About Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park
Vollis Simpson did not make small lawn ornaments. He built towering wind-powered machines from whatever mechanical material seemed useful: road signs, bicycle wheels, fans, gears, reflectors, shafts, industrial scraps, and pieces of machinery that could be persuaded to spin.
Simpson spent much of his working life repairing farm and industrial equipment. As he approached retirement, that mechanical skill increasingly went into enormous kinetic sculptures on his property near Lucama. Some rose roughly forty or fifty feet into the air, carrying multiple spinning sections that moved independently whenever the wind arrived.
Wilson eventually undertook a major conservation effort to preserve Simpson’s creations. Thirty restored whirligigs now occupy a two-acre downtown park, where the sculptures turn, flash, clatter, and change constantly with the weather. At night, reflectors and lighting give the machines a completely different appearance.
The park opened in 2017, four years after Simpson died at age 94. North Carolina had already designated the whirligig as the state’s official folk art. The park is open-air and free to explore, but event schedules and access details can change, so visitors should check the official website before traveling.