Living in eastern Cabarrus County, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised to find the unexpected right under my nose.
After all, this is an area known for hidden treasure.
Do you ever wonder how many times John Reed stepped over that 17-pound yellow rock his family used as a doorstop?
Do you wonder whether Mrs. Reed tripped over it and yelled at young Conrad to get that big, old rock off her nice, clean floor and back outside where it belonged?
Of course, now we know the doorstop turned out to be the biggest gold find in the young United States of America at that time, back in 1799. The Reeds had hidden treasure in their house for three years before they got a hint of its actual value.
It took me a little less time than that to discover another hidden treasure in eastern Cabarrus.
The Eastern Cabarrus Historical Society Museum is right on Main Street in Mount Pleasant. Like me, you may have driven past it dozens or hundreds of times and never stopped to see what was there.
In the mid-19th century, this area was known as an educational hub, with well-known colleges and schools for both men and women. The museum now is in the main building of the former Western Carolina Male Academy, though the building has had many other functions over the years.
Today its three stories and 30 rooms offer fascinating glimpses into eastern Cabarrus County's history.
Each room has its own theme. More formal areas are on the first floor, along with a library filled with rare and special books. The library also houses genealogical records, available to anyone doing research.
In the rooms upstairs, you can see what a college student's dormitory quarters might have looked like. Or you can see the inside of a general store, or the local apothecary shop.
You'll see farm equipment and books and photographs and clothing. There is music and beautiful artwork and a collection of very old telephones.
I especially enjoyed looking through a room dedicated to the servicemen and women of Cabarrus County, from Civil War era to the present.
You'll see photographs and personal memorabilia from folks who lived here and worked here. You'll recognize a lot of names, and you may even think about spending some time in the library searching those records for your ancestors.
I got curious about how this museum came to be, so I talked with Vicky Cline of the Eastern Cabarrus Historical Society.
She told me how the building that now houses the museum sat empty for many years until a group of local people led by Dr. McAllister, Gene Hough, John Coble and Dr. Barringer began talking about putting a museum into the vacant former school.
In June 1973, they began meeting and planning. With help from local volunteers, school alumni and former faculty, they bought the building, restored it and opened the museum to the public Sept. 21, 1980.
Today the museum is maintained by the historical society, which has a membership of more than 100 and a small nucleus of very active members.
One of those very active members is Billie McAllister. She and Vicky are there at the museum every Sunday and Monday, giving tours, maintaining the exhibits and doing whatever needs doing around the museum.
Vicky said the group is always looking for more volunteers to help at the museum, giving tours to school groups, doing light housekeeping, cataloging and setting up for special events.
Billie added that the best volunteers are the ones who love history, because they are surrounded by it and have the opportunity to share it with the museum's visitors.
If you need extra incentive to visit the museum, there's a special event coming up that you won't want to miss.
On May 25, students from Mount Pleasant Elementary School will be sharing from their yearlong project about the homefront of Cabarrus County during World War II.
These young students have talked with local residents who lived here during that time and have recorded their memories. That Sunday, they will read from the book they wrote based on all they've learned and recorded, and the folks they interviewed will be there, too.
On display that day will be the local honor roll from World War II, which lists all the men and women from our area who served in the armed forces during the war.
Vicky Cline told me the honor roll was found in 1995 while someone was cleaning out another building the historical society had purchased. It is too big to keep on permanent display, but they'll get it out for this special occasion.
The Eastern Cabarrus Historical Museum's regular hours are 2-5 p.m. Sundays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays. If you want more information, call the museum at 704-436-6612.
You could easily spend days at the museum and not have time to study all the wonderful things there are to see. As Vicky Cline told me, "We're just sitting on hidden treasure here."
