HEARTS Harvest '24: Down on the Farm

Curious about farming practices in our area? How is it happening now? How did it happen then? What’s changed? What’s the same? Join us to learn more about local farming through the lens of tools, barns, and other historic farm implements. Our panel of farming experts will share their knowledge as we piece together our region’s farming past at HEARTS Harvest ‘24: Down on the Farm on November 9, 2024, from 2:00 - 5:00 PM, at historic Cedar Grove in Huntersville, NC and visit next door at the Hugh Torance House and Store. Featuring live music by the Broken Arrows, tickets for HEARTS Harvest ‘24: Down on the Farm are free with donations appreciated.  

Community Help Needed

For this year’s program, we have a community request.  If you own or have access to local historic farm structures, farm equipment, or tools, please share photos with us to help document this history. We are happy to come visit you and take photos on your behalf.  In addition, if you have historic tools to display on-site for the tool exhibition, please also let us know.  We’ll be holding a contest at this year’s event for the most unusual tool, the oldest tool, and the most beautiful tool. The owners of the award-winning tools will receive a special HEARTS Harvest artisan gift.

What We Are Seeking

Antique Tools: Early hand tools, plows, harrows, and other manual farming implements.

Photographs of Barns and Farm Structures (silos, sheds, coops, etc.)

Agricultural Memorabilia: Items such as farm-related advertisements, photographs, and documents.

How to Contribute

If you have any of the above to share, please call (704)- 920-9931 or email Lauren@heartscircle.org.  Deadline for submissions is October 24, 2024. 

HEARTS Harvest ‘24: Down on the Farm is a free community event.  Join us as we delve into the history of farming in our region and advancements through the generations. Discover insights from local farmers about the equipment they use today and those their ancestors relied on in the past. This multifaceted event including farmers, historians, live music, local art, and more, will explore the progression of farming practices as technology has developed and the environment has changed.   

Designed to inspire and enhance our community’s shared sense of place, HEARTS grass-roots events are known for juxtaposing regional history and ecology with curated local music, visual art, and dance in multi-faceted, place-based programs.

Next door, the Hugh Torance House and Store will be open from 2:00-5:00 offering new and interesting local artisan goods and fresh local honey, snacks, beer, wine, sundries, and more.  Plan to come early and/or stay late to enjoy the historic grounds and tour the oldest standing store in NC. The Hugh Torance House and Store is one of Mecklenburg County’s few surviving 18th-century structures and is adjacent to Cedar Grove, the 1831 Greek Revival home of James Torrance, son of Hugh and Isabella Torance. 

HEARTS (history, ecology, arts, reunion, trails, store) happenings are free, place-based gatherings featuring music, visual arts, and lectures exploring local history, nature, and our shared sense of place. These events are made possible by dedicated volunteers, HEARTS Circle members, community partner Lake Norman Realty, and donations. All proceeds benefit HTHS’s efforts to further the HEARTS mission of historic preservation, ecological conservation, and forging community connections in our region.

​The Hugh Torance House and Store (HTHS), is a private 501c3 nonprofit historic site. Group tours and volunteer opportunities for stewardship, preservation, and conservation are available. Open to the public each Sunday from 1:00-4:00 and during HEARTS events, and is located at 8231 Gilead Road, Huntersville, NC 28078. Cedar Grove is a private residence open in partnership for select HEARTS Happenings.  

For more information, visit www.hught.org, email info@hughtorancehouseandstore.org, or call (704) 920-9931.