Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at NC Museum of History - Raleigh

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         The NC Museum of History has the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on view in a third floor gallery. The gallery is dim and small and the no photography rule is strictly enforced - there is a staff member positioned next to the case at all times. There is also a staff member to greet you before entering the gallery. I came with my Ipad ready to take photos until I found out about the rule. I was still allowed to keep the Ipad in the exhibit as long as I didn't use it. I learned that the reason for the photography prohibition has to do with preserving the document. As I said, the gallery is small so getting a double stroller in there would be hard during more crowded viewings (which the Museum anticipates). We went on a weekday morning and we almost had the gallery to ourselves.

        So what's this about a Preliminary EP? Apparently Lincoln (or one of his staff members) hand wrote a beginning EP warning the Confederate States that if they didn't step back into line in 100 days, he would free the slaves in their territories. It was basically a threat that Lincoln backed up with action, issuing the official EP about a hundred days later. The Preliminary EP actually offers slaveholders compensation for their freed slaves and provides for the establishment of colonies for freed slaves. But because the Confederates held out for more, they lost even those concessions in the official EP. The edition of the Preliminary EP on view is a seven page bound copy signed by Lincoln. Only two pages are on view. According to the museum staff member in front of the gallery, this edition is one of possibly only two still in existence. The official EP, issued on Jan. 1, 1863, is in the National Archives and, according to that same staff member, is too fragile to be viewed.

         Walking into the gallery, you'll find wall-mounted panels heavy with text on the left. The panels explain what the document says and it's differences from the Official Emancipation Proclamation. The document itself lies in low light in an enclosed case about adult chest height (the staff guard informed me that the case has a pressure-sensitive alarm so I should keep my 3 year-old from touching it). The exhibit holds little interest to young children like mine - although I emphasized the age of the document to my preschooler. It would be enjoyed more by school-age children who have some context for the document.

        I initially asked the guard positioned next to the case my questions about the document and he replied that he wasn't supposed to talk about it. Not sure what that's about. But the lady in front of the gallery was able to answer my questions and informed me that the NC version of the 13th Amendment would be on view soon.

        The Preliminary EP is only on view until June 16 so you don't have long to see it!




Photos and graphics from NC Museum of History website.


       

Neuse River Trail milepost 17 - 15.5 - Raleigh

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       Trailhead and parking for this section is at Anderson Point Park near the boat launch, before you drive over the overpass. I chose this entrance to the Trail because it was the closest trailhead to the new Mingo Creek Greenway. I had seen an article on the Town of Knightdale website about a portion of Mingo Creek opening and I wanted to try it out.

          We reached the Mingo Creek Greenway trailhead rather quickly off of the NRT.

And crossed a very impressive bridge over the Neuse.

      There are no mileposts yet on the Mingo Creek Trail, but I would guess about a quarter of a mile from the bridge the asphalt ends and the gravel and mud begins. I just wasn't in the mood to push two kids in the small-wheeled, double stroller through gravel so we headed back to the NRT and kept going.

Where the pavement ends on the Mingo Creek Trail

       Most of this section of the NRT is swampy but shaded. The smell of honeysuckle was thick in the air.

       We ended our hike where New Bern Avenue crosses the Neuse River. A number of monarch butterflies were clustering under the bridge.

       On the way back we interrupted a small turtle trying to cross the Trail.

     

Neuse River Trail milepost 22 - 24.5 - Auburn Knightdale Rd., Garner

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           A beautiful, cool spring Sunday inspired me to head out on the Neuse River Trail once again with all three children and Mama Cruise Director too. A minivan packed with my oldest's scooter, a Big Wheel and enough rations for a picnic had us on our way.

           This trailhead offers a great parking lot off of Auburn Knightdale Rd. The Trail speed limit of 10 mph is helpful on this portion with its' steeper grades (one of the steepest is near the site of the above picture). Private land and a wastewater facility cause the Trail to take its' greatest deviation from it's usual riverside meandering. Farmland is the dominant scenery here. Trailside litter is nonexistent. And although hunting is prohibited near the Trail, if you think you hear gunshots near marker 23 you're right - there's a law enforcement firing range nearby.

          Stopping trailside we had a picnic. And even though he hadn't pedaled or scooted a mile like his brother and sister, my toddler packed in the food until he belched so loud it was hard to believe a sound that deep could come from such a small body.

          The highlight of the trek is the tunnel under Battle Bridge Rd at mile 23.25.

        At mile 24 the Trail crosses Brownfield Rd and then parallels it for another 3/4 mile. The entrance to a landfill is also at this crossing and even though you can't see the landfill itself, you can smell it when you're downwind.

         The nice weather meant plenty of bikers were on the trail (I always prefer it when they call out which side their passing on.) We even stopped to talk to one cyclist after my preschooler kept swerving his Big Wheel in front of the man trying to prevent him from passing. My preschooler's stamina is obviously improving as he pedaled well over a mile and a half this time.