This weekend Bennett Place in Durham will host "Christmas in the Carolinas During the Civil War". Witness how Christmas was celebrated in the Piedmont Carolinas. Decorated in 1860’s finery, the Bennett Home will bustling with holiday excitement as you step back in time to experience it all. Stories will be told around the fire while letters written by the soldiers off fighting the war will be read. The ladies will be preparing packages to send off to the war front. While witnessing this holiday scene, visitors can dine on cider and ginger snap cookies while making their own ornaments and writing letters. Adding to the merriment will be live entertainment from Morrison and Boggs playing 19th century music.

The Visitor Center will be open during this festive event, showing artifacts and exhibits interpreting the life of the Bennett family. James and Nancy Bennett were farmers whose farm became the site of the largest troop surrender of the Civil War. Per the website: “This simple farmhouse was located between Confederate General Johnston's headquarters in Greensboro and Union General Sherman's headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1865 the two officers met at the Bennett Place, where they signed surrender papers for southern armies in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Today James Bennett's reconstructed farmhouse, kitchen, and smokehouse recall the lifestyle of an ordinary Southern farmer during the Civil War”.

For history buffs, there is also a model of the Bennett farm showing the arrival of both the Confederate and Union cavalry troops on April 17, 1865 along with “Dawn of Peace” – a fifteen-minute audiovisual program that is shown on the hour. There is a Civil War library that is available for research by appointment.

The farm will be decorated in a typical Christmas fashion. Music, caroling, and refreshments will be served. Hours for this event are Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Admission is free and donations are accepted. You can directions to Bennett Place here or you can contact them directly by phone (919) 383-4345 or by e-mail at Bennett@ncdcr.gov.