Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum State Historic Site

05/30/2026

T Minus 14 days to Black Heritage Day 2026! Join us for a morning full of honoring the past with a special wreath laying ceremony at Dr. Brown's gravesite and an afternoon full of celebrating the present with our "Community in Full Color". We hope to see you in our future!

P.S. Check out our full participant list at this link or by scanning the QR Code on this flyer: https://tinyurl.com/BHD2026Info . Check back to see new vendors and performers added as well as an event schedule.

Black Heritage Day 2026 details:
Date: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Time: 10 am to 2 pm
Location: Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum (6136 Burlington Road, 27249)
Cost: Event is FREE. Bring money though to shop with local vendors and food trucks.
Featured Performer: Joyemovement
Find Additional Performers and Vendors here: https://tinyurl.com/BHD2026Info
Additional Information: Feel free to bring water, sunscreen, tents, handheld fans, lawn chairs, tents, and other items to be comfortable in the weather.

05/28/2026

On this day 35 years ago, Wilhelmina Crosson passed away in Massachusetts. Ms. Crosson was the second President of Palmer Memorial Institute and spent 14 years leading the school. Learn more about Ms. Crosson and her life with our blog post "Wilhelmina Marguerita Crosson - Remembering Palmer's Second President" at the link below!

April 26, 1900 — May 28, 1991

05/27/2026

Did you know that the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum offers group tours for any size group? Guided tours include a tour of Canary Cottage, home of Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, and a walking tour of Palmer Memorial Institute's campus (weather permitting).

Tickets are $1+tax for children (3-17), seniors (65+) and military, and $2+tax for adults (18-64).

Tours are available most Tuesdays-Saturdays between 9:30am and 3:30pm. Group tours of 10 or more must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.

Please call us at 336-449-3310 or send an email to [email protected] if you'd like to schedule a tour or if you have a specific date in mind you'd like to visit! We hope to see you here this summer!

05/26/2026

It's graduation season! Congratulations to all the graduates who have worked hard to achieve their academic goals. From pre-school to graduate school, we wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors!

Who's graduation are you celebrating this year? Are you celebrating a special anniversary of a graduation? Feel free to share with us in the comments!



📸Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum

05/23/2026

Preservation work requires vision! Over the past few years, CHB has been engaging in that vision work with various partners including Northington and Associates, the National Trust for Historic Preservation ( on Instagram), and RAMSA Robert A.M. Stern Architects ( on Instagram). Here is an in depth look at what that work produced!

Interested in learning more about this project? Check out this article about the project: https://savingplaces.org/stories/a-vision-for-the-future-of-the-palmer-memorial-institute-campus.



📸RAMSA, CHB, NTHP

Video: https://youtu.be/qTShbVba8X0?si=5FpS5qeQkPpo3Ai_

📸RAMSA, CHB, NTHP

Video: https://youtu.be/qTShbVba8X0?si=5FpS5qeQkPpo3Ai_

Palmer Memorial Institute's campus was named one of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2022. This lis...

05/21/2026

Preservation work requires vision. Over the past few years, CHB has been engaging in that vision work with various partners including Northington and Associates, the National Trust for Historic Preservation ( on Instagram) and RAMSA Robert A.M. Stern Architects ( on Instagram).

Interested in learning more about this project?
Check out this article about the project: https://savingplaces.org/stories/a-vision-for-the-future-of-the-palmer-memorial-institute-campus.



📸Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum

05/18/2026

Site Update:

The Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum will only be offering self-guided tours of the grounds May 19th through May 23rd. Grab a pamphlet from the Visitors Center and enjoy your time on campus!

05/16/2026

that May is Preservation Month? Every day, staff at the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, our community partners and visitors strive to keep the story of Dr. Brown and the Palmer Memorial Institute in the public’s awareness. This story is important to the fabric of Sedalia, North Carolina, the United States and the world.

What stories do you and your circle strive to keep alive? Tell us below!

Happy Preservation Month!



📸DNCR, Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum

05/15/2026

There are just 30 days until Black Heritage Day.......are you excited yet!? Come celebrate Dr. Brown's June 11th birthday with the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, NC Historic Sites, The Town of Sedalia, Joyemovement, and so many more! Get ready to jam, dance, shop and have a great time with the community in full color. We can't wait to celebrate with you!

Event Information:
4th Annual Black Heritage Day
"Community in Full Color"
Saturday, June 13, 2026
10 am - 2 pm
Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum
6136 Burlington Road
Gibsonville, NC 27249

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day! Today, May 10, also marks 101 years since Canary Cottage first opened for guests! Dr. Brown hosted a reception in honor of her mother, Carolyn Hakwins Willis, and officially opened her home to the community. People trickled in from 4 pm to 7 pm to view the home and snack on “…chicken and pimento sandwiches, ice cream and assorted cakes along with punch…and mints.”

In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Canary Cottage, we collaborated with Western Guildford High’s Adobe Visual Design class to create new merchandise for our gift shop. What wonderful designs the students came up with! Guildford County School’s video about the event gives insight from the designers, museum staff and educators involved with the project. A link to the full program from inside Canary Cottage is also below.

Access the news article transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C-NhDz8LqqkyIInBlVj8RK6H20B7ThtIBOQLtVySQdY/edit?usp=drive_link

Access the full Canary 100: The Cottage Collection Program Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/8N7jruQ-Yac?si=-HjrlHjhNhoeTSV9

Access the Guildford County School’s video about the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChUMSJEckqU&t

📸Newspaper.com via New York Age

📸Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum