Uncovering the Entangled Stories: County Reveals Design of Latta Place

Mecklenburg County revealed the future design of Latta Place at a community meeting on Thursday. The design concept features a new interpretive trail, a new visitor center and updates to the plantation farmstead that will uncover the entangled stories of the people and cultures that shaped Latta Place and its natural environment, including enslaved people, Indigenous people, tenant farmers, artisans, historic landowners and more recent stewards.

Years of public input and feedback from a steering committee of experts in local history, culture and natural resources has indicated community interest in the full story of life on the property for all its past inhabitants. Once complete, Latta Place will be a key resource in Mecklenburg County for identifying and addressing the legacies of a plantation economy, and a space for healing and retrospection. 

“This design is grounded in community input and in our mission to create a place that is truthful and compassionate,” said Mecklenburg County Manager Dena R. Diorio. “Our goal is for all people to feel welcome at Latta Place and comfortable confronting our complex past, and that visitors leave transformed and ready to create a more unified future.”

With the design concept finalized, construction is anticipated to start in late 2025. The County anticipates reopening Latta Place in 2026.

An Interpretive Trail to Honor the Cultural Landscape

An interpretive trail will loop through Latta Place and the surrounding nature preserve. Along the trail, visitors will experience the landscape and learn about inhabitants’ relationships to the forest, the Catawba River, the cotton plantation fields and the farmstead.  

The County aims to create a rich experience for people of all abilities through auditory, tactile and interactive elements along a smooth and stable path. Signs and interactive displays will allow visitors to conduct self-guided tours. Stops along the trail will add opportunities for respite and contemplation.

Two reflection spaces will bookend the trail experience. A visitor can begin their tour at the trail’s gateway, taking a moment to prepare for what they will discover along the way. A tribute space honoring the lives of at least 65 people who were enslaved at Latta Place will close the trail.  

A New Visitors Center  

The current visitor center at Latta Place will be removed. A new, 6,000-square-foot visitor center will be built adjacent to the historic farmstead and connected to the interpretive trail. The center will be available as a starting and ending point for the guest experience and as a space for learning and gathering.

The center will include indoor and outdoor community spaces, exhibits, restrooms, site maps, staff offices and other areas for support functions.  

The Farmstead: Understanding the Authenticity of the Historic Site

The County assessed all buildings and structures on the plantation farmstead to determine which are original and contribute to a truthful history of the landowners, tenant farmers and enslaved people who lived and worked at Latta Place. Currently, the farmstead features a mix of original buildings, replica buildings, and structures that are historic but not original to Latta Place.  

Under the final design concept and site plan, Latta House and the meat house, both original to the farmstead, will remain in place. Latta House will undergo some repairs. The County will remove a small replica barn, a replica structure that was formerly a field office, a chicken coop and freestanding restrooms.  

The design also plans for gardens and native meadows at the farmstead, and a nearby outdoor gathering space. Like the interpretive trail, accessible, tactile and interactive displays will assist visitors in their self-guided tours of the farmstead.

About Latta Place

Latta Place is a historic site surrounded by Latta Nature Preserve on Mountain Island Lake. Throughout history, the land was lived on by Indigenous peoples, at least 65 enslaved men, women and children, and colonial and post-colonial landowners.

For many years, Mecklenburg County leased the site to a nonprofit that operated a circa-1800 living history museum and farm. Since closing the museum in 2021, the County has embarked on a thoughtful and community-driven process to create a new chapter for Latta Place.  

Learn more about how the County is reimagining Latta Place at Latta.MeckNC.gov, and sign up for project updates at PublicInput.com/HistoricLatta.