Surry

Horne Creek Living Historical Farm
Horne Creek Living Historical Farm, a State Historic Site, serves as a research center and outdoor museum dedicated to the study, preservation, and interpretation of North Carolina's agricultural and rural heritage, circa 1900-1910. The land now comprising the site was farmed by the Hauser family for nearly 200 years, initially by John Hauser and then later by his son Thomas. Today at the site guides interpret everyday farm life as it was during the early Twentieth century. Buildings are being renovated or reconstructed; heirloom varieties of fruits, vegetables, and fieldcrops are being grown; period tools and techniques are being employed; and livestock is being raised that is representative of turn-of-the-century breeds, many of which are now classified as rare and endangered. The centerpiece of the farm -- the Hauser farmhouse -- has been restored and is furnished with furniture from the era. Horne Creek Living Historical Farm is also the location of the Southern Heritage Apple Orchard. Established in 1997, this devloping orchard contains over 400 varieties of old southern apple trees, many of which were near extinction.

Gilmer-Smith Foundation
Gertrude Smith House
The Gertrude Smith House was built in 1903 by the Jefferson Davis Smith Family. A native of Greensboro, Mr. Smith was a merchant and owned a vast amount of real estate in this area. He married Mount Airy native, Gertrude Gilmer, and they had seven children, five sons and two daughters. Their daughter Gertrude Smith attended Parson's School of Interior Design and was an interior designer in New York City in the 1930s. She returned to Mount Airy and lived in the homeplace until her death in 1981. The Victorian-style home contains unique period furnishings that illustrate Gertrude's design tastes. The house remains, as it was when she lived there and serves as a living museum reflective of the early 1900s lifestyle. The house is operated by the Gilmer-Smith Foundation, which was established by the will of Gertrude Smith. Art exhibits, musical concerts, and Christmas events, and open houses are held throughout the year at the Gertrude Smith House.

Mount Airy Museum of Regional History
The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History collects, preserves, and interprets the natural, historic, and artistic heritage of the region. Displays and exhibitions are about the natural history of the area, the Saura Indians, the way of life and culture of the settlers who came to the area, the granite quarrying industry, life at the turn of the century, and much more.

Surry County Historical Society
Edwards Franklin House
The mission of the Surry County Historical Society is to preserve the history and culture of Surry County and interpret it to the community. The Edwards-Franklin House was built by Gideon Edwards in 1799 and later occupied by Congressman Meshack Franklin. Purchased and restored by the Surry County Historical Society in 1973, the house is open to visitors the second Saturday and Sunday during April through September. A Sonker Festival featuring old-time music and deep fruit dish pies (sonkers) is held the first Saturday in October. The house has original decorative painting on the doors, mantels and wainscoting.

Surry Community College, Learning Resources Center
Carlos P. Surratt Genealogy and Local History Collection
The Carlos P. Surratt Genealogy and Local History Collection contains resources for genealogy, the history of Surry County, North Carolina history, and other related subjects. Materials include family histories, Bible records, church histories and meeting minutes, and clippings, as well as microfilm census and county records from the State Archives. The Collection is a repository for resources compiled by the Surry County Genealogical Association including the Genealogical Society's newsletters and queries.

Foothills Arts Council
The mission of the Foothills Arts Council is to enrich the lives of Yadkin Valley Residents and visitors with enjoyment of the visual and performing arts, and to support the work of local artists, artisans, writers, musicians, and performers. Paintings, photographs, and other art objects from rotating exhibitions and their permanent collection are on display at the Art Council's headquarters in downtown Elkin.

Mount Airy Restoration Foundation
William Alfred Moore House
The William Alfred Moore House was built in 1860 and is the earliest known structure remaining in the town of Mount Airy. The house exhibits a combination of Victorian and Italianate stylistic features and, on the interior, Greek Revival features. Located in the front yard of the Moore House is a circa 1865 rustic hexagonal summer house constructed with wood poles and intervening root walls, and a shingle roof. The gazebo is pictured in Katherine Bisher's North Carolina Architecture. The Moore House is open for tours by appointment.

Gilmer-Smith Foundation
Mount Airy Visitors Center
The Mount Airy Visitors Center is home to the largest collection of Andy Griffith memorabilia in the country. Andy Griffith's childhood friend and Mount Airy resident, Emmett Forrest, collected the artifacts including everything from a Matlock suit to the chair Andy was rocked in as a baby. Other exhibits at the center feature Mt. Airy's world's largest open-faced granite quarry, the original Siamese twins, Eng and Chang Bunker, who lived in the White Plains community near Mount Airy, and musicians Donna Fargo and Bluegrass legend Tommy Jarrell who are natives of Mount Airy.

Old Hickory Council, Boy Scouts of America, Camp Raven Knob Historical Association
Raven Knob Boy Scout Museum
The Raven Know Boy Scout Museum, located at Camp Raven Knob, collects and displays Scouting documents and memorabilia with an emphasis on items from northwestern North Carolina. The Museum has substantial collections of information and memorabilia concerning the development of the Order of the Arrow, Scouting's National Honor Society, in North Carolina; the operation of Camp Raven Knob, and the Scouting "careers" of hundreds of Boy Scout volunteers. The museum has a significant collection of Boy's Life and Scouting magazines and is developing a collection of histories of Scouting groups. The museum and its collections are open during summer camp season (June and July), during special events, and by appointment.

Charles H. Stone Memorial Library (Northwestern Regional Library System)
Charles H. Stone Memorial Library North Carolina Room
The North Carolina History Room in the Charles H. Stone Memorial Library was donated by Dr. Paul Apperson Reid, President Emeritus of Western Carolina University, in memory of his mother, Maggie Apperson Reid, for the collection, study, and preservation of materials relating to North Carolina and particularly Surry County. The room boasts a large collection of historical information about Surry County and surrounding areas, as well as a significant amount of genealogical data, especially of Surry County families. Patrons regularly contribute materials from their own historical research. Most of the books and materials from this collection are cataloged as reference and may not leave the library premises. However, patrons may use these resources in-house and are allowed to photocopy pertinent family information.

Richard Gwyn Museum
Elkin's founder, Richard Gwyn, built Gwyn School-Elkin Chapel around 1850 so his family and other settlers on the north side of the Yadkin River would not have to cross the river to attend church and school in Jonesville. The building is the oldest in Surry County to have been used as either a church or school. Threatened by demolition in 1953, it was saved by the Jonathan Hunt Chapter of the D.A.R. with the assistance of Chatham Manufacturing Company and converted to a local history museum. Items on display at the Museum include farm tools, domestic artifacts, textiles, a weaving loom, photographs, and documents.

Mt Airy Public Library
The library has a microfilm collection of the Mt Airy News from 1896 to 2005 and a few local family histories.