The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) is pleased to announce support to 11 historic preservation projects in nine counties around the state with awards of $95,050 in federal grants for 2015.
Each year, federal Historic Preservation Fund grants are awarded by the HPO through the National Park Service's Certified Local Government Program (CLG). This preservation partnership between local, state and national governments focuses on promoting historic preservation at the grassroots level by helping communities to save the irreplaceable historic character of places. The HPO will both monitor and provide technical assistance for each project.
These 11 projects include:
Buncombe County
Grantee: Asheville-Buncombe Historic Resources Commission
Project: Smith-McDowell House - Roof Repair
Working through the City of Asheville, the Smith-McDowell House has been awarded a federal Historic Preservation Fund grant of $19,000 to repair sections of the slate roof as well as recent interior water damage. The Department of the Interior, National Park Service listed the Smith-McDowell House in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The house is believed to be oldest brick structure in Buncombe County and the oldest house in Asheville (c. 1840). Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College will contribute $9,200 in matching funds for the project.
Local contact: Stacy Merten, Director, Asheville-Buncombe Historic Resources Commission Planner, City of Asheville
Telephone: (828) 259-5836; email: smerten@ashvillenc.gov
Durham County
Grantee: City of Durham
Project: Rosenwald Schools Conference and Research Intern
The City of Durham and the Durham Historic Preservation Commission has been awarded a federal Historic Preservation Fund grant of $5,000 on behalf of not-for-profit Preservation Durham to hire an intern to assist with the 2015 National Rosenwald Conference. Following the conference, the intern will research one or more predominantly African-American neighborhoods in Durham. The completed research material will be used in local outreach efforts to encourage preservation of the neighborhoods and in the preparation of one or more nominations to the National Register of Historic Places at a later date. Preservation Durham will provide $3,468 in matching funds.
Local contact: Lisa Miller, Senior Planner, Durham City-County Planning Department<
Telephone: (919) 560-4137 x28270; email: lisa.miller@durhamnc.gov
Forsyth County
Grantee: Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission
Project: Oak Crest Historic District National Register Nomination
The Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission has been awarded a federal Historic Preservation Fund grant of $6,250 to complete a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Oak Crest Historic District. A match of $6,250 will be provided by the City-County government.
The Oak Crest Historic District is located in northwest Winston-Salem and was developed beginning in the 1920s north and south of Polo Road, between Reynolda Road and the area that is now Wake Forest University. Approximately 150 properties are deemed eligible for inclusion in the listing of the district. For more information about the National Register of Historic Places, please visit http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/whatis.htm.
Local contact: Michelle McCullough, Historic Resource Officer, Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission
Telephone: (336) 747-7063; email: michellem@cityofws.org
Granville County
Grantee: City of Oxford
Project: Oxford Design Guidelines Update
The City of Oxford, the state's newest Certified Local Government (CLG), has been awarded its first federal Historic Preservation Fund grant, in the amount of $12,000, to update the design guidelines for the city's locally-designated historic districts. Design guidelines provide historic district residents, property owners, and contractors with the information needed when considering a project to repair, rehabilitate or alter historic properties. Design guidelines also help the historic preservation commission and local officials to make consistent decisions regarding work in local historic districts. The City of Oxford will provide $8,000 in matching funds for the project.
The development of the new guidelines will include public meetings held by the consultant, city staff, and the local historic preservation commission to gain input from both residents and business owners. The new guidelines will address issues not clearly defined or covered by the current design guidelines by including topics such as the use of newer building materials, sustainability issues and infill construction. The final version of the new guidelines will be fully illustrated using local examples and will be available on the city's website, through social media and in traditional print.
Local contact: Cheryl Hart, Planning Director, City of Oxford
Telephone: (919) 603-1117; email: cheryl_hart@oxfordnc.org
Guilford County
Grantee: Guilford County
Project: Mendenhall House Masonry Restoration
Guilford County has been awarded a federal Historic Preservation Fund grant of $9,800 on behalf of Historic Jamestown Society. The not-for-profit, which will provide a match of $6,470, will use the funds to repair four chimney stacks and one interior wall of the Mendenhall House, one of seven early 19th-century structures located at the Mendenhall Plantation in Jamestown.
The Mendenhall House was built circa 1811 by Richard Mendenhall, a Quaker. Historic Jamestown Society describes the plantation as the interpretive center of the "Other South," the South of non-slave holding landowners. The Richard Mendenhall Plantation Buildings were listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service in 1972.
Local contact: Les Eger, Planner, Guilford County
Telephone: (336) 641-3635; email: leger@co.guilford.nc.us
Henderson County
Grantee: City of Hendersonville
Project: Berkeley Mills Ballpark National Register Nomination
The City of Hendersonville has been awarded a federal Historic Preservation Fund grant of $2,500 to hire a consultant to write a nomination for the National Register of Historic Places for the Berkeley Mills Ballpark. The City will contribute $4,000 in matching funds for the project.
Constructed in 1949, the Berkeley Mills Ballpark was the home field of the Berkeley Spinners, the baseball team for Berkeley Mills. Although the Spinners played their final season at the ballpark in 1961, the facility continued to be used by local residents. Hendersonville High School won two state championships on its field and youth baseball leagues continue to play there today. The completion of a National Register nomination will give Hendersonville a complete history of the property and help recognize the importance of it continued preservation. For more information about the National Register of Historic Places, please visit http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/whatis.htm.
Local contact: Sue Anderson, Planning Director, City of Hendersonville
Telephone: (828) 697-3088; email: sanderson@cityofhendersonville.gov
Iredell County
Grantee: Town of Mooresville
Project: Mooresville Architectural Survey Update
The Town of Mooresville has been awarded a federal Historic Preservation Fund grant of $15,000 to hire a consultant to conduct an architectural survey of properties within the town and the extraterritorial jurisdiction. The last architectural survey of Mooresville took place during the Iredell County survey in the 1970s, and as a result many of the town's historic resources have not been identified. The Town will contribute $10,000 in matching funds for the project.
Information gathered from identifying and evaluating historic resources will allow the Town to consider these areas for future planning and perhaps lead to new nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. Properties inside of the Commercial Core local historic district and the Mooresville Mill Village National Register-listed historic district will not be surveyed as information for resources within these areas is current.
Local contact: Tim Brown, Senior Planner, Town of Mooresville
Telephone: (704) 799-8079; email: tbrown@ci.mooresville.nc.us
Orange County
Grantee: Orange County
Project: Orange County Survey Update and Manuscript Preparation, Phase II
Orange County has been awarded a federal Historic Preservation Fund grant of $5,000 to hire a consultant to conduct the second phase of an architectural survey update of the county. The County will provide a match of $15,000. This project is the second of three phases and will include a comprehensive survey of resources located within the extraterritorial jurisdictions of the Town of Hillsborough, but outside of town limits, including the water treatment plant built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and mill houses moved from the former Eno Mill Village.
Local contact: Peter Sandbeck, Cultural Resources Coordinator, Orange County
Telephone: (919) 245-2517; email: psandbeck@orangecountync.gov
Wake County
Grantee: Town of Wake Forest
Project: Walking Tour Brochure - Narrative Component
The Town of Wake Forest has been awarded a federal Historic Preservation Fund grant of $4,000 to assist with the development of a walking tour to showcase their historic resources. The grant will specifically assist the preparation of the narrative component of the tour, which will tell the history of selected buildings, sites and objects. The Town will contribute $3,000 in matching funds for the project.
The Wake Forest Historic Preservation Commission is working to expand public awareness and education of local historic resources to both residents and visitors. There are three districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places: the Wake Forest Historic District, the Downtown Historic District, and the Glen Royall Mill Village Historic District. In addition, there is one locally-designated historic district, the Wake Forest Local Historic District. All will be included in new the walking tour brochure. Once completed, the comprehensive tour series will provide all generations of residents and visitors easy access to understanding Wake Forest's valuable historic resources.
Local contact: Michelle Michael, Senior Planner, Town of Wake Forest
Telephone: (919) 435-9516; email: mmichael@wakeforestnc.gov
Wake County
Grantee: City of Raleigh
Project: Commission Assistance and Mentoring Program (CAMP) Training
Working with local not-for-profit Preservation North Carolina, the City of Raleigh has been awarded a federal Historic Preservation Fund grant of $3,500 to help fund a National Alliance of Historic Preservation Commissions (NAPC) Commission Assistance and Mentoring Program (CAMP) workshop. The workshop will be held at the 2015 Preservation North Carolina Annual Conference to be held in Salisbury Sept. 16-18, 2015, and will bring experts to address fundamental issues related to historic preservation commissions, serve a minimum of 10 Certified Local Governments (CLGs) across the state, and also be open to non-CLG commissions. Matching funds in the amount of $3,500 will be provided jointly by the City of Raleigh and nine additional local governments who will attend the training.
Local contact: Martha Lauer, Executive Director, Raleigh Historic Development Commission
Telephone: (919) 996-2649; email: mlauer@rhdc.org
Wake County
Grantee: Wake County
Project: Wake County Survey Update - Phase II
Wake County has been awarded a federal Historic Preservation Fund grant of $13,000 to hire a consultant to conduct the second phase of an architectural survey update of historic properties in the county. The second phase will update records on previously surveyed properties and prepare records on properties not documented in earlier surveys. within the corporate limits and larger planning jurisdictions of Knightdale, Rolesville and Wendell. The County will provide matching funds of $9,000 to assist with the project.
According to US Census data, Wake County's population increased 43.5% between 2000 and 2010. With this high growth rate, historic properties are often lost to development pressures. The three towns were selected by the Wake County Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office as limited documentation exists on their historic resources and all of the communities face increased development. Identifying and documenting historic resources will give the towns the information necessary for considering their heritage as they plan for growth.
Local contact: Gary Roth, Staff, Wake County Historic Preservation Commission
Telephone: (919) 833-6404; email: groth@cappresinc.org
For additional information, please call (919) 807-6582. The State Historic Preservation Office is within the Office of Archives and History of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.