What do you love about history?  The characters, the architecture, the conflicts, the stories? As a docent, you can explore all these aspects and then have the joy of sharing your knowledge with interested people young and old.

 

The time commitment is small.  The opportunity to indulge your interest is endless.  Period dress is optional. For information on becoming a docent, please email info@hughtorancehouseandstore.org.

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The Torance family is among the most prominent families in Mecklenburg County during the colonial era and the antebellum period.  Hugh was both a soldier and a quartermaster during the Revolutionary War.  James had the largest cotton plantation in the county by the 1830s.  The family has held the land since 1779 and they were amazing record keepers.

 

In the 1950s, when direct descendant Dick Banks went into the attic of the brick plantation house beside the Hugh Torance House and Store, he discovered trunks and barrels of papers giving extraordinary details of the lives of those who lived on this land.  More than 15,000 documents are now stored in the special collections of the J. Murrey Atkins Library at UNCC.

 

Ann Williams, a noted local historian and great friend of Hugh Torance House and Store, mined these papers to create two books and our excellent docent’s manual.  Our docents use all of the resources, including the primary source material as a basis for their tours.  Experience the joy of sharing your love of history!