Reviews of Stagville State Historic Site (Museum)

jemarle riley

Awesome

Nichol Tate

Wonderful site knowledgeable people.

Drew Neill

Friendly knowledgeable staff. Wonderful interpreter and buildings helped bring enslaved African-American to life!

karie cook

Nice local place. Good trip for the day.

E J P

My family and I really enjoyed visiting the Stagville plantation. This was my first experience visiting a plantation and I was really moved by the energy of the grounds. I couldn't help but picture my ancestors throughout the plantation and all they endured for me to be free today. To wander the grounds and houses with such deep history really made me feel a connection to the past and to who I am and where I've come from. To learn of the cowry shells, dolls, and other items found in the walls that were left by the slaves- so moving to say the least... To see the actual finger indentations in the bricks that were from the enslaved men and women who formed the clay bricks was something I didn't expect to see and it made me emotional. I thank the sustainers for keeping this piece of living history up and running. I look forward to bringing my children back to learn more and connect with our past. "They didn't steal slaves from Africa- they stole Scientists, Doctors, Architects, Teachers, Artists, Entrepreneurs, Astronomers, Mothers, Fathers, Daughters and Sons and turned them into slaves." ✊

Margaret Damghani

I recently chaperoned my daughter's fifth grade friend trip. It's little things that set historic Stagville apart. The words used, not simply "slaves", but "enslaved craftsman", "enslaved carpenters", the focus on the culture that was passed down through generations of a people dealing with something so difficult, and the kids getting to bring home a cowrie shell to symbolize that. I enjoy history that gives honor to and humanizes our past, especially when it isn't pretty. I thought historic Stagville was a very broad and inclusive historical site.

TaNasia Davis

Learned so much

Erik Oliphant

A good place to learn about history

Ducko9 D

Neat place to visit Guided tour (free) Great tour guide Gift shop Cool history

Joaquim Ramos

Very interesting to place. No easy to describe. Please visit witness for you tomorrow r family

Judith Schuurman

Historische plek over de slavernij. Gratis tour, vrijwillige bijdrage.

Theressa Evans

Tour guide was very informative. Very interesting and historic.

bls txi

This is a well done site and very interesting

Okinawa Glanton

Amazing cultural experience

Lakeisha Bailey

Unfortunately this place is not worth the time. Please don’t take young children here its geared more for older children such as high school.

Arielle Patla

The tour was wonderful. Completely free and full of a lot of facts and history. Get to see some very old historic homes of both the slave owners and the enslaved. Nice way to spend a few hours.

Patrick Charbonneau

Plantation historique avec un "slave quarter" remarquablement préservé. Guides compétents et investis. Demeure entre bonnes mains malgré les compressions de l'état. À voir absolument.

Carley Sutton

Incredibly informative tour guide! Worth checking out!

Maureen Grier

If you’re looking for something off the beaten path, look no further. This is a great place to visit and learn about history in North Carolina. The tour guides are very knowledgeable. The tour does involve some walking, so make sure you wear comfortable shoes.

Ayana Johnson

Very interesting history I didn't know was in my own back yard. The site manager Julie is amazing and quite knowledgeable.

Mike Dellerman

Nice for something to do and learn about historical places and times. The verbal information given during the tour is almost better than the visuals. Good for kids too. You do have to make sure they are open before you go. Parking is free and the people are helpful and friendly.

Mark Clark

Historic plantation site.

John Ahlers

Went for a recent lantern-lit tour of Horton Grove slave quarters and great barn., so I'm basing this review on that event. That said, it was impressive enough to convince me to return to see the rest of Stagville. The guide, Vera, was extremely knowledgeably. She was also quite adept at parrying stupid questions and "I'm going to show how smart I am by repeating what you just told us" comments/questions. (You know the type of person I'm talking about...) The tour was an exceptional idea. As Vera pointed out, most visitors see the structures during the day. However, the night hours give a truer view of what the enslaved population would have seen. Because days were for working in the fields, nighttime was when the enslaved population actually interacted and practiced a modicum of their own culture in and about the "houses." The tour then visited the Great Barn, which lives up to its name. It's HUGE! Here Vera made another interesting point: the impressive structure was entirely slave built (including collecting the lumber, turning it into usable planks/beams, making the nails, etc) at a time when all things "negro" were being dismissed as inferior. All in all, a nice little historical site with excellent staff!

Ira Gershenhorn

A must-see.

Jason Pearl

A fascinating look at at a dark period of American history. Well worth visiting. The docents are very knowledgeable and great about imparting their knowledge.

Dana Stone

This is one of my favorite sites. Today, the emphasis was on trades. Someone was making bricks out of mud, clay, and sand and water. Some else was spinning cotton. Also, Dontavious Williams was there in his hand sewn garments, cooking over an open fire. It was a delightful and beautiful day and the staff were outgoing and friendly. I especially enjoyed speaking with Stephanie, the site manager, and Vera, an interpreter. They are both extremely knowledgeable and very talented at engaging visitor. I became a member today. I highly recommend this place.

Erin M

We had a lot of fun! It was interesting learning about the history of this place and our guide kept our attention.

David Ward

Our guide was very knowledgeable and interesting. Definitely worth a visit.

Lisa Okpara

Best tour for describing life of enslaved people

Tyler Cooper

Great site, awesome place for understanding the agricultural history of Durham county.

George Carrick

Very nice site, we'll be back. The guided tours are only at 11, 1 am 3 Tuesday through Saturday. Not wanting to wait for 50 more minutes, we decided to come back. We're looking forward to it!

Marissa Dee

Awesome learning experience! It is great to have such a historic place nearby to visit.

Brandy Barbosa

It was very eye opening and I enjoyed my visit very much

Elizabeth Garland

Very educational they know their knowledge family friendly

Sybil Richardson

Great place to visit . It was also free . The guide was really informative and made the visit ectreemly pleasent

Dixie Pierce

We got there just before closing. We were rushed, but it was well maintained. I love how we could just wander around

A Korupp

From the slaves experience.

D. H.

Great place. I went with a school group so we had a guide. I'm not sure if that's something that is typical but that really help with the experience. We got to go inside a former slave dwelling and had a very Interactive experience sawing a log. And we went into the main house and were able to compare the differences. Overall a really good experience and they do a really good job there

Edna Shelley

Love it

Bernadette Page

Includes a lot of information not only about the owners, but also about the enslaved people who used to live there. One of the slave cabins has an original chimney with bricks with fingerprints of the enslaved people who made it.

Erik Graves

Very interesting and powerful reminder of a dark time in our (not too distant) history. The barn is amazing!

Thomas Ciotti

Love the history!

June Moon

This is a must visit. We must know our past, no matter how difficult it is to face.

Lynn Stevens

Really enjoyed our visit to this plantation. Our guide Gil made it ver meaningful with his stories, information and willingness to answer questions. It’s such an important part of our history-everyone should experience it!

Nathaniel Abbott

Pretty cool, but everything is locked up and you can't see in the windows. Guess you need to schedule a tour for that. It was free and interesting to see. P.S. If you have TMobile, make sure you download a map how to get out of there as I had spotty service and had to guess.

Heather Burns

Had some extra time to kill on the way to Franklin, NC and I really wanted to do a haunted something. Biltmore Estates was far too expensive being a last minute thing. I read some tidbits about apparitions appearing around Stagville, so I thought, what the heck. I called ahead, because I wasn't sure of tour times or group sizes. Tours are held on the hour every hour, last one at 3pm.

D W

Terrible. The guide left me and my family at the first site while she took everyone else to the second site. Just rude. Other than that, it's just boring. Very boring.

Jason Child

An educational and moving glimpse into our local history and the history of slavery in the US.

O V

What a unique and special place to visit. I was googling historical places to visit when I found this one. Worth every minute. Great free tour. Passionate tour guide. Cute gift shop. Local history. Must see.

DAJSBY Music Inc.

Did not look really practical. They danced around facts, instead of coming straight out and stating that the slaves played music and danced to entertain their masters against their will, and if they refused they were beaten and/or hung. They didn't point out trees that slaves were hung on or tied to, to be beaten, just for wanting something as simple as food, water or soap to take a bath. I think in these situations, all of the facts should be told so that history can be known and the younger generations can see how far we have evolved.

g9104346610 Phone

AfrAm lady tourguide was so informative & detailed--just plain passionate & thorough! Very impressive. Sent others to visit site. Will return

D. Sanders

The history was very powerful and educational.

John Mullan

Excellent and well preserved site

Braska Williams Jr

Great plantation tour. Little known but very interesting, and it's free!!

Bryce Jahner

A fantastically preserved piece of history. The free tour of the grounds, as well as Horton Grove, were amazing!

Kristen KHz

Excellent living history exhibits.

Justin Herbe

Hard working tour guides who give up their lunches to ensure the visitors get a full experience.

jim catalfamo

Plantation at Historic Stagville is great. i'm not going to tell you what is here. i don't want to spoil it for you. all i can say is the tour guide was wonderful and my family learned so much. its a must to see. if you can go during the slow time and get there early. the tour guide took us a huge barn that wasn't part of the tour. maybe you'll get lucky like we did.

Tim Jordan

Great piece of history. Excellent docents

Alice Bynum

I think every American should make a trip to Stagville in their lifetime. I teach high school history, and came to this site as part of a month-long Freedom Tour of the South. As the members of a nation shaped by slavery, it is essential that we take the opportunity to visit historic plantation sites to learn about and imagine the lives of enslaved people and the meaning of the race-based slave system. The Stagville tour stands out as the most honest, rich, and educational plantation visit possible in any of the eleven seceding states. Site manager Julianne Herczeg is a brilliant historian and teacher, guiding you through the actions, experiences, and psychology that comprised enslaved life. Her tour personalizes and dignifies the generations of people who lived and labored at the largest plantation in North Carolina before going on to create Durham’s black professional class, Black Wall Street, and the many families who return to Stagville today for reunions and for memory and history. I cannot recommend this experience highly enough. This important legacy deserves the care, expertise, and teaching that Stagville uniquely provides.

Morgan Carlston

Excellent tour guide and fascinating and important history. It is easier to understand the horrors of slavery in America by visiting a site like this and standing where the victims and the perpetrators of this injustice once stood.

Nate Williams

Mind opening...

Adam Carter

The history was awesome. Seeing the actual buildings that shaped the course of America helps to put things into perspective. The biggest problem for me was the tour guide's personal opinion on the current political climate.

Brandy Stewart

Very interesting. Our guide, Robin, was great.

Julian Camacho

Very educational, must visit

Rickia McKinney

Very informative

Steve Meyers

Nice historical site, to walk around. Guided tour times are only way to access inside of buildings.

Joy W

This is a facinating local place with so much history. The tour guide is passionate, kind and really good.

tania alcalde

Amazing historical and cultural

DY OH'AR

This is a must see to any visitor of the Piedmont region of the US. We enjoyed our visit here with Laurie as our historian. This place has such great potential to become a great museum centering the experiences of the enslaved people.

Julie McD

Speechless

Alex Chavira

Neat place for local history.

Forrest Chambless

Nice people, informative, well maintained.

Andrea Cano

Tells the truth about slavery at this plantation. The staff knows the real history and takes you on a four donation only!!

Harvey S

One of the best, if not the best guided tour I've ever done.

Rebecca Miller

Its not your elegant plantation house but the tour is interesting learning about its history and the family

Princess Glitter Sparkle

A+! A+! A+! Attended as part of Fall Homeschool Program. Superb experience!!!!!!!! The only negative is we didnt get to participate in the Freedom Walk and we really would have loved to!!!!! Laurie (Lori?) and Mary were excellent in their roles. Very knowledgeable and very passionate about the slave cabin and the enslaved men and women who were forced to make Stagville their new "home". They truly made the experience come alive for my daughter and Laurie was just phenomenal in explaining questions my daughter thought of AFTER program ended at 4pm! Thank you!!! Ms. McNeil in the school teacher role was very authentic and her authoritative demeanor gave a realistic portrayal of school in those times. Loved the Greek Alphabet, writing on slate chalkboards, the hornbook and corporal punishment reenactments. I can't remember her name, but the woman in the barn with woodcarving was also very excellent!!! My arms are stillllll aching from the sawing activity

Leah Wheeler

This site interprets life of enslaved persons on the Cameron-Bennehan Plantation prior to Emancipation. The free descendents of the enslaved people have returned their ancestors' human dignity to this place. It is a sobering experience and very much worth the time you invest.

Vicente Vila

Great your guide with lots of insights on the property

Becky

Fascinating experience. Everyone should visit.

Ron Travis

Not a lot to see, but interesting tour & narrative. Knowledgeable guides.

Lewis Wharton

Very informative

Ursula Bowser

The tour guides are so informative. I learned so much and had a great time while learning history.

Fay Jones

An eye opener! Please visit to see this important part of history and don't believe his story.