Cumberland

Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Armory and Museum
The Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Company is the oldest southern militia unit in continuous existence in the U.S., serving N.C. since 1793. The museum houses two centuries of preserved documents, uniforms, and artifacts and is open by appointment.

Methodist University
Special Collections, Davis Memorial Library
The Special Collections and Archives Department at Davis Memorial Library collects and maintains records generated by the Academic Affairs and Student Development areas of the university and provides access to small collections of historically important material. The Library's Lafayette Collection comprises diverse materials and formats, including 19 original letters written by Lafayette or concerning him, over 150 monographs, 175 books (many more than 150 years old), and a collection of books about Lafayette for children. The Carolina College Collection consists of documents, scrapbooks, photographs, and other materials generated both by Carolina College (which operated in Maxton, NC, from 1912-1926) and by the Carolina College Alumnae Association. Many items from the collection are viewable online as digital exhibits.

82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum
The 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum preserves and interprets the history of the 82nd Division from 1917 to the present. The primary purpose of the museum is education: to tell the military and civilian communities about the salient aspects of the history of the division. Exhibits at the museum include donations of artifacts from soldiers who have served in the 82nd Airborne, vintage aircraft, large field artillery pieces, and other important 20th century historical pieces.

JFK Special Warfare Museum
The mission of the JFK Special Warfare Center and School Museum is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret significant historical property related to the history of special operations in the U.S. Army, including the Special Forces and Civil Affairs branches, the Ranger Regiment, the functional areas of Psychological Operations and Aviation, and its predecessor organizations from the American colonial period to the present. The JFK Museum's collection is composed of primarily 20th century objects and equipment, especially from the Vietnam War period. Additionally, the museum maintains an extensive collection of ethnographic material from Southeast Asia indigenous peoples.

Cape Fear Botanical Garden
Carter-McCauley-Snider Farmhouse
The Cape Fear Botanical Garden serves as a center for enrichment, inspiration, and enjoyment of nature; the collection, culture, and aesthetic display of plants; encouragement of environmental stewardship; conservation, education, and research; the preservation of our agricultural heritage; and engagement and involvement of the community. The Botanical Garden features an authentic 1886 farmhouse, tobacco barn, smokehouse, and general store surrounded by a Heritage Garden.

Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex
Two floors of exhibits showcase the history of the twenty counties of southeastern North Carolina at the Museum of the Cape Fear. Exhibits include information and artifacts relating to American Indians, European settlement, African American slavery, plank roads, steam boating, industry, the Civil War, and much more. A changing exhibit gallery focuses on topics of special interest. The 1897 Poe House and Arsenal Park are also part of the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex. The Poe House is interpreted as it was in the late 1800s when the Poe family resided there. Arsenal Park is the site of the United States Arsenal in North Carolina. Commissioned in 1836, it was used by the Federal government to store arms and manufacture a variety of ordnance goods. It was used by the Confederacy during the Civil War and destroyed in 1865 by command of Union General William T. Sherman.

Fayetteville State University
Archives and Special Collections
The Archives and Special Collections section of Chesnutt Library at Fayetteville State contains materials directly related to the history of Fayetteville State University and of African Americans in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, and the United States. The University Archives includes minutes, correspondence, annual reports, university publications, catalogs, yearbooks, student newspapers, and records of student organizations, among other items. Special Collections materials include the papers of author and educator Charles W. Chesnutt and his family, and of FSU Chancellors James W. Seabrook and Rudolph Jones. The Special Collections area also includes numerous books that relate to the "African American Experience" in education, politics, the civil rights movement, slavery and the Emancipation Era.

Fayetteville Museum of Art
The Fayetteville Museum of Art was founded in 1971. Originally housed in downtown Fayetteville's historic Market House, the Museum moved in 1978 to its present facility that was the first building in the State of North Carolina designed and built as an Art Museum. In addition to the modern facility that includes two galleries, classrooms, studio space, an Art Reference & Slide Lending Library, and a Museum Store, the Museum's 5.8 acre grounds and pond give the Fayetteville community a place to gather for relaxation. The park-like setting is an oasis in the midst of a heavily trafficked area; it is also utilized for large-scale sculpture displays, art festivals and public concerts. The Museum has recently begun a campaign to build a new MoA in Fayetteville's Festival Park. The designer of the project is world reknowned architect Enrique Norten. Please visit our website to see our visionary design and to find out how to be a part of our campaign!

Airborne and Special Operations Museum Foundation
Airborne and Special Operations Museum
The Airborne & Special Operations Museum preserves, interprets, and recognizes U.S. Army airborne and special operations history, equipment, technology, legend, art, and weaponry. The lobby exhibit features two fully-deployed parachutes, a WWII era T-5 round chute and a modern MC-4 square chute. The main exhibit gallery moves the visitor through time, starting in 1940 with the conception of the U.S. Army Parachute Test Platoon and ending with today's airborne and special operations units. There is a smaller exhibit gallery that allows for the presentation of stories not told in the main gallery and changes from time to time. The 235 seat Yarborough-Bank large-screen theater provides the viewer with an opportunity to be in the center of the action. A 24-seat motion simulator alsow shows military operations in a way. Filmed in Vistascope, a high-speed 8/35 mm process that presents a huge, stunningly clear image, the movie is designed to put the viewer into the exciting military action and to show military operations in a way never before experienced by the public. The Airborne & Special Operations Museum is part of the U.S. Army Museum System and functions in partnership with a non-profit foundation.

United States Army Special Operations Forces Archives
The United States Army Special Operations Forces Archives serves as a foundation for understanding Army Special Operations history. This archive serves military and civilian researchers as a repository for documents and collections related to Special Forces, Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, and the Ranger and Aviation regiments.

XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg
Office of the Command Historian
The XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Office of the Command Historian provides the XVIII Airborne Corps Commander and staff, and the Major Subordinate Command commanders and staffs, with historical support by preserving critical documents, photographs, and artifacts, preparing historical studies of past operations, publishing the Annual Historical Review for Corps and Garrison, and supporting the use of history throughout the Command. Research requests must be routed through the Command Historian and visits to the Office of the Command Historian are by appointment only.

Cumberland County Public Library
Local and State History Room
The mission of the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center is to educate, enlighten, and entertain our customers by providing the best in reading, information, and programs. Materials in the Local & State History Room include books, maps, pamphlets, newspapers, microfilm, census records and photographs. The collection, which began as a local history collection, now includes material about almost anything concerning North Carolina and Cumberland County. All materials, including rare books and maps, are available for use by the public, but must be used only in the Library.

Fayetteville Area Transportation Museum
The Fayetteville Area Transportation Museum is housed in the restored Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway Passenger Depot building. Exhibits and artifacts tell the story of the history of transportation in the Fayetteville area from Native American trails to steamboats and trains and explore the importance of the early trade communities of Cross Creek and Campbellton.