Hello NC
Hello NC celebrates the people, culture, and stories of rural North Carolina through local voices and rich media. This multi-faceted initiative will showcase stories about the diversity, traditions and richness of small towns and rural life.
Click on a county to learn more
As the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, we are the state’s storytellers. With libraries, history, archives, preservation, arts, culture and our gorgeous state parks and natural areas under our stewardship, we have a lot of stories to share from a variety of perspectives. Initially, the initiative is spotlighting four counties, but we want to hear the stories from all rural communities and from the people that live and visit there.
Featured Stories
Joe Penland
Joe Penland was born and raised in rural Madison County in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. He is the proud steward of 12 generations and more than 350 years of the rich oral tradition of his Scotch and English ancestors.
Read more
Mars Hill Rosenwald School Reclaimed
The Rosenwald school in the then black Long Ridge section of Mars Hill was one of the more than 5300 state of the art school buildings and teachers’ buildings constructed throughout the south with around 813 built in North Carolina.
Read more
Quilts and Community in Warrenton
Warrenton, NC is the seat of Warren County and at the 2010 census had a population of 862. The Hometown Strong and Hello NC team visited to learn more about this town, its quilters, and the patchwork of rich history that defines its community.
Read More
Halifax Underground Railroad
Halifax, North Carolina, was an important part of the Underground Railroad in North Carolina. With the largest free black population of any county in the state in the antebellum period, the community provided a network to help freedom seekers.
Learn more
Art and Culture in Morganton
Have you seen the murals in Morganton, North Carolina! The 13 by 58 foot piece is part of a 3-year initiative to highlight cultural and ecological diversity in the town and surrounding Burke County, painted by Latinx artist Alexa Eliana Chumpitaz.
Read More