photo by gusto

Greensboro, founded in 1808, is full of museums, historic sites, art galleries, and outdoor recreation areas. This commercial and industrial city (population 184,000) is located 68 miles west of Raleigh, at the intersection of I-85, I-40, and US-29.

Six miles northwest of Greensboro is the Guilford Court-house National Military Park, the site of a major battle on March 15, 1781, between British forces under General Cornwallis and American rebels under Nathanael Greene, after whom the city is named.

Although the rebels were forced to retreat, the British army took such a battering that it was forced to rest at Wilmington. The visitor center displays military memorabilia.

Tannenbaum Historic Park in Greensboro preserves the site of a staging area for British troops.

On April 11, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis met in Greensboro with Union General Joseph Johnston to discuss the surrender of the entire Confederacy.

However, the Union victory proved hollow for African-Americans.

In 1960, as part of the attempt to overturn 100 years of postbellum segregation and discrimination, four black students took their seats at a whites-only Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro. African-Americans all over the South followed suit, thereby providing a crucial impetus to the Civil Rights Movement.

Historical figures born in or near Greensboro include shortstory writer O. Henry, broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, and Dolley Madison, the wife of the fourth US president. Famous jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane was born nearby.

Arguably Greensboro’s finest historic home is Blandwood Mansion (1844), the former home of North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead. Now a national historic landmark, it depicts life in the mid-nineteenth century. The Old Greensboro Historic District is a turn-of-the-century commercial and industrial district.

Family fun is available at the Children’s Museum and the Natural Science Center, which includes a hands-on museum, zoo and planetarium, and interactive exhibits. South is Asheboro’s North Carolina Zoological Park, one of the largest zoos in the world.

Greensboro has a wide variety of art galleries. African artworks and artifacts from 35 countries are on display at the Mattye Reed African Heritage Center; African- American works are presented at the Atelier Gallery. ArtQuest, at the Green Hill Center, is an art gallery for children.

The city is serviced by train, bus, and an international airport.