Old Hillsborough Road Market at Bennett Place
Date: Sat, May 16, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Venue: Bennett Place, Durham
Price:
Category: Markets
Photo provided by Bennett Place State Historic Site Bennett Place State Historic Site, at 4409 Bennett Memorial Road in Durham, is the site of a significant surrender of the south in the Civil War. It's free to visit the visitor center and nature trails, but there's a small charge for tours. Some events have a small fee as well. Several special events take place at Bennett Place State Historic Site. Here are a couple of the upcoming events (Visit Bennett Place's website or Facebook page for all the events.) Old Hillsborough Road MarketSaturday, May 16, 202611 a.m. to 3 p.m.Free James and Nancy Bennett lived along the Hillsborough Road, a major throughway between the county seat of Hillsborough and the state capitol of Raleigh. They earned money selling goods & services to passers-by on the roadway. On May 16, Bennett Place State Historic Site brings back that entrepreneurial, small-business spirit with the Old Hillsborough Road Market. Shop local craft, retail, and food vendors while exploring our historic site! The program also features historic trades demonstrations and free ranger-talks in the Bennett home. Luminary and Freedom StoriesFriday, September 18, 20267 to 9:30 p.m.Free Harriet Ann Daves recalled just how monumental Civil War surrenders were for her family: "When the surrender came my grandfather came to my mother and told her: 'Well, you are as free as I am.'" Claiming freedom was not so straightforward for the 331,059 enslaved women, children, and men during the Civil War. Some took enormous risk to reach Union lines before the federal government made any promise of abolishing slavery. Others left their homes and plantations to follow Sherman's army as they marched through the southeast. Some believed home was where they already lived and worked and waited patiently for freedom to extend to them. Others still were lied to by their enslavers or moved away from the advancing U.S. Army so they would remain enslaved. Freedom came in different ways and at d
