Historic Halifax

Step into the heart of colonial North Carolina at the Historic Halifax State Historic Site, where a preserved section of the once-thriving town brings the late 18th and early 19th centuries vividly to life. Begin at the visitor center, where exhibits and an audiovisual presentation set the stage before you head out on a guided tour to explore how Halifax’s residents lived, worked, and gathered as a community.

Throughout the site, historic homes reveal the lives of Halifax’s most prominent figures, from the prosperous merchant class at the Owens House to the residence of William R. Davie, one of North Carolina’s most influential early national leaders. Just next door, the Bradford-Denton House—home of Col. Micajah Bradford, a delegate to the Fourth Provincial Congress—offers a glimpse into domestic life in the 1760s, complete with reconstructed kitchen and blacksmith shop that once served the wider community.

As you continue along the grounds, discover the quieter spaces of daily life: the magazine spring that supplied fresh water, the town cemetery, Market Square where commerce and community overlapped, and the river overlook near an early ferry landing.