News Release

"Lay of the Land” Opens to the Public

"Lay of the Land" is a new exhibit on display at Reconstruction Era National Historical Park

NPS

News Release Date: November 14, 2024

Contact: Elena DeMarco

Contact: Chris Barr

BEAUFORT, SC- Reconstruction Era National Historical Park invites the public to attend a free program celebrating the opening of the park’s visitor center exhibit, Lay of the Land. The program will take place Saturday November 23 at 1 pm at the park visitor center, located at 706 Craven Street in downtown Beaufort.  

  The Old Beaufort Firehouse in downtown Beaufort has been the visitor center for Reconstruction Era National Historical Park since the park was established in January of 2017. “For most of our park’s history, we’ve relied on borrowed exhibits from a variety of community partners, and that has been a wonderful experience for the more than 50,000 people who have come to the visitor center” said Chris Barr, Chief of Interpretation for the park. “We’re excited to continue that collaborative spirit in creating our park’s first long-term exhibit project.” 

Lay of the Land was created in collaboration between park staff, volunteers, community partners, and an internship with Morehouse College alumni through the Greening Youth Foundation HBCUI program.  The exhibit uses a place-based approach to share stories of locations throughout the southeastern United States to address core themes of Reconstruction: land, labor, education, citizenship, and politics, as well as the long-term consequences and legacy of Reconstruction. The exhibit was completed in late October as part of a series of projects to improve the accessibility and visitor experience to the park.