The Elizabeth Wright Prince House while in use as a boarding house. This building now serves as a living history museum at the Highlands Historic Village.
May is a meaningful month for the Highlands Historical Society—it marks National Historic Preservation Month and the start of our open season. In honor of the occasion, we’re sharing a history of preservation in Highlands and the organizations that protected the Highlands Plateau’s historic character through more than a century and a half of change.
Highlands has retained much of its heritage thanks to generations of residents and visitors who valued the past and carried it forward. Although preservation interest existed long before a formal group was created, efforts became more organized in the late 1970s as residents grew concerned that rapid development was erasing longstanding structures and stories. On June 22, 1979, that work became official with the formation of the Highlands Historical Preservation Society, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to documenting the town’s historic resources. By 1981, the group had completed a survey inventorying 173 historic homes.
After a period of inactivity, preservation efforts revived on April 7, 1999, with the formation of the Highlands Historical Society, Inc. Building on earlier work, the Society broadened its mission to promote and preserve all aspects of Highlands history. With committed volunteers and renewed support, the group quickly began building what is now the Highlands Historic Village. In 2000, it purchased Highlands’ oldest standing residential structure, the Elizabeth Wright Prince House.
In 2002, the Society moved the Hudson Library building, associated with the state’s early library history, to the Village and was recognized by the North Carolina Society of Historians for its progress. In 2006, it added a relic tent house from Mary Lapham’s Tuberculous Sanatorium and launched a website to support genealogical and local-history research.
Since those early years, the Society has grown into a thriving preservation and education organization, expanding exhibits, collections, and archives documenting Highlands’ people, places, and progress. In 2017, the Society successfully listed the Elizabeth Wright Prince House on the National Register of Historic Places, ensuring this important piece of Highlands history is protected for generations.
Preservation in Highlands remains a community effort. From Main Street landmarks to the surrounding landscape, the town’s shared commitment continues to protect the heritage that makes Highlands unique.
The Museum and Historic Village will open for the season on Thursday, May 21 (10:00 A.M.–4:00 P.M.) and operate on the regular summer schedule (Thursdays–Sundays). Please join us for our Season Opening Celebration on Saturday, May 23, at 11:00 A.M., featuring old-fashioned carnival games, a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence, complimentary food and drinks, guided tours, live music, and more.
Visit highlandshistory.com to learn more about Highlands history and the Historic Village.
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