Formed in 1900, SLHA members work to stimulate literary and historical activity in North Carolina. The mission is accomplished by not only hosting an annual address that has featured national luminaries such as Charles Kuralt, William Howard Taft, and Henry Cabot Lodge but also by outreach efforts to children and adults.
The outreach efforts have included cooperating with the Department of Public Instruction, publishing an annual pamphlet, and forming other organizations with a more specific purpose—North Carolina Society of County and Local Historians, to name one example. Over the years, the Association has helped increase library resources, “establish a state museum of history, county and local historical societies, and mark historic sites.”