelt, hired unemployed writers to interview former slaves so their stories could be recorded. Stagville has created this program where people tell these stories as if the stories were theirs. The stories are incredibly moving, touch on both the devastation and resilience of the human spirit, and are beautifully acted. One would have to have a heart locked in an iron vault to not be moved by this.

Very well preserved buildings and grounds. Staff is knowledgeable and accurate in their presentations and answers to questions. Budget cutbacks from Raleigh legislators had slowed, but not ended, this site's programs and curatorial duties. I was their early in the morning--right after they opened, and pretty much had the place to myself. Great for standing somewhere and trying to imagine what it looked/sounded/smelled like in the early 19th Century. Spooked a bunch of deer down by the big barn.