RAEFORD — Bruce Durie, internationally renowned as one of Scotland’s top genealogists, will be the guest speaker for the annual Mill Prong House Meeting and Open House from 2 to 4 on April 3,

Durie has been granted the prestigious Fulbright Scottish Studies Scholar Award and has chosen to teach classes on Genealogy, Culture and History at St. Andrews University as he researches the Scots migration to the Carolinas. Durie has also offered to give a “Genealogy 101” seminar after the annual open house for preregistered participants.

Mill Prong House, 3062 Edinburg Road, Raeford, is the only remaining, restored typical Scottish immigrant dwelling in North Carolina.

The afternoon celebration is open to the public to view the many research displays prepared by UNC-Wilmington’s graduate History Division. These tell of the plantation and stage coach days; creation of Floral College; and many records and artifacts from archeological site digs. Tartans have been donated from local representatives of various clans. The ‘Tartan Room’ provides ledgers to sign telling the individual’s personal heritage and affiliation.

Refreshments will be served with many recipes found in the Keepers of the Hearth, a collection of the foods, stories and recipes found in notes and ledgers from Mill Prong House.

Tours of this “jewel of Hoke County” will be available. Docents will share information of the significant architectural features, preservation and restoration, and the research displays “telling the story” of the early Scottish leaders of the Raft Swamp area.

Mill Prong House is open for visitation the first Sunday of each month from 2-5 p.m.

Mill Prong Preservation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization. Donations provide continued program development honoring Scottish heritage. Checks may be made to: Mill Prong Preservation, Inc., and mailed to: PO Box 32, Southern Pines, NC 28388. Call 910-315-5385 for information.

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Staff report