The museum grounds include the remains of the original 1846 First Presbyterian Church cemetery.
The collection features the actual lunch counter section from the 1960 sit-ins that sparked the national civil rights movement.
The building complex incorporates the first public library structure in Greensboro, which opened in 1906.
The museum maintains an extensive collection of local textile mill industrial machinery and labor artifacts.
It holds a significant collection of early Piedmont North Carolina pottery and regional decorative arts.
The archives house original maps and land grants detailing early European settlement in the area.
The Greensboro History Museum is housed within the historic 19th-century First Presbyterian Church and the adjacent Carnegie Library building. It serves as an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and preserves the history of Greensboro and Guilford County. The museum features permanent exhibits documenting the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins at the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter. Collections include over 100,000 artifacts, photographs, and archival documents related to local Piedmont region history. The facility covers various eras, including the Revolutionary War era, textile mill history, and local military contributions. It is managed by the Greensboro Public Library system. The museum building itself is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The restored 1960s Woolworth lunch counter exhibit offers the most iconic and historically significant photo opportunity.
Check the online event calendar before visiting to see if your trip coincides with a curator-led lecture.
Look for the smaller, changing community-curated exhibits that highlight diverse local stories.
Use the interactive touch-screen kiosks to access digitized archival photos not currently on display.
Do not assume the entire building is a single open hall, as the museum spans multiple interconnected historic structures that may require navigation through different wings.
Closed on Mondays and major holidays.
Maintain a quiet volume and avoid touching glass display cases or artifacts; food and drinks are prohibited in the gallery spaces.
