Local Legends - Alamance County

Featuring Glencoe Village, Downtown Mebane, Animal Conservator Center 

Today we embark on an adventure to Alamance County to visit Glencoe Village along the Historic Haw River in Burlington. Travel back in time to an early textile mill that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The village was built between 1880 and 1882 on 105 acres of land along the river.  The main product manufactured within the mill was plaid cotton flannel material, and then was shipped to finishing mills all over the United States. Since its closure in 1954, Glencoe continues to be a study of historic preservation, and remains one of the best completed, preserved 19th century textile mill villages in the southeastern United States.  While at the Village we will visit the Textile Heritage Museum. There are hundreds of artifacts on display, including looms, knitting machines, and sewing machines. Other displays include fabric samples, military uniforms, and office equipment. Don’t forget to visit the company store.  A portion of the original Glencoe Company Store is recreated with familiar dry goods from the era. Burlington is known for their textile industry especially the hosiery industry. We will then head to downtown Mebane to walk around on our own.  Downtown offers a charming experience with its unique shops, diverse restaurants, and seasonal events. Visitors can explore local and modern boutiques, unique stores and enjoy the small-town atmosphere. It's a shopper's paradise featuring a mix of antique stores, trading post, gourmet stores and a book store. We will have lunch on our own downtown.  A few options are Crafted the Art of the Taco, Clay Street Tavern, 2 Twelve Seasonal Kitchen & Bar or Stumblin' Pig. There are several others in the area to choose from as well. After lunch we will hop aboard the coach and head to the Animal Park at the Conservators Center. The Animal Park is home to over 60 animals representing many different species from around the globe. We will learn about each species and their quality of care and their stories from highly trained professionals.  Their staff works hard to provide the highest quality of care to each of their residents through daily observation, interaction, and assessment. In addition to close monitoring, they are constantly updating and upgrading habitats and medical care as new technologies emerge. Staff must also readily adapt for inclement weather and address any emergent needs of each individual animal. After the day of festivities we will head back home, arriving approximately 6:00PM.