It was a rainy day yesterday at the Joel Lane House. 🌧

This plant may look like your average boxwood, but it’s actually Yaupon Holly! 🌿 Yaupon Holly is one of the few caffeinated plants native to North America, and it was traditionally used by Native Americans to brew a caffeinated tea. 🍵

The Hornbook was used to teach children the alphabet & was popular from the 1500s to the 1800s. A piece of paper (with letters & sometimes a bible passage) was pasted to a hard backing and covered with a thin sheet made from horn (which can look like plastic to the modern eye!)

The NC Museum of History is hosting its American Indian Heritage Celebration online this Fri & Sat. It's a great event - don't miss out!

The Joel Lane Museum House is wishing everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving! 🦃🥧 We will be closed for tours this holiday week, and will reopen for tours next Thursday at 10am.

#OnThisDay in 1776, General Washington and the Continental Army secured their victory at Trenton, New Jersey after crossing the icy Delaware River: bit.ly/2AauqbT