Escapees September-October 2024

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heritage, arts and crafts, local businesses, railroad history, fashion and local heroes. Visitors will be able to get additional answers to their questions at the John ston County Heritage Center. The museum preserves the history and material culture of the county for the educational bene fi t of its citizens and visitors. Agriculture Another excellent destination within the county is the Tobacco Farm Life Museum, in Kenly. Here, visitors learn the history of tobacco farming and what life was like on the farm. In the later 1800s, plummeting cotton prices forced farmers to fi nd a new cash crop in bright leaf tobacco. As a result, farmers established a tobacco market in 1898. The county’s fi rst bank, by no coincidence, was also founded that year. Prosperity brought telephone lines to practically every town. Townsfolk would have electric lights and running water within a couple of decades. It was a time of great optimism. Wealthy families built stately homes in town and country and also new schools and churches. The museum began as an education project. Soon farm families began donating tools and equipment used by residents for decades to plant tobacco. From the clothes they wore to the tools they used, visitors are given a unique perspective into the life of a North Carolina tobacco farmer. Many farmers would have lost their land without fl ue-cured tobacco money brought to North Carolina farm families. Today the 6,000 square foot museum looks at farm ing, business and farm life during the 1930s. Exhibits range from early harvesting techniques and tobacco auctioning to soil conservation and tobacco advertising. You’ll also discover an entire farmstead on the museum site, from an authentic log tobacco barn and farmhouse to a kitchen and smokehouse. The two museums and battle fi eld are reason enough to get off the Interstate and explore rural areas and small communities. If you enjoy Hollywood lore and American history or simply want a nice lunch, Johnston County has a lot to offer. I certainly enjoyed my day exploring. If yougo: If you only have a limited time to spend, go to Smith fi eld. The Ava Gardner Museum, Johnston County Heritage Center and an excellent restaurant, Simple Twist, are within two city blocks. For more information about Johnston County or to receive a travel brochure, go to johnstoncountync.org or call 800-441-7829. Marilyn Jones, Guest Contributor Segments of this article was fi rst published in Midtown magazine.

Benson Museum of Local History. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHNSTON COUNTY

Ava Gabor Museum and Simple Twist. PHOTOS BY MARILYN JONES

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ESCAPEES Magazine September/October 2024