A Rural and Charming Event Venue With Modern Amenities
Host your event at the new Cultural Center. This beautiful structure is inspired by the lofty barns that once dotted the area’s rural landscape, blending into our surrounding 265 acre farmland in a graceful manner.
The Rural Hill Cultural Center and farm offers a unique combination of flexible indoor and outdoor spaces for a variety of gatherings…weddings, receptions, reunions, cultural & educational programs, business retreats, and more!
With more than 4,000 square feet the Rural Hill Cultural Center features 2,000 square feet in the charming May Davidson Hall, a Scottish Heritage Library, catering kitchen, aptly appointed restrooms, audio/visual amenities, spacious covered patio and more. We invite you to come see how Rural Hill can provide the perfect setting for you and your guests. Contact us today to schedule a personal tour and site visit.
Information
In addition to providing a beautiful site for your special event, Historic Rural Hill is also the home to a world of educational and cultural programming, a working farm, and the home to several annual events, including the Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games, the North Carolina Brewers and Music Festival, the Rural Hill Amazing Maize Maze, the Rural Hill Sheepdog Trials and Dog Festival, and more! For more information on these events and the every day happenings at our special place please visit Rural Hill’s main website, RuralHill.net.
About us
With more than 4,000 square feet the Rural Hill Cultural Center features 2,000sf in the charming May Davidson Hall, a Scottish Heritage Library, catering kitchen, aptly appointed restrooms, audio/visual amenities, spacious covered patio and more. We invite you to come see how Rural Hill can provide the perfect setting for you and your guests. Contact us today to schedule a personal tour and site visit.
May Davidson Hall
Vaulted ceilings, crisscrossed wood beams, primitive ironwork chandeliers and glossy wood floors will greet you as you enter the cultural center. Expansive windows and doors allow in cheerful natural lighting. This space will accommodate up to 300 guests for a cocktail reception and 128 guests for a banquet reception. Capacity expands if you spill out onto the covered patio or an event tent.
Covered Patio
Step outside the cultural center to the west onto the covered patio. Views of the sunset are simply stunning. Use the patio for your ceremony, cocktail hour or reception.
The Grounds
Expansive grounds include fields and woods with many spots that are suitable for an open-air event. Set up a simple altar with chairs for pews to exchange your vows. Fields are available for tenting.
Scottish Heritage Library
The Scottish Heritage Library is present on the site, which brides can use on the day of the event for dressing and preparation. The library is large enough to provide comfortable areas for relaxing as you prepare for your wedding day.
Amenities
Many amenities await you when you book your wedding at Rural Hill. Some tables and chairs are available for you to use for your ceremony and reception. The venue does not offer catering services; however, the facility provides a large catering kitchen for caterers to use during your event. New and tastefully appointed restrooms are also present on the property.
Perks
The staff understands that special touches and enhancements often make events even more unforgettable. Some amenities are available to add to your events package. The venue will provide hay wagon rides or use of a horse-drawn carriage Request the use of hay bale benches, picnic tables or a fire pit.
“We had our wedding at Historic Rural Hill on June 24th and loved every minute of it! Rural Hill is a gorgeous venue and fit our 80 person guest list perfectly! ” Laura B.
“Historic Rural Hill is the most beautiful venue and Lauren the Events Director was very helpful and responsive throughout the entire process. Our wedding was perfect in every way thanks to the staff at Rural Hill!”
Lindsay H
“The wedding day itself could not have gone more perfectly, with a gorgeous backdrop of dove-tailed pioneer cabins and farmland, lush trees, and taking place in their rustic barn. Rural Hill is a beautiful venue for a mixed outdoor/indoor wedding. ” Becky W.
Over 250 Years of History
In 1761 John Davidson, a blacksmith and American born son to Scottish immigrants married Violet Wilson, daughter of the wealthy planter Samuel Wilson. John lived with his bride for 4 years on a small piece of property in nearby Union County before selling it and purchasing 250 acres from his father and law near McDowell Creek. That land would eventually come to be known throughout the area as Rural Hill. John would quickly move up the ranks of Mecklenburg County society, serving as a Justice of the Peace, Mecklenburg County Delegate to the North Carolina Assembly, Second Major in the county militia, and signer of the May 20, 1775 Mecklenburg County Declaration of Independence, which predated the American Declaration of Independence by a year.
After serving in the Revolutionary War, John returned home to Rural Hill and began to prosper financially through several real estate deals as well as a heavy investment in Lincoln County’s Iron Industry. In 1788 John had made enough money to move his family from their humble log cabin and into the newly constructed Rural Hill Mansion, whose ruins still remain on site today (the home burned to the ground in 1886.
Throughout the next 200 years Rural Hill transitioned from one of the largest and most prosperous plantations in Mecklenburg county back to a small family farm. In 1989, after 5 generations of continuous Davidson ownership, the land was sold to Mecklenburg County by the last surviving direct descendants of Major John Davidson. Historic Rural Hill Inc., a non-profit organization, now manages the property in partnership with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation through the terms of a long term lease. In 2011 Ms. May Davidson, the last direct descendent of Major John Davidson passed on and left Historic Rural Hill with the financial ability to construct the Rural Hill Cultural Center and May Davidson Hall. It is our hope that you will find the site more than suitable to your needs, and will appreciate the ongoing 250+ years of history that your event is now a part of.
Contact
Nicole Holdren
Weddings and Private Events
nicole@ruralhill.net
704.875.3113