Burke

Historic Burke Foundation
Quaker Meadows Plantation
Historic Burke Foundation is a non-profit organization chartered in 1982 to preserve and restore historic buildings and sites in Burke County and to provide technical assistance to others engaged in preservation. Quaker Meadows Plantation is one of the Foundation's restoration projects that is open to the public for special events and by appointment. Quaker Meadows is significant as one of the meeting places for the Overmountain Men during the American Revolution.

Waldensian Museum
The mission of the Waldensian Museum is preservation of the heritage and traditions of this Protestant sect as inspiration for future generations of Waldensians and non-Waldensians alike. The museum interprets Waldensians, immigrants from Northern Italy, their history and the founding of Valdese in the late 1800's through artifacts, textiles, special programs, photographs and genealogical and local histories.

Historic Burke Foundation
Old Burke County Courthouse and Heritage Museum
Historic Burke Foundation is a non-profit organization chartered in 1982 to preserve and restore historic buildings and sites in Burke County and to provide technical assistance to others engaged in preservation. The courthouse, one of the foundation's restoration projects, houses Historic Burke Foundation and the Burke County Travel and Tourism office. The courthouse is open to the public for tours and displays changing exhibits on the history and people of Burke County.

Western Piedmont Community College, Phifer Learning Resources Center
Western Piedmont Community College Archives
The purpose of the Western Piedmont Community College Archives is to collect and preserve selected documents regarding Western Piedmont Community College.

Western Piedmont Community College, Phifer Learning Resources Center
Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr. Library
The Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr., Library encourages people to study and reflect upon those democratic principles which formed our country and which continue to shape our nation and the world. The recreation of the Ervin library provides an intimate look at the books and artifacts that influenced Senator Ervin throughout his career.

Burke Arts Council
The Burke Arts Council, founded in 1975, is located in the former Burke County jailhouse and features several galleries and educational facilities. The Jailhouse Gallery focuses on visual arts of the southern Appalachian region and frequently rotates local art exhibits. The council maintains a small permanent collection of paintings, pottery and glass, most of which is on display throughout the community.

Waldensian Trail of Faith
The Waldensian Trail of Faith promotes the history and culture of the Waldensians, Protestant immigrants from Northern Italy, from their beginnings in pre-Reformation Italy through the settlement of Valdese in 1893. Using reproductions of significant buildings and landmarks in both Italy and North Carolina, the Trail of Faith takes visitors on a walking tour of history.

Burke County Public Library
North Carolina Room
The North Carolina Room at the Burke County Public Library provides users with research materials for genealogy, local history, North Carolina history, and other related subjects. Of particular interest are land grant, obituary and cemetery records assembled for the entire county.

North Carolina School for the Deaf Historical Museum
The mission of the North Carolina School for the Deaf Museum and Archives is to preserve and display the history of the school. The museum and archives collect yearbooks, scrapbooks, histories, artifacts and photographs documenting the school and its community since its founding in 1894.

Broughton Hospital
Patient Library and Archives
The Broughton Hospital Patient Library houses the archival records of Broughton Hospital from the hospital's opening in 1883 to the 1950's. An artifact collection in the Avery Administration building includes such items as a 1914 painting of the Broughton campus, an antique wooden wheelchair and turn of the century furniture.

The History Museum of Burke County
The History Museum of Burke County promotes the collection, preservation, educational interpretation and display of those artifacts, documents and events most representative of Burke County--its prehistory, and history, its cultural economic development, its people and institutions. The museum displays artifacts relating to the history of Burke County and the Depot Museum interprets the history of the railroad in the county.

Piedmont and Western Railroad Club & The Town of Valdese Old Rock School Railway Museum
The museum has an extensive collection of railroad artifacts and photographs plus a large operating model railroad. The collection includes a replica of the historic railroad station and a restored "speeder" rail car.