Tag Archive for: #architecturalsurveys

Vance County, NC

The Local Skinny! Architecture Survey Is Underway In Vance County

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Nine Oaks, Hibernia, Blackenhall…these are names of some great, historical Vance County homes. Unfortunately, they no longer exist. Either destroyed by disaster, allowed to slowly deteriorate or, in the case of Hibernia, swallowed by the creation of Kerr Lake. However, Vance County still has many pieces of historic architecture still standing. Some of these are homes. Some are commecial buildings. Just how many is the aim of a survey being conducted the N. C. State Historic Preservation Office.

Vance and Person Counties have been chosen as the subject of a comprehensive survey of historic buildings and landscapes planned from 2021-23. Funding for this architectural survey comes from the Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund (ESHPF), administered by the National Park Service, for hurricanes Florence and Michael. Because the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared a major disaster in Vance County following both storms, the county is an eligible location for planning projects intended to document degree of damage from past storms as well as provide preparedness for future disasters.

As national emergencies arise, Congress may appropriate funding from the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) to provide relief for historic preservation projects in areas impacted by natural disasters. The HPF uses revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf to assist a broad range of preservation projects without expending tax dollars. In 2018, hurricanes Florence and Michael, as well as Typhoon Yutu, caused extensive damage to communities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, the Northern Mariana Islands, South Carolina, and Virginia. Congress subsequently passed Public Law 116-20 to provide ESHPF assistance to these six states and one territory related to damages from these storms.

North Carolina has chosen to allocate funding to support the survey of historic resources to determine the overall degree of damage, as well as provide data for resiliency planning for our state’s treasured cultural resources. Vance County was selected from among other eligible counties because the State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) has not previously conducted a comprehensive architectural survey of the county. The 2021-2023 architectural survey will intensively document historic buildings and landscapes from the early 19th century through the 1970s, including those in Henderson and rural areas. Data gathered during the survey will assist Vance County in planning for the preservation of its historic resources.

The State of North Carolina has hired hmwPreservation, a Durham, N.C.-based cultural resources consulting firm, to complete the project. Heather Slane and Cheri Szcodronski are serving as Principal Investigators. Preliminary fieldwork started in mid-August. A survey of rural Vance County is currently taking place now and continue into early 2022. A survey of the town of Henderson is anticipated to occur in late 2022 and early 2023. The project will conclude no later than September 2023.

An architectural survey entails documentation of buildings and landscapes that are at least 50 years old. Fieldworkers take photographs, draw site plans, and collect oral history from people they meet on site. They conduct a limited amount of archival research to establish countywide patterns of historical development. hmwPreservation will also identify properties that appear to be potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as historic districts. National Register properties are potentially eligible for state and federal tax credits for certified historic rehabilitation. The Vance County Comprehensive Architectural Survey will culminate in a final report that analyzes the history of the county through the lens of its historic architecture.

At the conclusion of the survey, the HPO will share the final report and geospatial data collected during fieldwork with the National Park Service and will retain all materials from the survey as part of the statewide architectural record. Public access to the information will be available through HPOWEB, the HPO’s geographic information system, which is accessible online at http://gis.ncdcr.gov/hpoweb/. The survey material will facilitate the environmental review necessary for state and federal undertakings and will aid in planning for future economic and community development projects. Survey products also will be useful for the continued development of heritage tourism programs in Vance County.

An identical survey was completed in Franklin County in April of 2018. The Franklin County Historical Preservation Committee is currently working toward the publication of a book on the historic properties located in Franklin County. Historic Preservation can entice tourism at a local level which has economic impacts. Vance County would be smart in following the Franklin County Commissioner’s example and form their own Historic Preservation Commission with an eye towards a publication that would promote tourism in Henderson and throughout Vance County.

For more information on the Vance County Comprehensive Architectural Survey, contact Elizabeth C. King, Architectural Survey Coordinator for the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, at elizabeth.king@ncdcr.gov or 919-814-6580, or Heather Slane of hmwPreservation, at heather@hmwpreservation.com.

 

Mark Pace

Town Talk 08/27/20: NC Room Receives Genealogy Books, Vance Needs Updated Architectural Survey

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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Mark Pace, local historian and director of the NC Room at the Richard H. Thornton Library in Oxford, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Thursday at 11 a.m.

Genealogy Books

Pace announced that the NC Room recently received a large collection of historical genealogy books from Virginia that are highly significant to the local area.

Explaining the significance, Pace said 90 to 95 percent of those who settled in the “old Granville County” area, which encompassed present-day Granville, Vance, Warren and Franklin County, came from Virginia.

Of the 360 donated books, approximately 250 are Virginia-based and include wills, deeds, marriage records, etc. According to Pace, the Granville County Genealogical Society facilitated the donation and “very graciously agreed” to split the cost of binding the books with the library.

The books, and many other resources, are available for view in the NC Room by appointment on weekdays from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. and from 2 until 4 p.m.

Architectural Surveys

Discussing architectural surveys in the four-county area, Pace said it has been 43 years since Vance County has had such an evaluation. Granville County is in the process of an updated survey, and Franklin County completed its survey in 2015.

“Vance County, in 1977, had 60 structures that predated the Civil War and at least eight from the Revolutionary War period,” stated Pace. “Since that time – because of development and neglect – these 60 structures are down to 20 to 25. We’ve lost a lot of important architectural structures in Vance County in the last few decades, with the Armory being a recent example. Time takes its toll; what we’ve got left we need to document.”

A few architecturally-significant Vance County properties still standing include the Sneed Mansion and St. John’s Episcopal Church in Williamsboro; Mistletoe Villa; the Henry A. Dennis Building in downtown Henderson; the former Henderson High (Middle) School building; and the Josiah Crudup House on US-1 in Kittrell.

Bill Harris, with WIZS, was a member of a committee responsible for the most recent architectural survey completed in Franklin County. Harris shared the following about his experience: “Franklin County citizens, with the help of Louisburg College, put together a group of people concerned about saving significant architectural structures. This morphed into the Franklin County Historic Preservation Commission. Franklin County Commissioners nominated people to serve on the Commission and provided seed money for that group.”

Harris explained the results of the survey will be printed in a book next year to serve as both a historic record and an income generator for the County.

In addition, Harris said touring historic homes and buildings that have been restored has a larger economic benefit. “A lot of people may say these are old houses, so what is the importance? The importance is that you can put together tourism out of that. This is a financial benefit to the County.”

Both Harris and Pace said they hope a concerned group will follow a similar process to get the ball rolling on an updated architectural survey in Vance County. Pace said the key is to find people who care and are motivated to put the necessary work into the project, hold public meetings, get the County involved for support and funding and put together a document, such as a book, as tangible proof of the findings.

To hear the interview in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.