Mill Prong Preservation

05/03/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Mill Prong House for our annual meeting and program.

We were honored to welcome Catherine Fort, President of the Scottish Society of Wilmington, for her presentation, “Scotland & America: A Shared Story,” highlighting Scottish immigration to North Carolina and the family histories connected to Mill Prong.

We are grateful to our speaker, volunteers, members, and guests for helping keep this history alive.

02/27/2026

💍 Victorian Mourning Jewelry – Open House This Sunday!

Come to Mill Prong House this Sunday, March 1, 2026, from 2–5 PM as we explore the fascinating history of Victorian mourning jewelry — including pieces made from human hair and adorned with jet, gold, and lockets.

Watch this intro video: https://youtu.be/5j67y_RdIXs

Built in 1795 by John Gilchrist Sr., Mill Prong is a living reminder of early life in the Cape Fear region and the Scots-American families who made it home.

🕰 Open House
📍 Mill Prong House
🗓 Sunday, March 1
⏰ 2–5 PM

We hope to see you there!

Come to Mill Prong on Sunday, March 1, 2026, from 2 – 5 pm as we look at the history of Victorian Mourning jewelry. This type of jewelry items made from the...

02/23/2026

Black History Month at Mill Prong House

As part of Black History Month, we are sharing a newly digitized document from the early history of Mill Prong — the 1802 Last Will and Testament of John Gilchrist Sr.

This document provides an important, though difficult, window into life in early Robeson County and reminds us that the history of this place includes the lives of enslaved people whose stories are often preserved only through legal records such as wills, inventories, and deeds.

Within the will, several enslaved individuals are named, including:

Rachel
Toney
Mary
George
F***y
Solomon
Amy
Tom
Bess
Dinah

In addition to those listed by name, the document also references enslaved individuals who were not named — a reminder that many people were recorded only as property or as numbers rather than as individuals. Their identities and stories remain largely unknown, yet they were equally part of the lived history of Mill Prong and the surrounding community.

⚠️ Content Note: The original language used in this historical document reflects the attitudes and terminology of its time and may be objectionable or painful for modern readers. We present it unaltered for historical accuracy and to confront honestly the realities of slavery in early North Carolina.

By sharing both the scanned original and a transcription, we hope to make this history more accessible while encouraging thoughtful reflection on the people whose lives shaped this place — both those whose names survive in the record and those whose identities were left unrecorded.

Preserving and interpreting these records is one way we honor the full and complex history of Mill Prong — including those whose contributions were long overlooked.

02/22/2026

Enjoyed spending today at the Colonial Faire at Harmony Hall representing Mill Prong House! It was wonderful sharing local history, meeting visitors, and connecting with others who care about preserving our region’s past. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to talk history with us.

02/12/2026

Black History Month at Mill Prong House

In 1885, after the Daniel Purcell McEachern family left for Red Springs, the farm moved into the era of tenant farming. Cotton yields dwindled, and many formerly enslaved families who had once worked the land began to move into town, seeking new lives.

For the next thirty years, Mill Prong was home several tenant farming families. In the mid-1920s James H. McRae and his wife, Texianna Drake, an African American couple from Blenheim, South Carolina, moved in with their large family. The McRaes would become the last people to call Mill Prong home.

Sometime after 1934, the McRaes moved from the main home to another house on the property. Two of their sons, John William and Grady, became full tenants before moving into other professions. John William became a respected minister in Raeford, and Grady worked as a hospital orderly. Their last surviving daughter, Texianeer McRae, passed away in 2021.

The McRae family’s time at Mill Prong marks the final residential chapter for the house. Their story stands as a bridge between Mill Prong’s plantation beginnings and its preservation as a historic site.

This Black History Month, we honor the McRaes and their stories as part of this place.

02/05/2026

This Black History Month, we honor the African Americans whose lives are deeply woven into the history of Mill Prong — and whose stories deserve to be told.

Among those we remember are Washington and Dennis. Washington appears in post-emancipation records as a freedman who lived nearby and worked as a carriage driver for the McEachern family. Dennis, enslaved from childhood, remained closely connected to Daniel Purcell McEachern — traveling with him during the Civil War, cooking for him, and continuing life alongside him after emancipation.

Many of the enslaved and formerly enslaved people of Mill Prong are buried in the enslaved section of the Mill Prong Cemetery, located about a mile behind the house near Little Raft Swamp. Most of their graves are unmarked — a quiet reminder of how much history has been lost, and why preservation and remembrance matter.

As we continue our mission of historic preservation, we remain committed to telling a fuller, more honest history — one that honors all who lived, worked, and are laid to rest on this land.

01/31/2026

Due to inclement weather, we will cancel Open House tomorrow, Feb. 1st. We hope to see you next month (Sun, Mar. 1st) for Open House.