Hope to see you today, for a very special Open House at the new Silk Hope Farm Heritage Center. See the facilities, visit this lovely part of Chatham County, and enjoy a festive atmosphere of live music and light refreshments.

5pm - event begins. 6.30pm - dedication program for the building. 7.15pm - live music.

http://www.silkhoperuritans.com/news.htm

Address: 4221 Silk Hope Rd, Siler City, NC 27344

Farm Heritage Center

The Farm Heritage Center is an outstanding collection of antique farm equipment, old farm buildings, and steam-related equipment brought to the Farm Heritage Center over the last 30 years by the Silk Hope Ruritan Club. 

These items have been discovered, in many cases weathering away to rust and dust, in the surrounding region. They were carefully disassembled, moved to the Farm Heritage Center, and re-assembled and refurbished as functioning pieces of our Farm Heritage Center showcase. This work was carried out by volunteers, primarily Ruritan Club members, but also by many friends with the proper expertise, along with lots of enthusiasm! 

The Farm Heritage Center continues to grow as a premier Showcase of Old Fashioned Farming buildings, equipment, technology, and lifestyle.  We have recently added a Tobacco Homestead and a Blacksmith Shop. 

The Silk Hope Ruritan Club has decided to devote a large part of our Community-Building effort to financing, building, and operating a brand-new Silk Hope Community Building on land owned by the Club.  The new Silk Hope Community Building has been built diagonally across the intersection from the new Fire House. 

Tourist Attraction & Educational Tours

The Silk Hope Community Center and its new Centerpiece, the Silk Hope Community Building, will continue to develop Silk Hope and the surrounding area as a major tourist attraction.  Our extensive and growing display of Old Fashioned Farming buildings, operating Antique Farm Equipment, and Old-Time Technology cannot be rivaled anywhere! 

We already attract tourists from all over North Carolina and many other states, who bring friends to see the spectacle.  Many of these people become customers of surrounding businesses, benefiting the area economy.  They also become our Ambassadors to the World, spreading the word about the many attractions of our site.

The new Community Building, located on site, gives us even more opportunity to enhance our appeal by providing a place for more delicate Antique Displays, as well as lectures on subjects like Old Fashioned Farm Technology and Practices.

These same assets form the basis for Educational Tours and lectures for groups as diverse as local school children, senior citizens, the Agricultural Extension Service, and people from outside the state and country.  A number of groups have taken advantage of this outstanding educational opportunity, and more are signing up as the word gets out about the treasures we have saved from our Farm Heritage!

Besides our annual celebrations, including Old Fashioned Farmers Days (held throughout the Labor Day weekend) and Farm Heritage Day (held in the Spring), we also provide an attractive venue for groups like Antique Car Clubs, Livestock Breeders, and others who enjoy using our magnificent setting and facilities as the background to their central interests, all the while educating the public to the way Farm Life once was (and may be again!).

History

The mission of the Silk Hope Ruritan Club  is, to Build Community by bringing and keeping the people of Silk Hope together.  As one of our major past Community-Building activities, the Club was  the major contributor to building the Silk Hope Community Firehouse and Community Building in the late 1960s.  

Since that time, the Community Building (also called the Community Center) has been used for many activities, from Scouts meetings (and headquarters), to wedding receptions, to Red Cross Blood Drives, to educational meetings for Seniors and others, as well as many other activities.  It has evolved into a major Community-Building focus for the Silk Hope Community!