Mary Lynn Richardson Park & Historic Buildings

At the Greensboro History Museum, even the walls have stories, and if you listen, they will yield secrets of life in another time. The museum’s downtown campus includes a landmark National Register Building and four restored buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries.

More than 100 years ago, our main building began its life as the home of First Presbyterian Church, making it one of Greensboro’s oldest public buildings. Its delectable Richardsonian Romanesque architecture combined with its undeniable significance to the city’s history earned it a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

In Mary Lynn Richardson Park, see sculpture and stroll the walkways around the Francis McNairy House, originally located near today’s Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. Inside, discover furnishings and decorative arts from the late 1700s and early 1800s. Built as a log house, it has been covered with clapboard siding and looks much as it would have in the 1820s.

The Hockett Blacksmith and Woodworking Shops were part of a flourishing family farm south of Greensboro. Open for scheduled tours and during special events, the Shops serve up a helping of historic crafts that were essential to every community.

The Isley House, reopening soon after structural repairs, was moved to the museum in 1972 from eastern Guilford County. The house was likely built in the late 1700s on land purchased by Lodwick and Barbara Iseley along Rock Creek in 1773.