Harnett County, North Carolina

Although I've been to (and through) Harnett County before, I enjoyed going back to record a tour for this blog. It took me a little over an hour to get there, and I enjoyed getting to know my way around the county better.

Barbecue Presbyterian Church

My first goal on this adventure was to find the community known  as Barbecue, since I love North Carolina barbecue! Barbecue is one of several unincorporated communities in Barbecue Township, and is the home of Barbecue Presbyterian Church. I really enjoyed taking pictures of this church and the attached cemetery, where some of the tombstones were too old and weathered to read. Still, the cemetery as a whole is well kept. The nearby historical marker titled Barbecue Church made me smile as I took a picture. Unfortunately, I didn't see any barbecue restaurants in the area for lunch.

Raven Rock State Park

Next, I drove to Lillington, where I found the Harnett County Public Library, the Harnett County Courthouse, and Raven Rock State Park. Lillington is the county seat, and is named after John Alexander Lillington, a Revolutionary War officer who fought in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in what is now Pender County. I especially enjoyed finding Raven Rock State Park, but didn't do any hiking, since my ankle was sore.

John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center

Next, I went to Buies Creek, home of Campbell University. I was surprised by how close Lillington and Buies Creek are to each other! (I'm not sure why I was surprised! They're both pretty small!)) On my way into town, I noticed the building in progress for Campbell University's new School of Osteopathic Medicine. The main campus was pretty deserted, as the school year had already ended, but I enjoyed walking and driving around the campus. I never did find the campus library, though.

Duffies Exotic Bird Ranch

My last adventure was to find Duffie's Exotic Bird Ranch in Dunn. I'm not sure what I was expecting at Duffie's, but it was interesting! I couldn't find anyone to pay for my $5 unguided/self-guided tour, so I just walked around and took a few pictures. Most of the birds were in cages, which isn't surprising, but made it harder to take pictures of them. A few parrots whistled at me as I walked around, and several mimicked my "bye-bye" as I left. That cracked me up! :-)

All of my photos of Harnett County are here.