Moorefields enjoys a rich tradition of
Honoring and preserving its history, creating and celebrating the arts, and protecting wildlife habitats.
Moorefields is open every Thursday for tours at 11am and 2pm. The one-hour tour includes the house and grounds and also gives visitors access to the property from 11am- 4pm. Parking is convenient and free. Only service dogs are allowed.
Please reserve your spot at the link below or email Cecily@moorefields.org to book another time.
A Valued Sliver of the Past
The 70-acres of woodlands and permanent pasture at Moorefields are maintained as a wildlife refuge, owned and managed by the Friends of Moorefields, a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation. Moorefields is cherished by many and serves multiple purposes. It’s a place where a sliver of our past is preserved and enhanced; a formal garden and a place to grow hay, support honeybees and nurture the wild; a venue for sharing our heritage and enjoying music, food, entertainment and a sense of community; and much more.
The governing Friends of Moorefields has secured several grants to help improve our outreach, preservation efforts, and understanding of the site. Grants from the Ochiltree Foundation have allowed us to finish repairing and painting the exterior and interior of the house. A grant from the Covington Foundation has enabled us to rebuild the front porch, a performance space for our annual bluegrass festival as well as a gracious space for enjoying the sweep of fields and forest.
Grants from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, Orange County, and the Eno River Association will protect the integrity of the Moorefields property in perpetuity through the use of farm and natural area conservation easements even as we link to the Mountains to Sea Trail traversing Orange County. Moorefields is also the beneficiary of a grant from the federal and state governments facilitating on-the-ground archaeological research into the lives of enslaved people and others who lived here over the centuries.
Furthering the archaeological, artistic, environmental and historic preservation goals of the Friends of Moorefields is ultimately reliant on support from our friends like you. Grants can fund special projects but don’t cover ongoing operational expenses or other needs that arise. Your support in maintaining and extending our efforts will aid in enriching appreciation and endurance of our community’s shared heritage.
For an engaging deep dive into what you'll find when you visit Moorefields, see this post on the website American Nomad Traveler.
Mission
Our mission is to preserve, enhance and share with the public the Moorefields historic site; preserve and maintain the 1785 house and grounds; celebrate the arts; and protect the site’s wildlife habitats and natural areas.
Vision
Moorefields has a rich tradition of honoring its history, celebrating the arts, and protecting essential natural areas and wildlife habitats. The mission of the Friends of Moorefields is to share these qualities by maintaining and preserving the Moorefields historic house and grounds; serving as a valuable resource for research and education, investigating and sharing with the public the cultural history of all those who lived and worked at Moorefields; fostering appreciation of the arts by engaging diverse audiences in events, programs and educational opportunities; and protecting the site’s waterways and natural habitats, and connecting people with nature and history through public engagement, including hosting a segment of the NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
Board of Directors
Pam Hemminger, President
Pam is the former Mayor of Chapel Hill, former Orange County Commissioner, and former CHCCS School Board Chair. She is currently serving on many non-profit boards, including Moorefields, where she has served for over 15 years. Pam has lived in Chapel Hill for over 40 years.
Sally Allison, Vice President
Sally's family has been in Orange County for several generations. Though away for many years, Sally was pleased to return to Hillsborough in 2002 for a professional opportunity at Duke. Active in the Hillsborough Exchange Club and Hillsborough United Methodist Church, she was welcomed to the Moorefields board recently, bringing expertise in event and facility management, board development and presentation skills. Sally enjoys living in the Cameron Park neighborhood.
Rich Shaw, Secretary
Rich lives along the Eno River in Hillsborough, a few miles downstream from Moorefields and Seven Mile Creek. He is the retired Land Conservation Manager for Orange County, which enabled him to conserve land for parks, nature preserves, farming and historic preservation. Rich and his wife, Holly Reid, are stewards of a 1785 farmhouse near the Riverwalk.
Robin Jacobs, Treasurer
Laura Cotterman
Laura has lived in the neighborhood of Moorefields, with her husband John, for more than forty years and even had her wedding reception at Moorefields in 1985. Though now mostly retired, she worked as both a professional botanist and an editor/writer, her last formal job being with the North Carolina Botanical Garden at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dana Cowen
Since 2018, Dana Cowen has served as the Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American art before 1950 at the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A specialist in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century northern European art, Cowen previously served as the associate curator of European art at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, and formerly held curatorial positions at the Cleveland Museum of Art. She earned an MA and a PhD in Art History from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dana moved to Hillsborough from Chapel Hill in 2022 and joined the Friends of Moorefields board in 2026.
Terri Russ
Garrett Silliman
David Swanson
David is a recently retired landscape architect with over 40 years of experience in public and private practice in planning, design, and landscape architecture. Over the years, David served on the Chapel Hill Design Review Board and the Community Design Commission. He and his wife Terri are members of Preservation North Carolina, the Triangle Land Conservancy, and the North Carolina Botanical Garden.
Terri Swanson
Terri was an office manager in her husband’s landscape architecture practice, and over the years she worked as office manager or secretary for firms in the fields of engineering, construction, real estate development, law, and manufacturing. She served for ten years as a commissioner on the Chapel Hill Historic District Commission and has a keen interest in local history.
Cathleen Turner
And we will long remember our friend and founding board member, Geoffrey Gledhill.
Staff
Cecily Nisbet, Executive Director
Cecily@moorefields.org
Barry Jacobs, Site Supervisor
Hours & Location
Hours of Operation: Moorefields is open to the public on Thursdays and during scheduled events. Some events require registration and tickets, so please be sure to check out our events page.
Address: 2201 Moorefields Rd, Hillsborough, NC 27278
Contact: Send us an email
