If these old walls could talk like folks, think of the stories they might tell!
The Eastern Carolina Village & Farm Museum 1840-1940
began as a small exhibit of local farm tools at the Pitt County
American Legion Agricultural Fair in 1976, as part of the
Bicentennial celebration of the United States. Co-founders
Connor Eagles (1899-1986) and Lester Turnage (1922-2004)
saw the popularity of the exhibit grow and began adding
hundreds of local farm artifacts and old farm structures to the
site on the Pitt County Fairgrounds. In 1999, flooding from Hurricane Floyd damaged many of the buildings. Afterward, the American Legion decided they wanted to use the fairground space of other purposes, so a committee including Joanne Honeycutt, Rosemary Toumey and Robert Shackleford, began to meet and formulate plans to save the village from being torn down. This group raised the funds to move the buildings and artifacts to 5.6 acres on County Home Road located between the Leroy James Farmer's Market and Wintergreen School in Greenville. This site was originally the farm for the Pitt County Home for the Aged and Infirm which operated from about 1850 until the 1960s. The Pitt County Commissioners donated the acreage, along with a barn and storage building, dating from the County Farm era.
Many improvements and building renovations have occurred
at it's present site, including the installation of water and sewer lines, an ADA-compliant restroom building, and paved sidewalks and handicapped parking. The Village community consists of church,
a school, a country store, a blacksmith/tool shop, a tobacco
curing barn, and four large log buildings which house an
extensive collection of agricultural and trade artifacts.
At the rear of the property is "log cabin village" with a log cabin,
mule barn, a large, chicken house, and smoke house. Towards
the front of the property sits the Savage House (ca. 1850)
and once located at Bell's Fork with corn crib, pigeon house, outdoor dairy, and water tower. Nearby is a large, hipped barn, which was original to this site. The County Farm Cemetery is located at the back of the property, now surrounded by woods.
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(Left) Co-founder Connor
Eagles shown dipping water out of a well hewed from a cypress tree. The well is currently displayed in the David T. House Building, which contains occupational artifacts.
(Below) Co-founder Les Turnage playing checkers with his grandson. Checkers/table, chairs and pattern case are now in the Satterhwaite Store.