NC Weekend Honors America’s 250th Anniversary

North Carolina played a remarkable role in the American Revolution, and now, in honor of America’s 250th anniversary, NC Weekend is bringing those stories to life. This special collection of 13 stories takes you across the state to explore the battlefields, historic towns, museums and natural landscapes that shaped the fight for independence. From a greased bridge at Moores Creek to an augmented reality experience in Charlotte, each stop reveals a piece of North Carolina’s Revolutionary history that still stands today. 

Watch NC Weekend’s special “America250 Celebration” exploring Historic Bethabara Park in Winston-Salem, the Green Swamp Preserve and more, Thursday, 7/2, 9 PM, on PBS NC and the PBS app. 

Support for NC Weekend’s America 250 stories is provided by the American Battlefield Trust. 

The Battle of Moores Creek

Forsyth County 

Producer: Lucas Pruitt 

Months before the Declaration of Independence, a tiny bridge in eastern NC helped change the course of the American Revolution. Under cover of night, patriots greased the bridge, then waited. At dawn, when roughly 70 loyalists charged with broadswords, a thousand patriots opened fire. Today, you can retrace the battle at Moores Creek National Battlefield in Currie. 

Website: battlefields.org  

Historic Bethabara Park

Pender County 

Producer: Lucas Pruitt 

Historic Bethabara Park in Winston-Salem tells the improbable story of how a medieval execution shaped colonial North Carolina. This National Historic Landmark—once a thriving frontier town and a prisoner-of-war camp after the Battle of Kings Mountain—offers hands-on demonstrations and guided tours that bring history to life. 

Website: historicbethabara.org  

Ramsour’s Mill

During the American Revolutionary War, neighbor fought neighbor in the morning fog at Ramsour’s Mill in Lincolnton, NC, to prevent a Loyalist militia from reaching the British Army. Today, this often-forgotten, bloody battle is commemorated at the Ramsour’s Mill Battlefield through public walking trails, interpretive signs, monuments and a living history weekend each June.

Watch “Ramsour’s Mill,” premiering Sunday, 6/14 on YouTube, the PBS app and online. 

Kings Mountain Historical Museum

In 1780, the Battle of Kings Mountain delivered a decisive blow to British forces in the South, but the women and children who are part of this story are often overlooked. Today, the town that bears the battle’s name hosts the Kings Mountain Historical Museum, where immersive exhibits and artifacts offer a deeper, more human perspective on the fight for independence. 

Watch “Kings Mountain Historical Museum,” premiering Sunday, 6/21 on YouTube, the PBS app and online. 

Hickory Ridge History Museum

Hickory Ridge History Museum in Boone, NC, shares the history of defiant settlers who pushed past the British Crown’s boundary lines on the eve of the American Revolution. Learn how they carved out a world built on self-reliance through historic interpretations, skill demonstrations and the long-running Horn in the West outdoor drama. 

Watch “Hickory Ridge History Museum,” premiering Sunday, 6/28 on YouTube, the PBS app and online. 

Robert Cleveland Log House

Brothers Benjamin and Robert Cleveland fought side by side at the Battle of Kings Mountain, a turning point in the American Revolution. Nearly as old as the Revolution itself, the Robert Cleveland Log House—part of the Wilkes Heritage Museum complex in Wilkesboro, NC—stands as the last surviving structure connected to the brothers’ legacy. 

Watch “Robert Cleveland Log House,” premiering Sunday, 7/5 on YouTube, the PBS app and online. 

Overmountain Victory Trail

Patriot militia braved the frontier and marched to one of the most pivotal victories of the American Revolution, the Kings Mountain campaign. Today, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail at Lake James, NC, connects to a 330-mile trail system through four states: NC, SC, TN and VA. Visitors can walk in patriot footsteps through some of the Southeast’s most spectacular mountain scenery. 

Watch “Overmountain Victory Trail,” premiering Sunday, 7/12 on YouTube, the PBS app and online. 

Historic Bath

More than half a century before the American Revolution, Historic Bath was already at the center of a bitter power struggle between rival governors, competing faiths and feudal-like rule by English noblemen. Today, North Carolina’s oldest town preserves that story through authentically restored buildings, guided walking tours and a waterfront with charms new and old. 

Watch “Historic Bath,” premiering Sunday, 7/19 on YouTube, the PBS app and online. 

Historic Halifax

The Halifax Resolves have come home for the first time since they were sent to Philadelphia in 1776 to instruct North Carolina delegates to vote for independence. The only known copy of the Resolves is on display through October 2026 in Historic Halifax’s newly renovated visitor center, where guided tours, restored buildings and historical interpreters offer a window to the past. 

Watch “Historic Halifax,” premiering Sunday, 7/26 on YouTube, the PBS app and online. 

Charlotte Museum of History

At the Charlotte Museum of History, we explore American Revolution: The Augmented Exhibition, a cutting-edge augmented reality experience that puts you in the middle of the fight for independence, from Boston to Philadelphia to Charlotte. The exhibition runs at the museum through April 2027. 

Watch “Charlotte Museum of History,” premiering Sunday, 8/2 on YouTube, the PBS app and online. 

McIntyre Historic Site & Charlotte Liberty Walk

The British expected an easy victory in Charlotte during the American Revolution, but patriot riflemen had other ideas. The McIntyre Historic Site marks the 1780 battlefield, and the Charlotte Liberty Walk connects 19 self-guided multimedia markers through Uptown Charlotte that highlight the city’s Revolutionary history. 

Watch “McIntyre Historic Site & Charlotte Liberty Walk,” premiering Sunday, 8/9 on YouTube, the PBS app and online. 

Museum of the Southeast American Indian at UNC Pembroke 

People have lived along the rivers of Robeson County, NC, for thousands of years. The Museum of the Southeast American Indian at UNC Pembroke preserves their history and tells their story through art, cultural programming and artifacts, including a thousand-year-old canoe, a celebrated patchwork quilt and a re-created 18th-century cabin. 

Watch “Museum of the Southeast American Indian at UNC Pembroke,” premiering Sunday, 8/16 on YouTube, the PBS app and online. 

Green Swamp Preserve

Tar and pitch from North Carolina’s abundant longleaf pines fueled the British Navy for decades and, after the American Revolution, built the nation. The Green Swamp Preserve in Brunswick County offers a step back in time to the landscape of the Revolution. Visitors can walk free trails in longleaf pine savannas and spot native plants like the carnivorous Venus flytrap and rare endangered species. 

Watch “Green Swamp Preserve,” premiering Sunday, 8/23 on YouTube, the PBS app and online.