Most of us live in Fayetteville but know little about the city’s early history— its founding, its growth, and the people who helped shape it. In this program, retired history professor and former academic dean Georgena Duncan returns to her roots in historical research with a focus on early Fayetteville. Drawing from her current research, she will guide participants through the city’s development from 1828 to 1865.

The program will introduce the fascinating and often complex individuals who played key roles in Fayetteville’s early years—settlers, slave owners, farmers, merchants, and politicians—many of whom helped establish the Fayetteville Square as a center of community life. Participants will also learn how the city grew steadily through the antebellum period, only to be devastated by the Civil War.

Settle in and discover the early story of Fayetteville from someone passionate about both the subject and the city itself.