The book chronicling historic architectural properties in Franklin County has taken a few years to come to fruition, but a few years is a drop in the bucket when you consider that Franklin County’s roots go back to well before the Revolutionary War.
But those on the Franklin County Historical Preservation Commission are anxious for the book to be published, and its chairman, Bill Harris, said Monday that he hopes the book will be ready in time for Christmas 2022.
The biggest part of the work was completed by 2018 or so, Harris told WIZS’s Trey Snide on Monday’s Town Talk. Jeroen van den Hurk and Megan Funk of the Commonwealth Heritage Group walked and drove the county, took countless photos and spoke with many people to identify previously documented historic properties and to find new structures that hadn’t previously been included in the survey completed in 1975.
That survey resulted in the small but well regarded Early Architecture of Franklin County by T.H. Pearce, Harris noted, but this new book is going to knock it out of the proverbial park.
He said the book, which is in final edits, will probably weigh in between 400 and 500 pages. A classic “coffee table” style book, it will have 800 photos – including a collection of color photos of places of particular historical significance – and the information will be organized by township, he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic is partly responsible for the delay in publication and release of the book, Harris said. And the historic preservation commission is seeking donations from individuals to help defray costs.
For a minimum donation of $100, sponsors will receive a complimentary copy of the book, along with recognition among a list of sponsors included in the publication. There are different levels of giving – platinum level is a gift of $1,000, gold is $500 and bronze is $250.
There are brochures at libraries in Oxford and Louisburg that give details of the process. Harris said he hoped to have copies at the Perry Memorial Library soon to share with anyone interested in learning more. A PDF of the brochure can be found on Facebook at Frankin, Granville, Vance, Warren Genealogy. The PDF can be downloaded. https://www.facebook.com/groups/fgvwgeneaology.
The soon-to-be published book is a comprehensive architectural history of the county, Harris said. But it was important to the members of the commission that the book not be a dry book about architecture. There’s going to be a glossary of architectural terms and a section that Harris is calling “lost properties,” which will include photographs of “so many great houses that have been lost to time.”
There are existing photographs of structures that no longer exist, and often don’t appear in books like the one the commission is creating.
“It’s not just the architecture – it’s the stories behind the houses” and the families that lived in those homes, he said, that he hopes the book will capture.
“Anyone who has roots in Franklin County will find it interesting,” he said.
The book will be dedicated to a former Franklin County resident – Maury York – who Harris said was instrumental in the formation of the historic preservation commission. “He did so much groundwork,” he said of York, adding that he continues to offer advice and provide information to the commission. York also helped create the Tar River Center for History and Culture located on the campus of Louisburg College.
The focus of the project is not about making money – but not to lose money, either, Harris said. Rather, it’s to help promote historic tourism in the area, as well as to capture and preserve some of the qualities that make Franklin County unique.
“There’s an interest here,” Harris said, to promote tourism. And that helps to boost the local economy.
Send donations to Franklin County Historic Preservation Commission, 215 E. Nash St., Louisburg, NC 27549.