house in the horseshoe

The House-in-the-Horseshoe or Alston House is located about 10 miles north of Carthage. It has a Sanford address (Lee County) but is located in northern Moore County. As the Tarheel State's only Revolutionary War property, for that reason alone the Alston House should be visited. Its out of the way location off of South Carbonton Road (Glendon-Carbonton Road from Carthage) means that it could be missed, however the brown historical signs will guide you there. Not to be missed are the reenactments of the skirmish between British and American forces that damaged the home. The bullet holes are still there. The reenactment takes place in August; the home is decorated for Christmas with guided tours on the second Saturday of December. On April 25, 2015, a new event -- An Afternoon at Retreat -- will be held. This event will focus on 1798 and the life of Colonel Benjamin Williams, soon to be governor of the State of North Carolina.

This is the only NC state historic site that dates to the Revolutionary War. There are bullet holes in the house where the skirmish took place. Yearly they have a reinactment of the skirmish. It is very true to the time period and very interesting to see!

I'm almost at the point where "if you've seen one old historic house you've seen them all" (even if they are from the Revolutionary War). The house and grounds are beautiful though. The house got it's name because it sits on a bend in the Deep River that is shaped like a horseshoe.

Very beautiful grounds and restored home. Small museum attached and the staff were very knowledgeable.

Amazing that this house, with over 18 different owners, was never renovated- original from floor to ceiling (except for a small amount of plaster upstairs). Furnished in the period and a very interesting story, this is a great history stop. Taxpayer financed (re. free to visitors). We will bring our family and friends in the future. Would love to see the re-enactment of the skirmish between Alston and Fanning.

Not much here but still interesting to see where an actual skirmish took place during the revolutionary war. Kind of cool to put your finger in an actual bullet hole left in the house from the battle. The caretaker is very knowledgeable and the fees to tour the inside of the house are very cheap, Suggested donations are listed. A part part of history that shouldn't be forgotten.

We arrived on a Saturday at lunch. The welcome center (small house) had a closed sign on it. The gate was open so we proceeded to the home, looked inside the museum, and kept waiting for some sign of life to come and greet us. We milled around outside the house a good half hour and decided a tour of the house would not be possible. As we drove away we noticed the "closed" sign had been taken down and the door was open to the welcome center. We walked in and a young man came from the back. I mentioned that I was afraid no one was there today and he informed me he had been eating lunch. I had to ask him for a tour of the home. Although the guide was informative during our tour of the house he never introduced himself. We almost got the feeling that we were unexpected visitors and we came at a bad time. The home and property is breath taking. It's a shame our experience was not more welcoming.

The House in the Horseshoe was definitely worth stopping at on my way to Charlotte. It is somewhat out of the way, 10 miles from the highway, but provides a glimpse of North Carolina's Revolutionary and early 1800s past. The site belongs to the North Carolina Historical Society and is free but they do take donations.The house belonged to the Alston family during the American Revolutionary War and the grounds include the main home as well as the original cotton barn, well and a few reconstructed structures. The cotton barn is also a small museum open during the operating hours that shows a short approximately 15 minute video of the home's history. The main home is not open except when a tour is conducted. Fortunately another visitor mentioned that there was a tour guide coming up so that I was able to go inside. If you go, make sure to stop at the Museum Shop/visitor center located a short distance from the entrance to the Alston House to see when the next tour is scheduled.The house was the site of a small encounter between the leaders of the Whig (Philip Alston) and Torie (David Fanning) factions during the Revolutionary War, and offers a nice history lesson you do not get a change to learn otherwise. After the war, Benjamin Williams bought the property while he served as a Governor. He added two wings to the house, which one became an attached kitchen. He also had a horse track and made the plantation an economic powerhouse in the region with its cotton fields. The two wings have been removed to provide an accurate depiction of how it looked while Alston was the owner. Inside the home you get a chance to look at how the home looked like on both floors. There are still bullet holes in the walls in some of the rooms from the conflict between Alston and Fanning, and no one knows for sure why the holes were not fixed.The site is open from Tuesday to Saturday. I would highly recommend visiting the historical site, as it is also a nice drive just to get there.

This beautiful historic house is out in the country which is part of its charm. We went at Christmas when the house was decorated with regional greenery, a fire was lit, and a harpest was playing. Just relaxing and lovely.