Volume in Hillsborough (photo by Caitlin Penna).
Hillsborough Gallery of Arts 121 North Churton Street 919-732-5001, hillsboroughgallery.com
Owned and operated by local artists, this gallery will make fans of modern and contemporary fine art feel right at home. Be sure to check in every Last Friday, when a featured exhibit highlights three of the gallery’s artists.
4 Hillsborough Riverwalk Nash and Kollock Streets 919-732-1270, hillsboroughnc.gov
My Secret Closet
Weaver Street Market
107 John Earl Street 919-732-1254, mysecretcloset.com/hillsborough
228 South Churton Street 919-245-5050, weaverstreetmarket.coop
You never know what you’re going to find at this consignment superstore. From home furnishings to home décor, My Secret Closet is a treasure trove for bargain hunters.
Nowhere near as expensive and with a much better selection of local goods, Weaver Street is Orange County’s answer to Whole Foods. This organic grocery and co-op also provides delectable baked goods and specialty items, as well as a one-stop-shop for local brews.
4 Purple Crow Books 109 West King Street 919-732-1711, purplecrowbooks.com
Owner Sharon Wheeler must have the cushiest job in all of Orange County. If she needs inspiration for her recommendations, she only has to look down the street. With authors like Lee Smith, Hal Crowther, Jeffrey Deaver, Jill McCorkle, and Allan Gurganus as neighbors, who better to deliver the skinny on what’s great to read?
Uniquitiques 125 East King Street 919-644-8000, uniquitiques.com
The whole place is draped in vintage, from the homey décor to the curated style of contemporary women’s clothing for sale. You’ll find it all here: cowboy boots, costume jewelry, and Southern-made t-shirts.
Volume Hillsborough 226 South Churton Street 919-643-2303, volumehillsborough.com
It’s hard enough to find a decent record store, but can you imagine trying to score some decent vinyl while sipping on some good local suds? If so, you must have stopped by Volume Hillsborough. Belly up to the bar, order a pint, then finger your way through the vast selection of music.
PLay Ayr Mount 376 St. Marys Road 919-732-6886
This Federal-style plantation house, built around 1815 by William Kirkland, is now a publicly accessible historic site sitting on 265 acres, owned and operated by the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust. Aside from the well-preserved interior, the real stars of the show are the extensive scenic trails that wind across the grounds and the beautiful array of Carolina flora.
Blackwood Farm Park 4215 N.C. Highway 86, Chapel Hill 919-969-8959
Located on 152 acres of land between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill, this gorgeous property offers a hiking, fishing, and picnicking paradise. Be transported back in time with original structures like a historic farmhouse, barn, and smokehouse. It’s only open on the weekends, but the best opportunity to check it out may be the annual Orange County Localfest, which pops up at the end of September.
Walk off some of the satisfying Churton Street fare on the paved urban greenway stretching nearly two miles along the Eno. Walkers, joggers, and cyclists alike enjoy natural views of the lazy river and its wildlife. Vistas alongside Gold Park and River Park offer plenty for your ’Gram, but be sure to catch the star attraction: “A Sight to Behold,” the original Stickwork sculpture by Patrick Dougherty.
Historic Occoneechee Speedway 320 Elizabeth Brady Road historicspeedwaygroup.org
In the nineteenth century, Julian Carr raced horses here. In 1949, it became one of the first two NASCAR tracks in existence. After closing in 1968, it lay fallow until this century, when walking trails were built. There are still old and busted race cars on the grounds.
Occoneechee Mountain Natural Area 625 Virginia Cates Road 919-383-1686, ncparks.gov/occoneechee-mountain-state-natural-area
Hike among the rhododendron and mountain laurel. The three-mile trail follows riverside thickets and rocky bluffs as it ascends to the highest point in Orange County.
Occaneechi Village Replica Site East Margaret Lane, along the Riverwalk
Three hundred-plus years ago, before Hillsborough was Hillsborough, it was the ancestral land of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. Along came Europeans, and, well, between raids by Iroquois and disease, the Occaneechi abandoned the Eno for the protection of the Virginia colony by 1712. (Most merged with other tribes and lost their tribal distinctiveness by the mid-eighteenth century, though in 2001, North Carolina recognized a small group in Orange and Alamance Counties who claimed descent from the Occaneechi.) To honor the seventeenth-century Occaneechi village, tribe members and local volunteers have rebuilt a palisade and hand-crafted huts along the banks of the river, a site you can see on a stroll on the Riverwalk. INDY WEEK
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