America 250 – Guilford County

Early on Mar. 15, 1781, the British and American forces skirmished near the New Garden Meeting House before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

Founded in 1902 by Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, Palmer Memorial Institute, an African American boarding school, evolved into a fully accredited, nationally recognized college preparatory and social finishing school.

Now known as Oak Ridge Military Academy, Oak Ridge Institute opened in a small classroom building on two acres in Guilford County.  

George Stephens of UNC Chapel Hill, a Summerfield native and 1891 Oak Ridge Institute (now Oak Ridge Military Academy), caught the first forward pass ever thrown in college football. It was an illegal pass.

The Old Mill was founded on Beaver Creek in 1767 to grind grain for the early settlers of what is now Guilford County. The water-powered Grist Mill is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Blacksmith Shop at the High Point Museum dates to around 1841 in neighboring Davidson County. The shop was relocated to the Museum’s Historical Park in 1970 to demonstrate John Haley’s trade as a blacksmith.

The Carolina Theatre, opened in 1927, is one of the oldest still-operating movie palaces in the state. Known as the Showplace of the Carolinas when she opened in 1927, she was one of the first commercial buildings in NC with air conditioning.