Free lecture at Polk State Historic Site: Charlotte's Historic West Side

President James K. Polk North Carolina State Historic Site pays tribute to our 11th president and presents living history that brings the early 19th century to life. It’s always free to visit.

The historic site presents many special events, and some of them are free to attend.

Here’s some of what’s coming up:

Learning Local Lectures: Charlotte’s Historic West Side
Saturday, February 22nd, 2020
10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Free, but register to guarantee a seat

Come hear Johnson C. Smith University archivist, Brandon Lunsford, tell the story of the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded project, “Charlotte’s Historic West End.” The aim of the project and its digital mapping components is to provide a platform for publishing location‐based content including historical photographs, documents, and oral histories that will tell the story of a vibrant 150 year old African American community that surrounds Johnson C. Smith University on the west side of Charlotte, North Carolina. The Historic West End is a network of neighborhoods that grew up around the historically black college, which was founded as Biddle Institute by Presbyterian ministers in 1867.

Coffee and Conversation: Women Making History
Saturday, March 7th, 2020
10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Free, but register to guarantee a seat

2020 is set to be a momentous year: it marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, our city will host the Republican National Convention, the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is celebrating the Year of the Woman, and we will be opening a temporary exhibit on women’s suffrage in North Carolina. We want to keep the themes of women changing history through political action going as we facilitate an open group discussion on women’s activism.

Learning Local Lectures: Ella May Wiggins — Singing To Be Heard
Saturday, March 14th, 2020
10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Free, but register to guarantee a seat

During this program Jason Luker, Director of the Gaston County Museum of Art and History, will be examining Ella May Wiggins, her difficult life, role in the 1929 Loray Mill textile strike, and how her words and deeds still challenge us today.