That's a stark contrast to reports from around the country that show many historical homes struggling to keep the lights on and doors open.

News reports have cited money problems at Mark Twain's home in Hartford, Conn., and Edith Wharton's home in Lenox, Mass. The sites have cut hours and staff because they're having trouble repaying bank loans while budgets are tight and visits are down.

This summer may make or break some sites, many of which already have cut their hours and staff and are struggling for donations in today's troubled economy, The Associated Press reported.

There are about 250 house museums in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Museums Council.

Troy Burton, president of the N.C. Museums Council and site manager of Mordecai Historic Park in Raleigh, said he is not aware of any that are in dire straits. But "that certainly doesn't mean it isn't happening."

In the Triangle, house museums include the Duke Homestead, which was the farm of Washington Duke, whose sons started the American Tobacco Co.

Many house museums survive on donations, money from foundations and local government funding. Some are free, but many charge admission.

Mordecai ahead

Mordecai Historic Park in Raleigh, a city-owned attraction that features an antebellum home with many of its original furnishings, as well as the birthplace of Andrew Johnson, gets 60 percent of its support from taxpayers, and the rest from tickets and donations.

Mordecai is on track to exceed 20,000 paying visitors for the fiscal year that ends June 30 -- including the trolley tours run by the museum, according to Burton. That's a record for the site and at least 8 percent more than the previous year.

"We're not experiencing the squeeze some folks are around the rest of the country," said Burton. "With the revitalization of downtown, we're benefiting from that."

Burton theorizes that struggling home museums are in areas with struggling economies -- unlike Raleigh's.

Likewise, the gargantuan Biltmore estate in Asheville attracted a record high of more than 1 million visitors last year -- up 4 percent -- making it the most visited historic home in the country, said spokeswoman Andy Pearce. So far this year, attendance is tracking even higher.

The state Division of N.C. Historical Sites and Properties manages 27 sites across the state, many of which are historical homes such as Tryon Palace in New Bern and the Thomas Wolfe House in Asheville. Overall attendance was up strongly in the fiscal year that ended in June 2007, while attendance this year appears to be a mixed bag -- some up, some down, some flat -- said Keith Hardison, the agency's director.

Hardison said the high price of gas can cut two ways. People may be less likely to take long trips, but they also "may decide to take shorter trips and take advantage of opportunities in their backyards."

Visitation at the Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, which, as the name implies, also includes an art museum, is down significantly this year. But spokeswoman Sarah Mansell attributes that to an unusually strong slate of art exhibits in 2007 -- including one that featured works by Grandma Moses.

The Reynolda House also has been running two-for-one coupons in Triad newspapers to attract patrons who have decided to stick closer to home this year because of gas prices, Mansell said.

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.