Somerset Place State Historic Site

Somerset Place State Historic Site Interpreting the lives of enslaved and free persons on an antebellum North Carolina plantation. We suggest taking Exit 558 from Highway US-64.

Somerset Place offers visitors a comprehensive social history that explores the family life of all former plantation residents: the enslaved community, plantation owners, and hired white and Black employees. Tours of the historic buildings, reconstructed slave dwellings and plantation hospital, gardens, and archaeological remains give visitors a complete look at one of North Carolina's largest ant

ebellum plantations. Guided tours are conducted upon request and last approximately 1.5 hours. Due to the length of the tour, the last one departs no later than 3:30 p.m. Starting August 1, 2025, North Carolina Historic Sites will implement new fees for guided tours and field trip activities. Admission to most sites remains free, but rising operational costs require a small increase in fees for certain programs. At Somerset Place State Historic Site:
• Guided tour: $5 + tax per adult
• Seniors (65+) and military: $4 + tax
• Youth (3–17): $1 + tax
• Special tour: $10 + tax per participant
• K–12 groups: Guided tours remain free for public, private, and registered home schools
• Field trip activity fee: $2 + tax per student per activity (for experiences beyond the standard tour, like hands-on crafts or living history demonstrations)

Visitors can also access our self-guided tour of the site and our driving tour of the Creswell area here: https://linktr.ee/somersetplaceshs. Some visitors report trouble using GPS navigation when driving here. Then simply follow the signs to Somerset Place. (Lat: 35.789412 / Long: -76.403976)

09/01/2026

Somerset’s massive Scuppernong grape vine has some delicious grapes on it! They get their name from the Scuppernong River, which is a few miles from us.

Have you ever seen a dragonfly? We see dragonflies all the time at Somerset! North Carolina supports about 187 species ...
08/31/2026

Have you ever seen a dragonfly? We see dragonflies all the time at Somerset! North Carolina supports about 187 species of dragonflies and damselflies. These beautiful creatures are graceful fliers who hunt lots of pesky mosquitoes. Dragonflies are also referred to as “darners” because of an old European myth that insisted dragonflies would sew naughty children’s ears shut when they slept.

08/30/2026

William Tarlton uncovered the site of the formal garden during his archaeological excavations in 1952. He subsequently researched antebellum garden layouts to restore some of the gardens in the owner's compound at Somerset Place.

Learn more about this project by watching our full YouTube video, linked below!

https://youtu.be/I6TnHFahFwE

Look at the bloom on this okra plant! Can a garden plant be any more beautiful?
08/29/2026

Look at the bloom on this okra plant! Can a garden plant be any more beautiful?

in 1833, the British Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act. Slavery would end for most of the British colonies o...
08/28/2026

in 1833, the British Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act. Slavery would end for most of the British colonies on August 1, 1834, through a tiered emancipation and apprenticeship system. 800,000 enslaved people were freed, with enslavers being compensated with the creation of a taxpayer-funded payout program worth 20 million pounds, the equivalent of 40% of the Crown’s revenue.

During the American Revolution, North Carolina’s government supplied Patriot forces through impressment, or the seizing ...
08/27/2026

During the American Revolution, North Carolina’s government supplied Patriot forces through impressment, or the seizing of property from citizens. This put a heavy financial strain on residents, discouraged support for the Patriot cause, and invited corruption. in 1781, Josiah Collins I (1st 📸) and other merchants in Edenton wrote to North Carolina’s governor, Thomas Burke, asking him to stop impressing their property.

Governor Burke and the merchants came to an agreement. North Carolina had excess produce but a shortage of war supplies, so the merchants agreed to export the produce and “…give a preference in their importations to such supplies as the Army may require…” In return, the government would buy these supplies at prices more favorable to the merchants. As Burke put it, “by encouraging and protecting this useful body of Men I hope to make them successful instruments for converting our surplus produce into those essential supplies which must be derived from Foreign nations.”



2nd and 3rd 📸 from State Archives of NC Photos

Today is ! In “A Doctor’s Experiences In Three Continents,” former Somerset doctor Edward Warren held a view common amo...
08/26/2026

Today is ! In “A Doctor’s Experiences In Three Continents,” former Somerset doctor Edward Warren held a view common among men in Victorian times that it was inappropriate for a woman to become a doctor. Dr. Warren stated, “In my humble judgement, no one possessing a womb or endowed with the attributes of femininity ought to dream of entering the ranks of the medical profession.” Although Dr. Warren held this view, he depended on the enslaved nurses like Penny Gossom and Midwife Chloe Drew to handle health emergencies at Somerset until he arrived.

When you visit Somerset Place, you can explore a large number of original domestic dependencies, including an insulated ...
08/25/2026

When you visit Somerset Place, you can explore a large number of original domestic dependencies, including an insulated dairy; massive smokehouse; and kitchen/laundry building with rustic brick fireplaces.

Most North Carolina plantations did not have the luxury of so many household service buildings. While kitchens and smokehouses were common, the inclusion of a dairy, salting house, and kitchen rations building was uncommon and reflected the volume of food that enslaved persons processed for the Collinses and their guests.

Experience these rare intact buildings for yourself by joining us for a guided tour, which we offer Tuesday through Saturday from 9a.m. until 3:30p.m.

We have been enjoying the Crinum lilies in the Collins formal garden this season. The bulbs for the lilies came to Some...
08/24/2026

We have been enjoying the Crinum lilies in the Collins formal garden this season. The bulbs for the lilies came to Somerset from the Homestead (home of Josiah I and Josiah II) in Edenton. These lilies are large and their bulbs are massive, weighing up to 20 pounds. They grow three to six feet tall and have gorgeous star-shaped or trumpet-shaped blooms in varied colors of white, pink, rose, red and striped.

August 23 is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Between 1786 and 1865, the ...
08/23/2026

August 23 is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Between 1786 and 1865, the owners of Somerset Place enslaved over 861 people of African descent, forcing them to live and work under a dehumanizing institution that regarded them as property, not people. Today, we ask you to remember Somerset’s enslaved community for not only what they had to endure, but also their strength and resilience.

Address

2572 Lake Shore Road
Creswell, NC
27928

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12523796020

Website

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