Furniture: Crafting a North Carolina Legacy

Come experience the story of a central part of North Carolina’s legacy: the home furniture industry.

For hundreds of years, North Carolinians have contributed to the NC economy through furniture production. Families, communities, and entire towns consider the furniture industry to be an integral part of who they are and where they come from.  

Crafting furniture in our state evolved from small backyard shops to modern mechanized furniture factories.  This shift from “farm” to factory created a major economic impact to NC’s economy and propelled our state to become an international leader in home furnishings. From filling our living rooms to earning a living, for North Carolinians furniture has always been a part of how we “make ourselves at home.”

Each of the pieces in this exhibit is the product of a unique history, a part of the story of furniture manufacturing in North Carolina. Look at the evolution of style from colonial to modern, see how furniture is made, try your own hand at “loading furniture”, and discover a new part of North Carolina’s identity in Furniture: Crafting a North Carolina Legacy.

This exhibit will remain open through March 2024.