The Chinqua-Penn Plantation, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of America's great architectural models. Designed in the fashion of an English Countryside Mansion, Chinqua-Penn is notable both for its size and its grandeur. Today, the home stands as a historic house museum and is furnished with the same furniture used by the Penns.

The home offers guided tours and special events. The website offers visitor information, a history of the home, an events calendar, and a virtual tour. In order to contact the mansion via email, use the "contact us" link located on the left side of the webpage.

The YMI Cultural Center presents African American culture and history. The center is located within the 1892 Tudor-style Young Men's Institute, constructed at the request of James Vanderbilt for the African American men who had built Vanderbilt's Biltmore House. The building held a drugstore, doctor's office, public library, funeral parlor, gym, kindergarten, and church services for the local African American population. Permanent exhibits showcase the history of the Vanderbilts and the YMI Cultural Center, as well as the drawings of artist Charles W. White, a noted Social Realist.

The center offers exhibts; a traveling exhibit of stamps depicting African Americans of historical note; and art workshops. The traveling exhibit is available to area schools. The website offers a virtual exhibit, An Unmarked Trail: Stories of African Americans in Buncombe County from 1850-1900.

The Ocracoke Preservation Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Ocracoke Island, NC. To this end, the society operates a museum and research library within the circa 1900 David Williams House. The residence's namesake and original owner served as the first Coast Guard Chief at the local station. The museum contains period rooms, maritime artifacts, and contemporary art.

The museum offers period rooms, exhibits, and research library access. Appointments are necessary for library access.

This site comprises the remains of North Carolina's largest pre-Civil War plantation and one of the South's largest. It once belonged to the Bennehan-Cameron family, whose combined holdings totaled approximately 900 slaves and almost 30,000 acres by 1860. Today, Stagville consists of 71 acres, on three tracts. On this land stand the late 18th-century Bennehan House, four rare slave houses, a pre-Revolutionary War farmer's house, a huge timber framed barn built by skilled slave craftsmen, and the Bennehan Family cemetery.

The site offers tours and occasional recreational and educational events.

The Historic Burke Foundation Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Burke County, North Carolina. To this end, the society operates the Heritage Museum, 1812 McDowell House, and two historic cemeteries. The Heritage Museum, located within the circa 1835 Old Burke County Courthouse, contains exhibits on the courthouse, the court system, and other topics relevant to local history. The Federal-style McDowell House depicts 19th-century life. The Quaker Meadows Cemetery (in use 1767-1884) is the final resting place for nine families, including nine Revolutionary War soldiers.

The museum offers a 20-minute audiovisual presentation and exhibits. The McDowell House offers period rooms. The McDowell House requires appointments between September and March, and foundation permission is needed to enter the gated Quaker Meadows Cemetery.

The Lower Cape Fear Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of southeastern North Carolina. To this end, the society operates the Latimer House Museum. The 1852 Victorian Italianate Latimer House contains period rooms depicting local upper-class Victorian-era life. The grounds contain gardens with heirloom plants.

The society offers a fifth grade educational program, guided tours of the house, guided historical district walking tours, a summer camp, and archival access. Reservations are required for the educational program. Non-members are charged a fee for archival access.

Founded in 1902 by Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, Palmer Memorial Institute transformed the lives of more than 2,000 African-American students. Today, the campus provides the setting where visitors can explore this unique environment where boys and girls lived and learned during the greater part of the 20th century. The museum links Dr. Brown and Palmer Memorial Institute to the larger themes of African-American history, women's history, social history, and education, emphasizing the contributions African Americans made in North Carolina.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, lectures, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

The Museum of The Cherokee Indian presents the culture and history of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee people. Permanent exhibits address the Paleo (11,000 BC-8,000 BC), Archaic (8,000 BC-1,000 BC), and Mississippian (900-1500) Periods.

The museum offers exhibits; hands-on workshops; educational presentations; lectures; a nature walk; self-guided tours; a Cherokee dance and cultural demonstration group; a teacher's institute on Cherokee culture; and Cherokee language classes. The website offers a Cherokee information packet with activities.

The Newbold-White House is a 1730 Quaker Colonial residence used to present the history of Northeastern North Carolina. In addition to the home, the 143-acre grounds hold a walking trail, a 17th-century Quaker cemetery, a kitchen garden, and a reconstructed smokehouse. The Periauger, an 18th-century work boat replica, is also available for specific programs.

The house offers 45-minute guided tours, a video about the Periauger, folk and decorative arts exhibits, customizable school tours, and a children's summer sailing program. Please note that the site is only partially handicapped accessible.

One of the upper South's largest antebellum plantations, Somerset Place was home from 1785–1865 to 850 enslaved people, three generations of owners, and around 50 white and two black employees. It once included more than 100,000 wooded, swampy acres bordering Lake Phelps, where such crops as rice were cultivated. Today, the 31-acre site offers a realistic view of 19th-century life on a large North Carolina plantation through seven original buildings and meshes the lifestyles of all of the plantation's residents in one concise chronological social history.

The site offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.