The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office surveyed the sunken remains of the Thelma, a 1913 steam paddle wheel riverboat and the last passenger steamboat to operate on the Cape Fear River, to assist design of a boat ramp to avoid the site. The Historic Preservation Office also recovered seven prehistoric (ca. 1400s-1700s) Native American canoes and preserved and returned them to the White Lake area and Bladen Lake State Park. Over 140 archaeological sites in Bladen County are recorded in the Historic Preservation Office's statewide inventory.
The Historic Preservation Office conducted a reconnaissance survey of Bladen County's historic places in the mid-1970s, which identified a wide range of rural properties.
Harmony Hall in Bladen County has received $105,100 in state appropriations since 1985.
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Twelve Bladen County properties are individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places, including five churches and several large plantations.
The Historic Preservation Office has provided technical restoration assistance to many projects throughout the county, including Harmony Hall, Trinity Methodist Church, the Porterville School, and the Bladenboro Elementary School.