N.C. State Museum of Natural Sciences
Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
N.C. State Museum Of Natural Sciences. Collection began with 1851 geological survey; a museum since 1879; H. H. Brimley, curator from 1895 to 1946.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
The museum's collections trace back to an 1851 state geological survey, and it has operated as a public museum since 1879, making it one of the oldest of its kind in the South. For half a century, from 1895 to 1946, naturalist H. H. Brimley served as its curator, building its reputation for natural history. It reflects a 19th-century faith in science, survey, and public education.
Why it matters
Institutions like this brought the study of the natural world to ordinary citizens, part of a broader American movement to catalog and understand the continent's resources.
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Related people
- · H. H. Brimley
Related events
- · State geological survey, 1851
Themes & tags
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