Mission
The mission of the Tobacco farm Life Museum is to preserve the history and cultural heritage of the eastern North Carolina farm family and to interpret and present this legacy to the public.
Museum History
The Tobacco Farm Life Museum began as an organization of passionate community members and farmers offering on-site farm tours to visitors traveling down U.S. Route 301. Local families lent objects for an exhibit, farmers offered up spaces on their farms, and interpreters shared information of the agricultural industry in “Tobacco Land Farm Tours” in 1983. After three years of leading on-farm tours, supported by the community, local farmers, and other agribusiness members, the Tobacco Farm Museum opened the doors to a physical museum space in 1986. In 2024, the Tobacco Farm Life Museum was brought under the purview of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Today, the museum interprets agricultural history, tobacco labor and industry, and the lives of farming families in eastern North Carolina from 1900 to 1950. The museum encompasses a 6,000 square foot exhibit and teaching space, numerous outbuildings, and a green space. Featured exhibits include soil conservation, rural medicine, education, textiles, early transportation, and more. Structures include a c.1910 farm dwelling and detached kitchen and dining space, pack house, tobacco cure barn, blacksmith shop, one room schoolhouse, and several small outbuildings.
Please note: To remain faithful stewards of North Carolina’s cultural resources, all outbuildings are temporarily closed as we assess and update the museum’s supporting structures.
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The Tobacco Farm Life Museum falls under the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the N.C. Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program.