As I was driving to Wilmington last month, I noticed a sign for Harmony Hall Plantation (one of the oldest homes in North Carolina.) Since the plantation is only opened 4 hours/weeks (Saturdays from 12:00 - 2:00, and Sundays from 2:00 - 4:00), I wasn't able to visit the plantation on my way back from Wilmington (fortunately, the plantation is only 25 miles (40 km) from Fayetteville....so it wasn't an impossible drive.
Now, when I hear the word "plantation", I tend to think of Gone with the Wind's Tara or other large antebellum homes. Sadly, Harmony Hall bears no resemblance to these later, more elaborate, homes. Built around 1760, the two-story home is a very simple structure with only two rooms on each floor (and a very scary-looking attic above.)
The first floor included a middle hall (which was quite cool thanks to the front and back doors provided a breeze through the house.) On one side, was a simple dining area, which looked very much like a 18th-century colonial room; the other room was a living area, which was obviously furnished with furniture from a much later time period.
Climbing the exterior stairs led to two unremarkable bedrooms. A smaller set of interior stairs let to a small, and very creepy attic-space (which was furnished with nothing but a bed.) The attic was probably a very good representation of a room during the time period, but I don't think you could paid me enough to sleep in that room (it was scary in the middle of the day!)
After the tour of the main house, I saw the outlying kitchen and several other historic buildings (which were not original to the site.) Overall, Harmony Hall was a somewhat interesting site - though I wish I could have timed it so that it had been a 20-minute stop on my way to or from Wilmington.
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