Things to do as a family
Community takes showing up. Here are a few good places to start.
150 things to do in Fayetteville and Lincoln County, for families, neighbors, shopkeepers, students and longtime residents. Every one happens in person: you go somewhere, meet someone, or give some time. This page and the newsletter are just the invitation. Every local fact links to its source.
Featured
Learn From an Elder
With a parent, a kid visits a nursing home or assisted-living community, arranged by its activities staff, and learns something from a resident who'd like a visitor. Kids' stickers for this visit are coming soon.
Featured Learn From an Elder
With a parent, a kid visits a nursing home or assisted-living community, arranged by its activities staff, and learns something from a resident who'd like a visitor. Kids' stickers for this visit are coming soon.
Ask a grandparent: what was on the square?
Sit down with a grandparent or older neighbor and ask what was on the square when they were young. With their OK, send it in for "Who remembers?"
Cheer at a home game
Go to a local school's home game or concert, even if your kids don't play. Sit with someone new.
Draw the square: 1886 and today
Look at the 1886 photo of the crowd at the old courthouse, then sit on the lawn and draw today's courthouse. What changed?
Earn a History Explorer badge
Take the walking tour or the field-trip route with a grown-up and answer the questions on the Explorer card. A grown-up sends the answers for a printable certificate and a badge image you can save. Stickers coming soon.
Find the 1827 plaque
Our tour says a plaque at 310 Elk Ave. S. dates the house to 1827, just 17 years after the town was laid out. Find it from the sidewalk.
Find the date on three markers
Walk the first stops of our walking tour and find the year written on each marker or plaque. Who can spot the oldest?
Find the music marker
A Tennessee Music Pathways marker in front of the museum honors a songwriter born in Fayetteville in 1929. Find out who, then listen together.
Find the old jail door
The barred door of Fayetteville's 1867 town jail is on display at Stone Bridge Park. Find it and read the plaque.
Find the state tree on the courthouse lawn
Our tour lists a tulip poplar, Tennessee's state tree, planted on the courthouse lawn in someone's memory. Find it and sketch a leaf.
Find where the town was measured from
A stone plinth on the square's northeast corner marks where a survey pin was driven in 1810 to lay out Fayetteville. Find it, then pace the square.
Get a library card together
Library cards are free for Fayetteville and Lincoln County residents. Go together and let the kids pick the first book.
Go to library storytime
The library lists Tiny Tales Storytime for little ones. Go together and meet other families.
History detective: when sources disagree
Even history books disagree. Our pages show both answers. Pick a mystery and talk about how you'd solve it.
How did people get on a horse?
The courthouse lawn has horse mounting stones that early settlers used to climb onto their horses. Find them.
Make a home fire escape plan, then thank a firefighter
Draw a map of your home with two ways out of every room and an outside meeting spot, practice it, then make a card for the fire department.
Map the cannons' long trip
Our tour says the two cannons on the lawn were cast in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1865-66, guarded Fort Morgan, Alabama, in 1898, and came here in 1905.
Read a marker and find what it leaves out
Every marker is short. Read one and find one thing it doesn't tell you, then look it up together at the library.
Read the Storybook Trail
The library's Storybook Trail puts a children's book on child-height panels along a short trail. Read it out loud together.
Square History Hunt
A planned hunt for families: visit stops on the square, read what's printed on each marker or building, and collect code words from participating businesses. Nothing is hidden.
Planned (dates not set)
Take a family photo where the town's story starts
Our tour's family photo spot: on the lawn a few steps from the obelisk, with the courthouse and its white cupola behind you.
The bridge with no keystone
A state marker says the old Stone Bridge was built without a keystone. See the replica at Stone Bridge Park, then try building an arch at home.
The church built with bricks carried in aprons
Oral histories say the women of St. Paul A.M.E. Church carried the bricks to the site in their aprons. See the 1913 church from the sidewalk and talk about it.
Visit the museum in the old milk plant
The county museum is in a 1927 Borden milk plant. Go inside and find out what the plant made and who sold it milk.
Visit three Little Free Libraries
Take a book, leave a book. The library lists three Little Free Libraries in town: in front of the library, near the visitor's center at Stone Bridge Park, and at the Kid's Park.
Walk with the audio tour
Our walking tour has 16 narrated tracks, about 25 minutes in all. Download them, then walk and listen together.
Block potluck
One table, everyone brings a dish. The simplest party there is.
Build a Little Free Library
The library says the town's Little Free Libraries were installed by community members, some as service projects. Build one on your own property.
Chalk a welcome on your own driveway
Kids chalk a welcome or a thank-you on your own driveway or the walk in front of your home for walkers to see.
Check on an older neighbor in a cold snap
When the weather turns hard, knock on an older or homebound neighbor's door and ask if they need anything.
Clean up your street
Get three neighbors and two bags each. Walk the street's sidewalks and ditches once a season.
Help a neighbor test a smoke alarm
Offer to test an older neighbor's smoke alarms with the test button, following the maker's instructions and fire-safety guidance.
Learn five neighbors' names
Knock, wave or stop at the mailbox until you know the names of five neighbors. Write them down so you don't forget.
Make a paper phone tree for the street
Who calls whom in a storm or outage? A paper list, kept by each household.
Organize meals for a family that needs a hand
New baby, surgery, loss: line up neighbors to bring dinners.
Porch night
Pick an evening; everyone on the street sits out front at the same time. No plan needed.
Share your garden
Too many tomatoes? Walk extras next door, or set a "Free" box out on your own property.
Start a tool-lending list
A paper list of who on the street will lend a ladder, a tiller or a pressure washer.
Watch a neighbor's house while they're away
Offer to bring in mail and packages and water the plants.
Drive by a house older than the town
Our tour says the Isaac Conger House was built in 1808, two years before Fayetteville was laid out. View it from the road.
Find out how old your house is
Deeds and records at the County Archives and the Register of Deeds can help you trace your own house.
Help settle a history question
Our history page lists questions only an in-person archive visit can settle: 1811 or 1815 for the first courthouse, 1861 or 1862 for the Stone Bridge, 1962 or 1967 for the Borden plant.
How did water get to town in 1899?
Our history page says the 1899 Fayetteville Gravity Flow Water System brought spring water from Rainy Falls. Talk about how gravity moves water.
Lend us an old photo of town
Have an old photo of the square, a store, a parade? Bring it by or mail it; it gets scanned and given right back with credit.
Read every marker on the courthouse lawn
Our tour counts 14 markers and memorials on the lawn, placed between 1904 and 2018. Read them all and note who placed each.
Read the Trail of Tears marker together
Markers on the courthouse lawn and at Stone Bridge Park record the 1838 forced removal of Cherokee people along Bell's Route. Read it and talk about it.
Read the old town paper
The Fayetteville Observer ran from 1850 to 1966. Read an old page together at the library's Genealogy Room and compare it to this week's paper.
Record a memory before it's lost
Our history page notes there are no oral histories online of Elk Cotton Mills workers (1900-1997) or Borden plant employees. Sit down with someone who remembers.
See the county's newest National Register listing
Our tour says the Toll Gate House was listed on the National Register on May 11, 2026, the county's newest. Ask: what is a toll gate?
Spot three houses from before the Civil War
Our tour says Fayetteville Main Street notes three of the town's few antebellum houses can be seen from the corner of Washington Street and Main Avenue.
Start a family tree at the Genealogy Room
The library's Genealogy Room offers free Ancestry and a FamilySearch center, per our history page. Start with what Grandma knows.
Stroll a historic district
Our tour says the Mulberry-Washington-Lincoln district (1984) and the South Elk Street district (1989) are on the National Register. People still live there.
Take the "now" for an old photo
Stand where an old photo was taken and take the same view today, from a public spot. Then-and-now pairs help everyone see how the town changed.
Visit the County Archives
The Lincoln County Archives hold court records, deeds, family histories and censuses 1820-1900, per our history page. Go find your street or family.
Walk the Old City Cemetery
A block east of the square, our tour says the Old City Cemetery holds about 250 memorials under a big magnolia and other large trees.
Why is it called Fayetteville?
Our history page says the town was named for Fayetteville, North Carolina, where some early residents had lived, which was named for the Marquis de Lafayette. Look him up together.
Ask a business how it started
Next time you're in a local shop and it's quiet, ask how the business got started.
Ask a shopkeeper one question
Kids, with a grown-up, visit a shop on the square during business hours and ask the shopkeeper one question about their job or their building.
Planned meetups; the one-question visit works now
Buy from a local farm
Our directory lists dozens of farm and agriculture businesses in the Fayetteville area. Buy straight from one this season.
Congratulate a business on a milestone
When a business marks a big anniversary (on our Celebrations page), stop in and say congratulations.
Family night at a locally owned restaurant
Once a month, eat at a locally owned place. Let the kids ask one question about the building.
Have lunch in the old jail
Our tour says the 1867 town jail at 114 W. Market St. is a restaurant today. Have lunch and ask about the building.
Put your building's history in the window
For businesses: put an old photo of your building in the window with a short, sourced caption. Our tour's notes for each stop are a starting point.
Spend a Saturday morning on the square
Walk the square, step into three shops you've never been in, and buy one thing.
Thank a shop worker to their manager
When someone at a local shop helps you, tell their manager in person.
Try a business you've never tried
Pick a local business you've driven past for years and go in. Not in our directory? Tell us.
Welcome young explorers at your counter
For businesses: welcome kids who stop in with a question or a History Explorer card. Counter stamps and stickers are coming soon.
Planned
Go to a volunteer fire department fundraiser
Volunteer fire departments raise much of their own money. When one holds a fundraiser, show up.
Thank a school crossing guard
Kids make a card for the crossing guard who walks them across every day.
Thank a veteran you know, in person
Ask a veteran you know about their service, if they'd like to talk, and listen.
Thank the 911 dispatchers
Dispatchers answer every call but rarely get thanks. Our directory lists Fayetteville 911 Communications at 414 Jay Street.
Thank the librarians
Leave a card at the library desk for the people who run storytime, the Genealogy Room and Summer Reading.
Thank the public works and utility crews
Wave at the trash crew, and after a storm, write a card to the crews who brought the power back or cleared the road.
Thank your EMTs and paramedics
Make a card for your county's EMS crews.
Thank-you cards for police officers
Make cards for the Fayetteville Police Department, 225 College Street E, and mail them.
Thank-you cards for sheriff's deputies
Make cards for the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, 4151 Thornton Taylor Pkwy.
Write thank-you cards for firefighters
Make a card for the Fayetteville Fire Department and say thanks for keeping the town safe.
Ask for pantry donations at a birthday
Kids ask party guests to bring a can for the food pantry, then deliver them together.
Call bingo at the senior center
Our Volunteer page lists the Senior Center's need for volunteers to call Friday bingo when needed, and for donated bingo prizes.
Deliver meals to homebound seniors
Our Volunteer page lists the senior nutrition program needing drivers for noon meals; the program says one hour a month makes a difference.
Help a new parent sign up for free books
The library says the Imagination Library of Lincoln County mails a free book each month to children from birth to age five, funded by local donations.
Help neighbors with free tax prep
Our Volunteer page lists free tax-prep volunteers for the Lincoln County site, with training, late January through Tax Day.
Host a food drive
Our Volunteer page lists hosting a food drive as one way to help Hands of Mercy.
Join a service club
Our Clubs page lists local service clubs. Go to one meeting as a guest.
Join the Red Cross Disaster Action Team
Our Volunteer page lists the Red Cross Disaster Action Team for Lincoln County: help families after home fires and other disasters. Adults 18+, background check.
Organize a group park cleanup
Ask the city's parks department about a group cleanup day.
Pack groceries at the food pantry
Our Volunteer page lists Hands of Mercy needing help packing and sorting groceries on pantry days (Tue/Thu), with no minimum hours and groups welcome.
Pack weekend meal bags for kids
Our Volunteer page lists Hands of Mercy's "Bags of Blessings" weekend meal bags for kids.
Pick up litter at a park
Bring a bag and gloves and leave a park cleaner than you found it.
Restock a Little Free Library
The library refills the town's Little Free Libraries from donations. Bring good used kids' books to one.
Cook a family recipe with its story
Cook a recipe with the grandparent or older friend who knows it best, and write down where it came from.
Learn a game your grandparents played
Ask an older relative what games they played as kids, then play one together: marbles, jacks, a card game, hopscotch.
Stop by the senior center
The Fayetteville-Lincoln County Senior Center is at 908 W. Washington St. Call and ask what's on this week, then go.
Suggest someone for Local Voices
Know an older resident with a great memory of the town? With their OK, tell us; we sit down with them in person, and they approve their words and photo before anything prints.
Teens help older neighbors with phones
Teens offer a patient, in-person half hour helping an older neighbor with a phone or tablet: texting photos, video calls with grandkids.
Write a real letter to an older neighbor
Write a paper letter to an older relative or neighbor. Ask them a question so they write back.
A one-minute local history fact each Monday
Teachers read one sourced fact about the town each Monday from our history or tour pages, then walk past it on the next field day.
A project on one National Register site
Students pick one of the National Register listings on our history page and visit it (from the sidewalk) for a report.
Class thank-you for first responders
A class makes one big card for the fire or police department and mails it.
Invite the library to class
The library lists Outreach & School Visits. Invite a librarian to talk with your class.
Plan a walking field trip downtown
Our field-trip guide has two routes, stop logistics, Tennessee social studies standards, a scavenger hunt with an answer key, and discussion questions.
Student volunteer day at Camp Blount
Our field-trip guide says Camp Blount's own site describes student "Volunteer Days." Ask about one for your class.
Students interview a family elder
Students interview a grandparent or older relative about growing up, with the family's permission.
Write a teacher a real thank-you
Kids and parents write a specific thank-you to a teacher: one thing they did that mattered.
Count the birds at a park
Sit 15 minutes at a park and count every bird. Come back next season and compare.
Identify five trees in town
The courthouse lawn has a tulip poplar; our tour notes a big magnolia at the Old City Cemetery. Learn five trees on a walk.
Nature bingo on a trail
Make a bingo card (a bird, a squirrel, a red leaf, a mushroom) and walk a trail at Camp Blount.
Stargaze from your yard
Turn off the porch light, lie on a blanket, and find the Big Dipper together. Invite the neighbors' kids.
Take the back road to Lynchburg
Our road trips page has Fayetteville to Lynchburg through Mulberry: 15.5 miles, about 25 minutes, starting at the Old Stone Bridge remains.
Walk the full 2.8-mile loop
Our full walking tour loop is 14 stops and about 2.8 miles. Do it once a season with a friend.
Walk where the Volunteers gathered
Camp Blount has about 40 acres with trails, signs and a statue called "The First Volunteer." The city says Tennessee likely got its "Volunteer State" nickname here.
Watch the Elk River from Stone Bridge Park
Our tour says the old bridge's stones were reused in the park's footbridge, a 36-foot replica and a cascade. Sit by the river and watch.
"Who remembers?" story night
A planned evening where older residents share memories of the town, in person, with others who remember too.
Planned
A family story jar
Fill a jar with questions. At Sunday dinner, an older relative pulls one and tells the story.
Enter something in the county fair
Bake, sew, grow or draw something and enter it in the Lincoln County Fair.
Host a porch music jam
Anyone who plays anything is welcome: guitar, fiddle, spoons. Kids get the tambourine.
Learn a song from an older relative
Ask a grandparent or older friend to teach you a song they sang as a kid. Learn it, then sing it back to them.
See a local play
Community theater runs on volunteers. Buy a ticket and stay to thank the cast.
Sketch the square with friends
Grown-ups: meet a few friends on the courthouse lawn with sketchbooks. No talent required.
Write a poem about the square
Sit on the lawn for 10 minutes and write what you see, hear and smell. Read it to someone.
Attend one public meeting
Sit in on a city or county meeting once. You'll see how decisions get made. You don't have to speak.
Go to a budget hearing
Cities and counties hold public budget hearings. Go to one and see where the money goes.
Help an eligible adult check their voter registration
Nonpartisan: help a relative or neighbor check they're registered, and where they vote.
How a county commission meeting works
Learn the basics before you go: who sits on it, how agenda items, motions and votes work, and when the public can speak.
Read a public notice together
Public notices tell you about hearings, zoning and budgets. Find one in the newspaper or posted at a public building and work out what it means.
Talk with a teen about jury duty
If you've served on a jury, tell a teen what it was like (no case details).
Thank a citizen board member
Planning commissions and utility boards often include residents giving their time. Thank one after a meeting, whatever you think of the decisions.
Thank the poll workers after an election
After any election, write the Election Commission a thank-you for the poll workers, whatever the result.
Visit the courthouse offices as a citizen
Our directory lists county offices in the courthouse (County Clerk, Register of Deeds, Trustee). Walk in during business hours and learn what each does.
Who does what? City, county or state
Kids draw three columns: City, County, State. Walk the square and sort what you see: the courthouse, the street, the highway signs.
Bring a newcomer to an event
Know someone new? Invite them to the next game, fair or festival and introduce them around.
Bring a welcome plate
New family on the street? Walk over with cookies and a card with your name and number.
Five questions to ask a longtime resident
New here? Ask a longtime neighbor: Where do you get your hair cut? What's the best time on the square? Who should I meet?
Go to one club meeting
Pick one club from our Clubs page and go once as a guest.
Make a "who to call" card for the fridge
Our visitor guide's Who to call section lists city, police, fire and sheriff numbers. Copy them onto a card. Emergency: 911.
Stop by the Chamber
Our Chamber page lists the Fayetteville-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce. Stop in and ask what's coming up.
Walk the tour in your first month
New in town? Walk stops 1-4 of our walking tour (about 30 minutes) to see how the town began.
Back to school: supplies for a teacher
Ask a teacher what their classroom needs and bring it in.
Celebrate the town's birthday on Jan. 1
Our history page says Fayetteville's founding act took effect Jan. 1, 1810. Walk to the square on New Year's Day and wish the town a happy birthday.
Do the library's Summer Reading program
The library runs a Summer Reading program. Sign up together and read side by side.
First-day-of-spring walk
Walk the historic districts on the first warm day and count what's blooming.
Go to a Veterans Day observance
Find an observance on our Veterans page (official sources only) and go. Shake a veteran's hand.
Holiday cards for nursing-home residents
Families or a class make cards for residents, given out through the facility's activities staff.
July 4: read the Revolutionary War memorial
Our tour lists a 2018 Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial on the lawn naming patriots who settled in Lincoln County.
New Year's: a letter to the town in 10 years
Each family member writes a letter about the town today. Seal it; open it in 10 years.
Oct. 7: the day the general arrived
Our history page says Andrew Jackson arrived at the camp south of town on Oct. 7, 1813. Visit Camp Blount around that date.
Shop the square on Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday is Nov. 28, 2026, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Do some holiday shopping on the square.
Spring cleanup on your street
First warm Saturday: neighbors clean ditches, sidewalks and the corner lot together.
Thanksgiving: thank three people who serve
At Thanksgiving, each person names someone who serves the town (a teacher, a nurse, a firefighter) and writes them a card that weekend.
Visit a local farm's fall festival
Pumpkin patches and corn mazes are local businesses. Go to one this October.
Got an idea, or did one of these?
Tell us what you'd like to see next, or send a photo or story from something you did. We print kids' first names or photos only with a parent's OK.
No sponsors on this page. Activities are free or low cost; nothing requires a purchase. Plans change: call ahead where we say so.