Tryon Palace
New Bern, North Carolina
Tryon Palace is an unusual historic site in that the building, a reconstruction of the Colonial Carolina governor’s mansion, which burned to the ground in 1792, is historic both for the prior home it represents and the landmark rebuilding that brought the palace to us today.
The home takes its name from William Tryon, the Colonial governor who built it. To fund the construction of the towering edifice, Tryon raised taxes so much that it started a battle that was a precursor to the Revolutionary War. During the war, the revolutionary army captured the building and turned it into the state capitol, until the capital was moved to Raleigh. After the 1792 fire, the site was used for many other purposes until the original plans were discovered in the 1930s and a 30-year campaign began to move the modern buildings and reconstruct the original mansion in its exact location in exacting detail.
The group sales team offers three different packages for groups: the historic homes and gardens; the North Carolina History Center and its 1835 experiential village; or the all-inclusive day pass, which allows access to both the historic and interactive interpretive areas. The staff can also customize group experiences.
“It’s really fun to watch people do hands-on things and really experience history,” said Sarah Risty-Davis, visitor program manager. “Everyone knows what a nail is, but it’s amazing to see people experience that being made.”
Risty-Davis cautions that during March and April, the historic site can hit daily capacity with school groups, but “October is magical here,” she said. “We have really pretty fall weather and crowds are not really bad that time of year.”
Peel Mansion Museum and Heritage Gardens
Bentonville, Arkansas
While the intactness of the 1875 Peel Mansion Museum is a gift to visitors today, the original home was something of a gift as well.
“Colonel Peel built it for his wife,” said Carol Harris, who oversees the museum’s volunteer docent program. “It was her promise from him that he would build her a house, but they went through the Civil War and five children first. The reason the house was saved was that Peel was the first Arkansan elected to Congress after the Civil War.”
Wal-Mart purchased the house, which is near the company’s headquarters, and sold it back to the Peel House Foundation for a dollar in 1992 to kick off the process of opening the house to the public, and members of the family donated furnishings and memorabilia that had been in the family for generations. Today, the collection includes the Peels’ personal silverware, china, letters, pictures and books, some of which date back to the 1700s, according to Harris. “We have a family tea set that was in the family for 130 years, along with Bucky the rocking horse,” she said. “Four generations rode on that rocking horse.”
Tours run 35 to 45 minutes for about 12 people per docent, with no more than 50 in the house at one time due to the historic setting.
“We try to make them step back in time when they come in the front door,” said Harris. “We introduce them to the main characters of the house, as well as its secret hiding places.”
For larger groups, the home can be visited in an open-house fashion, with docents in each room to interpret as much as visitors are interested in. Interpreters can also be costumed in period attire upon request.
Groups can take a private lunch or tea in the conservatory or the carriage house, or enjoy a special “drink the garden” cocktail hour. “We use our herbs and have local mixologists come and make drinks based around herbs that are grown here,” said Harris.
Swan House at Atlanta History Center
Atlanta
Though it has long been a gem among Atlanta’s numerous historic home museums — so much so that the Atlanta History Center uses it as its base of operations — the Swan House has catapulted to national acclaim in recent years thanks to its cameo in the “Hunger Games” film franchise as President Snow’s home in the movie’s capitol district.
The Atlanta History Center now offers special behind-the-scenes tours focused on the areas of the house used in the film, with an exclusive exhibit of memorabilia from the “Hunger Games” productions along with photo opportunities in areas of the house that have been reset to re-create scenes in the film.
Traditional house tours at the Swan House use an open-house format with interpreters stationed throughout to bring to life the daily existence of cotton barons in the 1920s and 1930s. The Inman family bequeathed the home to the Atlanta History Center as part of an estate, ensuring that the original furnishings and family possessions made their way into today’s museum experience.
“Almost all of the interior is original: the library, the dining rooms and the morning room,” said Katy Clarke, director of guest experience at the Atlanta History Center. “In the bedrooms, we want people to engage and touch things, so those are typically items from our collection.”
The gardens were designed by Philip Schutze, the same architect who worked on the house, as well as the American Academy in Rome and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“One of the things that is really unique about Swan House is that the landscape architecture is the original design, and we know it was originally designed to look this way with the plants,” said Clarke.
Guided tours are available for private groups, and Clarke said she can create a package for groups that includes a tour with lunch at the Swan House restaurant in a private or semiprivate setting, depending on the size of the group.
