The Chatham County Historical Museum invites you to join NC History Between the Lines, a monthly book club exploring our local area’s rich past through engaging reads that connect with historical themes. Whether you’re a lifelong history lover or simply curious about the people and events that shaped our area, we would love for you to join us. Come read, learn, and share your perspectives as we connect our local stories to the larger sweep of American history.

Participation is free and you are welcome to bring friends. We’ll meet on the third Saturday of each month at 9:30 am at the Historic Chatham County Courthouse (in the traffic circle in Pittsboro) for lively discussion and conversation.

Please sign up using the links below for the sessions that interest you so we'll have a head-count. We look forward to getting together!  Start reading!

Questions: Volunteers@chathamhistory.org

Coming Up

May 16, 2026: MAKING A LIVING

Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World by Hall, Leloudis, Korstad, Murphy,

Jones and Daly (1986)

Like a Family explores life in Southern cotton mill villages, with a strong focus on the North

Carolina Piedmont textile region (and many accounts from the mill in Bynum). Using local

histories, the book reveals insight into the close knit communities shaped by work, faith, and

resistance.

May BOOK CLUB ~ Like a Family

June 20, 2026: TRANSPORTATION

Fire on the Beach: Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers by David Wright & David Zoby (2002)

Fire on the Beach explores the dangers of 19^th century coastal transportation along North Carolina’s “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” where ships carrying goods and people faced constant danger. Through the story of Richard Etheridge and the all-black crew of the US Life-Saving Service, the crew faced discrimination and the dangers of the Atlantic yet rose to heroism in their service.

June BOOK CLUB- Fire on the Beach

July 18, 2026: US INDEPENDENCE

Redcoats on the Cape Fear: The Revolutionary War in Southeastern North Carolina by Robert M Dunkerly (2012, revised version of Redcoats on the River, 2008)

Redcoats on the Cape Fear brings the American Revolution to Chatham County’s doorstep. British troops patrolled the Cape Fear River, and local farmers, townspeople, and militia faced danger, disruption, and difficult choices. Through local stories, this book shows how ordinary people helped shape the fight for independence right here in our area.

Past Book Club Reads

January 17, 2026: THE BATTLE OF ALAMANCE

Farming Dissenters: The Regulator Movement in Piedmont North Carolina by Carole Troxler (2017)

Chatham County was established in 1771 by the colonial government, largely in an effort to better control the populace following the Battle of Alamance. This history explores the Regulator Movement in Piedmont NC in the years leading up to the battle, offering a fresh look at a pivotal but often misunderstood chapter of local history and highlights how ordinary people helped lay groundwork for revolutionary ideas.

January BOOK CLUB ~ Farming Dissenters

February 21, 2026: BLACK HISTORY

Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia by Thomas Healy (2021)

This book tells the little-known story of an ambitious 1970s project to build a majority black economically self-sustaining city in rural Warren County, NC. Backed initially by the federal government, “Soul City” was envisioned as a place where black Americans could thrive free from discrimination and economic exclusion. The hopeful beginning, political and racial backlash, and economic challenges are explored with the larger lessons about race, opportunity, and the limits of reform in America.

February BOOK CLUB ~ Soul City

March 21, 2026: WOMEN'S HISTORY

Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family by Pauli Murray (1956)

In this classic family memoir, Durham born civil rights leader Pauli Murray explores her maternal grandparents’ lives: from slavery, war service, and Reconstruction into the Jim Crow era, revealing a personal history deeply rooted locally into Chatham, Orange, and Durham counties. Proud Shoes is a particularly meaningful read for anyone interested in our region’s complex past.

March BOOK CLUB ~ Proud Shoes

April 18, 2026: POETRY AND THE ARTS

Naked Genius by George Moses Horton (1865)

Naked Genius is the third book of poetry written by George Moses Horton, an enslaved poet

from Chatham County whose extraordinary literary talent brought him national attention in the

19th century. This is Horton’s third book, written after obtaining his freedom. The book includes

patriotic poems and a few describing conditions in the area right after the war. Discussion will

include review of his autobiography, revealing the brilliance of his intellect and the injustice of

slavery.

April BOOK CLUB ~ Naked Genius