Activities & Attractions
of Milton
Craft the perfect day trip
Recently chosen as one of Car and Driver Magazine’s top six road courses in the nation, VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road course offering professional and amateur auto and motorcycle racing, as well as a wide range of track events. Each year, VIR draws tens of thousands of spectators for some of the best road racing in the country. Its uphill Esses and sharp elevation changes not only make it a fan and driver favorite but have also established it as a prominent testing facility for the automotive industry. While racing is the heart of VIR, the expansive 1,300-acre property located at the Virginia-North Carolina border is so much more. America’s first true “motorsport resort,” it’s an entire vacation destination with a number of onsite hotel and lodging options. Within the property’s rolling hills and miles of lush forest, guests can enjoy unique amenities such as the VIR Club, karting, off-road racing, skeet shooting, pistol, and rifle ranges, skidpad, dining options more.
Milton Renaissance Foundation Museum & Visitors Center is located in the 1860 Milton State Bank, which keeps this architectural treasure open for public view and community use. This impressive building is on the National Historic Registry, and still has the original bank vault door. We are across the street from the 1818 Tavern, later bought by famed craftsman, Thomas Day, to use as his home and workshop, now a National Landmark.
Milton Heritage Greenway & Walking Trails is located on several “old streets,” no longer used for vehicular traffic, but ideal for trail and greenway space. Markers identify the locations of businesses such as The Golden Belt Smoking Tobacco Factory, a blacksmith shop, tinsmith shop and the location of the Milton and Sutherlin Railroad Depot. This short trail is a nice respite from the sun and a walk through Milton’s unique history.
Thomas Day Museum
The Union Tavern was built in 1818. In 1848, cabinet maker Thomas Day purchased the property for use as his residence and workshop until 1859. Now commonly known as the Thomas Day House, a fire severely damaged the structure in 1989, prompting citizens to organize the Thomas Day House and & Union Tavern Restoration, Inc, a non-profit committed to restoring the historic building for use as a museum. Currently a large portion of the ground level has been restored, showcasing several pieces of Day’s magnificent work. The Thomas Day House & Union Tavern is designated a National Historic Landmark. Tours by appointment.
Hiking and Hunting
R. Wayne Bailey-Caswell Game Land includes a hiking trail, and they are open for seasonal hunting.
Milton Boating Access
Large parking area and access point for boats on the Dan River.
Claude Allen Plug Tobacco Factory
By 1857 Milton had five tobacco factories, and no fewer than thirteen tobacco warehouses, prize houses where the raw tobacco was packed into hogsheads, and tobacco plug and smoking factories appear on the 1893 Sanborn Insurance Map. By 1925 not one remained in business and most of the buildings had disappeared. Claude Allen's Plug Tobacco Factory on the east side of Bridge-Warehouse Street is the only existing factory building. Today, Milton Renaissance, is in the process of restoring this valuable historic building.
Historic
Churches
Episcopal Church
Built in the carpenter Gothic-Styled and organized in 1824, Bishop Theodore Lyman declared the Episcopal church “very beautiful” and “on a most commanding site.” The church was deconsecrated in September of 1974 and conveyed to Milton Woman’s Club in February of 1977 for use as their home. The building was purchased by Milton Renaissance Foundation in December of 2021 and dedicated in 2023 as “The Jean Bradsher Scott Renaissance Center”. Today the Center serves a continuing mission to preserve Milton’s historical narrative through artifact collection, educational, and cultural programming.
Milton Baptist Church
In September of 1843, the Biblical Recorder, included an account of the purchase of a Meeting House for the use and benefit of the Baptist Church. In 1844, the Biblical Recorder wrote: "The arm or branch of the Baptist Church of Yanceyville, located in Milton, N.C. was constituted into a separate and independent church on the Saturday before the fifth Sunday in the last month (June 1844) by the Presbytery of the Beulah Association.” The Milton Church was admitted to the Beulah Association in 1843. There are records from 1891 until today. Most of the time the membership has been small. Today there are approximately thirty-five or forty members.
Milton Presbyterian Church
Milton Presbyterian Church was built in 1837. The church portico is among the earliest examples of Greek Revival in Caswell County. Thomas Day and his wife Aquilla were members of the church, and Day made the church pews. The rosewood pulpit is thought to be the handiwork of Tom Day. The crushed velvet pulpit furniture has been used in the church since the 1840's. The interior and exterior of the church, except for painting, repairing, and installing of air conditioning, new sanctuary lights, and two stained-glass windows, remain virtually the same as when first built over 150 years ago. Never a large church, the current membership is made up of about twenty people.
