Donated to the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust by Richard H. Jenrette, who purchased and restored this showplace of decorative arts, Ayr Mount is being managed and planned for by Preservation NC.

Ayr Mount is open for tours and special events.

376 St. Mary's Road
Hillsborough, NC 27278

Office: 919-732-6886
Fax: 919-732-4524
EMail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Ayr Mount is a property of Classical American Homes Preservation Trust and is operated by Preservation North Carolina.

Ayr Mount is a meticulously restored 1815 plantation home and is exquisitely furnished with Federal Antiques and Decorative Art. Many original Kirkland pieces are also on display. This treasure of natural and cultural history sits on 265 tranquil acres and is located within the Eno River Valley near Hillsborough. It also features Guided House Tours and the one mile Poet's Walk.

Brief History

In 1799, William Kirkland (born in Ayr, Scotland) bought 500 acres on which to build a home for his wife, Margaret, and their 14 children. This beautifully sited ~1815 house is a testament to their prominence. Through births, marriages, death, war, and the rise and fall of fortunes the Kirkland family lived here for four generations. The last heir residing at Ayr Mount, Samuel Kirkland, died in 1971 and lies alongside his kinfolk in the family cemetery.

Guided House Tours

A Guided House Tour will revisit family legacy, document period furnishings, and uncover the process of restoring this National Register property back to life.

Guided tours last approximately 1 hour. Group Tours for 5 or more are available by advance appointment anytime throughout the year. Please contact us to schedule a date and time for your group

Poet's Walk

Poet's Walk is a beautiful mile long trail that winds through the meadows and woodlands around Ayr Mount. The walk meanders down to the Eno River, passes alongside the remnants of an old tavern and parallels the Old Indian Trading Path. It is truly an exercise for the mind, the body, and the spirit. Poet's Walk is a marvelous use of open space for the public's enjoyment.

Occoneechee-Orange Speedway

The Occoneechee-Orange Speedway is a 44-acre site which sits on the bank of the Eno River across from Ayr Mount and includes the one-mile dirt track that was one of NASCAR'S first. Now, with the support of Classical American Homes Preservation Trust (CAHPT), the owner of Ayr Mount, work is being done to save the remains of the racetrack. Though the track has been taken over by three decades of natural growth, signs of its glory days remain. Trails have been cleared to allow for a walk around the remaining outbuildings and the track.

The speedway was well known for the natural hazards that it posed for those who dared to run the course. With the dust and mud that would coat the windshields, driving was difficult for most drivers and with no barricade to the river's bank, many drivers came to rest there after losing control of their cars. The last race ran in Hillsborough in 1968, with Richard Petty grabbing the last checkered flag. Races were moved to a new super speedway in Talladega (Alabama) in 1969 because the newer model cars were too fast to be running on the Occoneechee-Orange Speedway.

In 1997, PNC bought the site from the estates of NASCAR founder William France, and Enoch Staley with funding provided by the James M. Johnston Trust and CAHPT. CAHPT took title to the site with extensive protective covenants. The site, which will provide a rare glimpse into the developmental years of NASCAR is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail (HOST)

HOST is a walking trail through natural and cultural history. Three miles of trail will take you along the banks of the Eno River where you'll walk around the only surviving speedway from NASCAR's inaugural 1949 season. The one-mile oval Occoneechee/Orange Speedway was active from 1948-68, attracting the best stock car drivers and thousands of spectators.

This trail is part of a major effort to preserve and connect local and regional land resources. One day this segment will join the statewide effort to link the Mountains to the Sea Trail (MST).

There are many facets and layers of history related to this site. In the seventeenth century, the Occaneechi of the Saponi Nation found fertile ground and abundant wildlife throughout the Eno River Valley. An English land grant was then given to Francis Corbin and in turn many families farmed these acres. In the early 1900s this land became known as Occoneechee Farm, owned by General Julian Carr, who trained horses on his half-mile oval track. In 1947 Bill France, Enoch Staley and other investors bought what remained of the dismantled farm and developed this land into one of NASCAR's main venues. After twenty years of auto racing and many community events such as horse shows and football games, these grounds fell silent. Today nature has reclaimed the site with a layer of pines and thickets that have permanently rooted NASCAR's early history in place.

Hours