Lumber River State Park Visitor Center

Riggs Ward Design provided exhibit design services for 1,000 square feet of the Lumber River State Park Visitor Center in North Carolina. Located along the state’s only federally designated Wild and Scenic blackwater river, the exhibits explore the region’s distinctive landscape through interpretive graphics, artifact displays, and interactive elements focused on its flora, fauna, and cultural history.

A central component introduces North Carolina’s eight state-recognized tribes, with particular attention to the Lumbee people and the longstanding relationship between Native communities and the Lumber River. The exhibits present tribal cultures as living and evolving, highlighting the strength, resilience, and continuing contributions of Native communities across the state.

The design connects cultural and environmental interpretation, demonstrating how the river, forests, wetlands, plants, wildlife, and people form an interconnected story. Flexible exhibit elements allow content to be updated as tribal communities, scholarship, and environmental research continue to evolve.