As we plod through the dog days of summer, parents and grandparents are often looking for new ideas for outings with the youngsters.
One possibility to consider is visiting the Halifax State Historic Site Visitor Center in Halifax, North Carolina, to view the original Halifax Resolves, which will be on display through Oct. 6, 2026. This document was America’s first formal call for independence from Great Britain.
The Halifax Historic Site has a brand-new visitor center that does a great job of telling the Revolutionary story and is an excellent central base from which to explore the various historical buildings in the town of Halifax.
As I learned earlier this spring:
Not far from the old Halifax County courthouse where the 83 delegates met was the jail where Loyalist prisoners who had been captured at the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge less than three months before were being held. Seeing those prisoners and remembering the events of that battle, even the involvement in the battle by some of the delegates, surely reminded them of what the growing conflict meant for the province of North Carolina.
Normally, you’d have to go all the way to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., to see the Resolves. This is the first time that the document has been in North Carolina since it was sent to the Continental Congress in 1776.
The significance of the Halifax Resolves
North Carolina’s Fourth Provincial Congress adopted the Halifax Resolves on April 12, 1776. The document authorized delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia — William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and John Penn — to vote for independence. This made North Carolina the first colony to take official action toward independence, assuring its place in history as “First in Freedom.”
Don’t forget to tell the kids — that’s why that date is on the North Carolina state flag!
