If you embark on this Adventure on a Saturday, consider stopping by the Selma or Clayton farmers’ markets to pick up some local produce or crafts. If you’re adventuring around the first of July, swing by Ed and Rema Summers’ Farm (protected by TLC with a conservation easement) to pick your own blueberries. Call them at 919-934-0589 to arrange your visit and tell them TLC sent you! Otherwise...

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Start your adventure at Flower Hill Nature Preserve, an area important both for its ecological diversity and cultural history as a recreational gathering place for the community. The name Flower Hill comes from the abundance of Catawba rhododendron found on the steep, north-facing bluffs overlooking Moccasin Creek. The Catawba rhododendron, more commonly found in the mountains of North Carolina, was first documented here by famed botanist B.W. Wells in the late 1930s. It was Wells who is reputed to have called the area “a freak of nature.” Flower Hill was strongly promoted and became well-known as a distinctive natural treasure in the region, attracting thousands of visitors annually at its height of popularity in the mid-1930s.

TLC acquired the 10 acres that make up the existing Flower Hill Preserve in 1989 with the help of civic groups and other members of the Johnston County community. Since then, we’ve nearly doubled the size of this protected area. Recently, TLC constructed a parking lot and spruced up other areas of the preserve.
More information about Flower Hill Nature Preserve, including a preserve guide, can be found here.

Once you emerge from this fragrant paradise, drive over to the Bailey Café in nearby Bailey. The café occupies a building that was a hugely successful hardware store in the 1930s. The W.H. Farmer & Brother Store sold an average of a train car full of merchandise every day. Now you can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner surrounded by the original tin ceiling and wood floors.

Tobacco farming once stretched throughout this region of the Triangle, and life on the farm had its own challenges, especially in the 1930s. Stop by the Tobacco Farm Life Museum in Kenly to experience the life of a tobacco farmer. See exhibits depicting rural Carolina farm life during the Great Depression in the Great House and Kitchen, then wander through the other exhibits covering all aspects of farm life - from church and schools to doctors and the country store.

Polish off this tour by swinging by Vollis Simpson’s Whirligigs. OK, this stop really has nothing to do with the Great Depression or the 1930s. In fact, you might find that Simpson’s wondrous, whimsical whirligigs are a great depression antidote. Vollis Simpson began making whirligigs from cast-off machine parts in 1985, after the partners in his machine repair business retired. Today, his farm is filled with over 30 sculptures, many 50 feet tall, spinning and whirling in the breeze.

Best time to visit: Great all year, but the rhododendrons at Flower Hill are usually in bloom in late April or early May. Join TLC for a hike at Flower Hill the weekend before Mothers Day.

Photo by Dan Bruer