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Founded in 1939, The Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina Inc. (known as Preservation North Carolina or PNC) is North Carolina’s only private nonprofit statewide historic preservation organization. Its mission is saving historic places important to the diverse people of North Carolina. It enjoys a national reputation, having been cited by the National Park Service as “the premier statewide preservation organization of the South, if not the Nation” and the National Trust for Historic Preservation as “the model organization of its kind.”
Through its award-winning Endangered Properties Program , PNC acquires endangered historic properties and then finds purchasers willing and able to rehabilitate them. It has protected 900 historic properties through covenants or easements, representing at least $500,000,000 in private investment. Buyers have put these properties into a multitude of new uses, adding millions of dollars to local tax rolls and creating numerous jobs. Several of the larger properties have been adapted into affordable housing. More than 4,000 acres have been placed under PNC’s protective covenants, perpetually restricting their development. Most of the properties saved through the Endangered Properties Program have been in rural areas or small towns, the parts of North Carolina most in need of reinvestment

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October 2026 Policy Update: Take Action

Milton Marvels

Let there Be Light: Reintroducing the P. Edgar Furr House

Take Action: Section 106

Section 106 Case Study: Ayr Mount

The 411 on Section 106

Announcing Our 2026 Honor Award Recipients!

Statement on Senate Bill 876

Historic Salisbury Foundation hosts convening of NC preservation leaders

Benjamin Briggs

Shannon Phillips

Dawn Williams

Mary Frances Wilson

Walker Hinerman

Addie Ladner

Chrissy Pressley

Valerie Birmingham

Maggie Gregg

Cathleen Turner

Jack Thomson

Gareth Evans

Jen Fenninger

Karla Berrios

Bob Lock

J. Myrick Howard

FAYETTEVILLE RAMBLE | Saturday, November 14 ⛪️ Evans Metropolitan AME Zion Church – with a history spanning more than 220 years - is a staple of Fayetteville’s downtown corridor, and the latest addition to our tour. The church’s current sanctuary, a striking example of Gothic Revival architecture, was constructed in 1893–1894. Its history, however, extends far beyond its architecture. For generations, Evans Metropolitan has served as a place of worship, fellowship, community leadership, and resilience for Fayetteville’s Black community. Today, the church stands as a lasting reminder of the people, faith, and determination that helped shape Fayetteville’s history. We’re excited to share the stories of places like Evans Metropolitan AME Zion Church during our upcoming, Fayetteville Ramble. The congregation traces its beginnings to around 1800, when Henry Evans, a free Black preacher and shoemaker from Virginia, began holding religious services in Fayetteville. Despite facing significant opposition and racial discrimination, Evans persevered, welcoming both Black and white worshippers to his services. His ministry laid the foundation for what would become one of the oldest AME Zion congregations in the country. All images courtesy of the February 29, 2024 Fayetteville Observer article, “Fayetteville’s Evans Metropolitan AME Zion Church”, Google for a deeper dive! 🎟️ Tickets on sale now at PresNC.org/Events

ON THE MARKET! Check out this 1930's, 4 bedroom, 2 bath charmer in West Asheville where original character & everyday comfort coexist. Genuine hardwood floors run through every room, and a wood burning stove anchors the living space on this Starnes Cove Road home built in 1931. It’s the kind of feature that turns a chilly mountain evening into the best part of your day. The updated kitchen is as practical as it is pretty with clever built in storage throughout to keep daily life organized without sacrificing charm. The sunroom remains bright and usable year round, ready to be a reading nook, a plant haven, or the place your morning coffee gets an upgrade. From there, step out to the spacious back deck and a roomy, private backyard with space for gardens, a fire pit, or nothing but a quiet Sunday afternoon. A wraparound driveway keeps parking easy, a rare perk on a lot this generous. The location delivers, too. You’re minutes to the restaurants, breweries, and galleries of Haywood Road, an easy hop to downtown, and a straight shot to the Blue Ridge Parkway when the mountains call. The road takes its name from the Starnes family, who settled there around 1818. In 2025, 130 acres at Starnes Cove, including the 3,500-foot High Top peak, were permanently conserved. 📍76 Starnes Cove Road Asheville, NC 🗝525,000 🏠1,400 square feet 🌳Lot Size: .34 acres / Zoning: Residential 📩Carrie Ann Chandler, Keller Williams Mountain Partners | hellofriendsca@kw.com 📱828-470-0264

📢Price Reduced! Help us and @preservationraleigh save this Glenwood Avenue beauty complete with back alley access, a quaint backyard + tons of its original features 📍803 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh 🗝 $590,000 🏠1,723 square feet 🌳Lot Size: 0.17 acres 📩 Cathleen Turner | cturner@presnc.org 📱919-832-3652 ext. 240 Built in 1913, this stylish house was purchased by Norfolk Southern Railroad conductor Perle Edgar Furr and his wife Pattie who raised their two daughters here until they moved to Richmond in 1925. It shows the latest design trends of its era, including a wraparound porch topped by decorative gables and fanlight. The stunning front door features a wide fanlight and sidelights with bold Craftsman muntin designs allowing natural light into the front entrance parlor. The tall, spacious rooms feature pocket doors, stained wood mantels with tile surrounds including a notable rift-cut white oak corner mantel in the entrance, original light fixtures with push button switches, plaster walls and picture molding, and a Craftsman-inspired stained glass window in the former dining room. It has been vacant in recent years and suffered from significant deferred maintenance which initiated a Demolition by Neglect action. Aluminum siding was installed at some point, though much of it has been removed revealing the original clapboard siding. Leaks in the original slate roof and the poor drainage in the rear elevation will require immediate repair as part of the comprehensive rehabilitation work necessary, which will include installation of all new systems. The house has retained much of its original features and materials, some stored onsite, which translates to an excellent investment for a buyer searching for a great house in a walkable downtown Raleigh neighborhood. The P. Edgar Furr House is a contributing structure to the Glenwood-Brooklyn National Register Historic District making it eligible for historic rehabilitation tax credits and it is also part of the locally designated district. 📷 Capital City Camera Club

📢As Preservation North Carolina has stressed in recent months, we are deeply concerned about historic preservation’s future due to proposed legislation on its way to the floor in less than one week. Title III of Senate Bill 5653, titled the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA), proposes the most significant structural changes ever to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Senators plan to vote on this fast-tracked legislation November 9. Swipe to learn more and join us in telling NC Senators to vote no to Senate Bill 5653. Further details can also be found at presnc.org/news or over @savingplaces

⛪ON THE MARKET! GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH Built in the 1870's, Grace Episcopal Church is a gorgeous Gothic Revival-style structure that comes with a large parish hall and the Mildred Boseman Johnson House, a Colonial Revival cottage, making this a remarkable adaptive reuse opportunity in hospitality. Located in Weldon, a small historic town and home to the award-winning Weldon Mills Distillery, Weldon Mills theater and located along the banks of the Roanoke River, it's just a block away from the commercial historic business corridor and situated in a picturesque historic neighborhood. Learn more at presnc.org and see details below. 📍416 Washington Avenue, Weldon | Halifax County 🗝$165,000 ⛪5,475 square feet 🌳0.38 acres 📩 Maggie Gregg | mgregg@presnc.org 📱919-832-3652 ext. 242

Postcards from Fayetteville of a few of the spots we'll be exploring on our Ramble in just 2 weeks!🚎⛪ 🎞🔅 🗓Join us on November 14 for a backstage pass into the historic homes, buildings, and landmarks that tell the story of one of North Carolina’s oldest and most architecturally significant communities. ⏰12 – 4 p.m. followed by a reception @themacphersonhouse 🎟 $25 📸 Kevin Lord with Capital City Camera Club

Snaps from a great few days in High Point for our Annual Conference! Thank you to all the preservationists, speakers, field session leaders, sponsors, hosts, award winners, volunteers, board members + members of our incredible community for joining us and the city of High Point for welcoming us with open arms. See you next year in New Bern!

🔔Advocacy Update from PNC President & CEO Benjamin Briggs on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 Provisions within the pending Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (slated for a key congressional vote Nov. 9) introduce concerning changes to federal permitting & public consultation standards. PNC maintains that meaningful permitting reform should enhance administrative efficiency without dismantling public participation or allowing federal agencies unilateral authority to bypass community input. In partnership with the National Trust, we urge stakeholders & constituents to contact their U.S. Senators to advocate for vital amendments before the package comes to a vote. For guidance + direct advocacy actions, visit @savingplaces and keep updated right here.

As part of October's A250 series on NC's vernacular architecture, we're highlighting PNC Protected Properties in North Carolina's Upper Piedmont. Historically known as “back country,” the Upper Piedmont represents a region more closely tied to the Mid-Atlantic than to the Chesapeake and Tidewater. During the second half of the eighteenth century, thousands of settlers moved south along the Great Western Wagon Road from Pennsylvania, forming a patchwork of Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, British Quaker, and German communities. They brought Mid-Atlantic traditions in architecture, foodways, crafts, and religion that differed from those of eastern North Carolina. Unlike the east, where rivers connected plantations to seaports and larger markets, the Upper Piedmont’s poor roads and limited markets favored small farms and home industries over large plantations. Building traditions included log construction, frequent use of stone, and fewer English-based decorative elements. Many Upper Piedmont properties protected by PNC like the ones shown here reflect the lives of small and middling farmers, merchants, and professionals who looked north to Philadelphia rather than east to North Carolina’s port towns. Learn more about them on our site!

🏫FOR SALE! We can't wait for you to get to know our latest property on the market: The Stanford Community Center! ✨ 🌳Set on a lush wooded acre in Duplin County, this c.1942 Rosenwald-inspired building with the original bell tower and nine-over-nine windows is ready for its next era. 📰This special property was originally acquired by Preservation in North Carolina in 2000. Our Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation summer intern, Georgia Burgess, conducted primary research on the history of the Stanford Community Center to formulate a modest feasibility study thanks to the help and support of area archival resources and locals (who loved sharing their memories over the years), and completed revisions to restrictions on the property. The property is being sold subject to protective covenants and a rehabilitation agreement to ensure the historic integrity of the building and site remain intact. It offers a unique opportunity for adaptive reuse as a residence, event venue, artist's studio and so much more. The building requires a comprehensive rehabilitation, including all new systems–HVAC, plumbing, electrical–and kitchen and bath, based on the buyer’s proposed use. There is no specific zoning for the property, but it is subject to the Duplin County Land Use Ordinances. Visit presnc.org to learn more.

✨On the Market! the Maynard-Stone House ✨ Moved from the corner of High House Road and Davis Drive to save it from development, this home now sits on 2.85 secluded acres at the end of a private dead-end road yet remarkably close to all that Cary has to offer. The 4,592-square-foot residence offers four bedrooms (including a downstairs en-suite), three-and-a-half baths, oversized rooms, and soaring 10-plus-foot ceilings. Original heart-pine floors, hand-milled moldings, and 165-year-old solid wood doors preserve its craftsmanship, while exposed beams, joints, and wooden pegs reveal its timber-framed construction. Stripped to its over-built 1860 frame and painstakingly remodeled in 2020, the home received new plumbing, electrical, HVAC, insulation, gas lines, windows, drywall, septic, on-demand water heating, pool and well pumps, and custom-milled cedar siding. Designed for gathering, the expansive kitchen features nearly 38 linear feet of Carrara marble countertops, inset cabinetry, 33 soft-close drawers, and a striking 15-plus-foot island. Surrounded by mature trees, the enchanting sunroom creates a private, treehouse-like retreat. Outside, a hidden oasis awaits: a newly plastered and tiled 40-by-20-foot pool secluded from view, gently rolling usable grounds, and an open lawn invite gardens, recreation, a future sport court, or a more self-sufficient country-estate lifestyle. An original tobacco barn and corn crib preserve the Maynard-Stone House’s agricultural roots. Just over 2,000 square feet of unfinished daylight walkout basement offers flexibility for storage, workshop/studio space, or future finished use. Saved twice — first from development, then through restoration — the Maynard-Stone House offers more than an 1860 residence. Its next owners become stewards of an authentic piece of Cary’s past, restored and ready for the future. 📍123 Harmony Hill Lane, Cary 🗝$1,790,000 🏠4,592 square feet 🌳Lot Size: 2.85 acre 📩 Meghan Hammes @hodgekittrellsir 617-304-2132 | meghan.hammes@hodgekittrellsir.com

🎟️ Did you get your ticket yet? 30,000 square feet of historic conference space is waiting for you at Market Square (formerly Tomlinson Furniture Factory). We’re taking over the entire third floor! Join us October 25–27 in High Point for Preservation North Carolina’s Annual Conference. 🏛️ Visit High Points historic properties. 💡 Hear ideas from leaders shaping the future of preservation. 🚶 Explore High Point through architectural tours and behind-the-scenes field sessions. 🤝 Make connections with fellow preservationists who are passionate about saving the places that matter. From innovative adaptive reuse projects to inspiring conversations about what comes next, this is your chance to learn, connect, and experience preservation in action. Grab your ticket today! 🎟️ PresNC.org/conference

📣 Join PNC for an Open House at High Point’s First Baptist Church to explore one of the city’s most compelling adaptive reuse opportunities 🗓 Sunday, October 25 | 1:00–3:00 p.m. 📍405 N. Main Street, High Point, NC ⛪Heading to High Point for our Annual Conference? Before you join us at Cohab.Space for the Welcome Reception, stop by First Baptist Church on North Main Street. At the prompting of local community leaders, Preservation North Carolina brought together the City of High Point + Partners for Sacred Places to explore how this historic church complex might be preserved, reimagined, and given new life. Founded on the site in 1859, First Baptist is High Point’s oldest congregation and an important part of the city’s Main Street legacy. The historic complex includes grand brick buildings, educational spaces, a commercial kitchen and dining areas, a stage, ample parking, and independently controlled HVAC systems — all offering intriguing possibilities for new uses. Now owned by the City of High Point and located at the heart of an emerging entertainment district, First Baptist sits among new residences, restaurants, businesses, and the future Greenway. The open house offers a chance to see the property for yourself and consider what its next chapter could look like. See stories for details. This event is free and open to the public.

💫PNC Honor Awards Spotlight (which is also a PNC Protected Property 💪)💫 Get to know this year's Stedman Incentive Grant receipt: Arts of the Pamlico, which owns and operates the historic Turnage Theatre in downtown Washington, NC. This rare architectural and cultural landmark, houses two distinct performance venues in a historic building. The 1930 movie palace downstairs has been renovated and activated as an arts and cultural hub for a number of years. Arts of the Pamlico has been working to renovate the upstairs Vaudeville Playhouse, which dates to 1913. Its original sloped hardwood floors, stage, balcony, piano pit, and many other historic features make guests feel like they’ve stepped back in time. The Stedman Incentive Grant will support the renovation of the Vaudeville Playhouse Balcony. The Stedman Incentive Grant is awarded to recognize and assist nonprofit organizations in their efforts to preserve the state’s architectural heritage. Originating in 1976, the $15,000 award is funded each year by the Marion Stedman Covington Foundation of Greensboro in memory of Mrs. Covington’s father. The grant encourages and facilitates rescuing endangered historic and architecturally significant properties in North Carolina. A big congrats to Arts of the Pamlico and the local arts community. We look forward to presenting this grant at our annual conference in High Point in just a few weeks! 📸 Capital City Camer Club

FOR SALE! The W. I. Monday House. a c. 1920 Craftsman bungalow in Mount Airy’s National Register-listed Lebanon Hill Historic District, less than a mile walk from downtown. This beautifully restored home offers 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 9 total rooms in approximately 2,251 heated square feet on a half-acre lot. The main level features a formal dining room, den, living room, and kitchen, with two gas stoves framed by classic wood mantels in the den and living room. Classic bungalow features include original hardwood floors and generous room proportions. This charmer sits in a neighborhood less than a mile’s walk to downtown Mount Airy, home of the new Balladeer Hotel, an upcoming steakhouse, conference center, and event venue. Priced below its certified appraised value of $383,000. This is an excellent opportunity for a preservation-minded buyer or investor in a walkable historic district with significant nearby development. 📍1023 N. Main Street, Mount Airy, NC 🗝 $349,000 🏠 2,251 square feet 🌳 .52 acres 📩 Chris Wilson LRB Real Estate Chris.Wilson@goLRB.com | 336-287-3330 or Donald Carrol LRB Real Estate Donald.Carroll@goLRB.com | 336- 287-8122

For our October 250 Across NC Series, we explore our state's vernacular architecture. Vernacular architecture is the architecture style informed by a building’s native land and culture. For North Carolina, that looks like tobacco barns, textile mills, and mid-century suburbs. These buildings and places provide insights into our state’s cultural, racial, and economic landscape. Eastern North Carolina’s earliest architecture was most influenced by Virginia settlers like those of the Chesapeake and Tidewater region. These settlers participated in the slave economy by cultivating plantations that sold naval stores and cash crops through seaports to larger markets in major colonial cities and the Caribbean. Architectural traditions reflected early English-inspired house forms and styles such as Georgian and Federal styles and relied on timber frame traditions coupled with use of locally sourced brick. Swipe to see some examples all of which are Preservation North Carolina Protected Properties.

✨PNC Honor Awards Spotlight ✨ Get to know this year's DeWayne H. Anderson Sr. Award for Housing Award: The Lofts at Osage Mill in Bessemer City, a massive historic adaptive reuse project that transformed a dilapidated 1895 textile mill into 139 affordable residential housing units. Spearheaded by WinnDevelopment, a company with more than 50 years of experience with large-scale adaptive reuse projects across the U.S., the project team included noted North Carolina preservation leaders Tise-Kiester Architects and Rehab Builders. The $50 million project has made a significant three-fold impact in Gaston County: a historic community landmark was preserved; that landmark now provides affordable housing options for the community; and it sparked a renewed energy in Bessemer City’s downtown. Swipe for before shots! The DeWayne H. Anderson Sr. Award for Housing is the highest honor given by Preservation North Carolina for the creation or preservation of housing in historic buildings. This award recognizes the innovative use of historic buildings to create new or updated housing, including affordable or downtown housing solutions. First presented in 2023, the award is made possible by the family of the late DeWayne H. Anderson, Sr., of Winston-Salem, whose career and leadership resulted in thousands of units of new housing in historic schools, mills, and hospitals across the South. A big congrats to the teams involved in this project and we look forward to presenting this award in person at our annual conference in High Point in just a few weeks!

Charming Gordon-Brandon back in the day. Located in the small town of Milton near Country Line Creek on a secluded wooded lot through masonry gates, it's still on the market awaiting its next steward. Gordon-Brandon is a unique-to-Milton house type of the antebellum period which is a modest raised cottage consisting of a brick story with an upper frame story containing the main entrance. Only 4 examples of this style of home are left, including this one. These homes were built for local merchants from the 1840s to 1860s when Milton was a commercial boomtown with thriving factories and warehouses, taverns, hotels, a state bank, and, of course, the woodworking shop of master craftsman Thomas Day. Gordon-Brandon is a spacious two-story home with nearly 2,000 square feet of original character waiting to be revitalized. The front façade is dominated by a two-story, three-bay-wide porch supported by four large beaded posts on the lower level, and more delicate chamfered posts on the upper level dressed with molded caps, decorative brackets, and turned balustrade. Gorgeous large upper-level windows consisting of 8-over-12 sash with wide architraves and delicate molding catch the eye. While some rehabilitation has been started on the Gordon-Brandon House, its next owner will need to take it all the way to completion. The property is located in the Milton National Register Historic District and is eligible for rehabilitation tax credits. See stories or visit presnc.org to learn more

🎓Get to know The Bingham School, one of NC’s early 19th century private schools 🌳In a bucolic setting in the rolling Piedmont farmland of western Orange County, The Bingham School was part of an educational dynasty that included 3 generations of the Rev. William Bingham over a period of 135 years. This was the home of the Bingham School from 1845 until 1864, one of many schools established by Rev. William Bingham beginning in 1793 in Wilmington and continued by his sons and grandsons. The Bingham family franchise gained a statewide reputation for academic excellence. William James Bingham purchased the property in 1844 and re-established his school to a high reputation. He accepted only 30 boys per year, and tuition was paid in gold. The complex is centered on a rambling frame house, of which the rear ell likely pre-dates ownership by the Binghamton. Portions of the ell feature early details such as log construction, a massive interior fireplace, and corner stairs. The front portion, was likely built around 1850 in the Greek Revival-style. Its exterior is finished with details that include a double-leaf door entrance, surrounds with corner blocks, and large 12-over-12 windows on the first floor. Interiors maintain a high degree of integrity, including handsome wainscotting, woodgraining, surrounds with corner blocks, and post-and-lintel mantels. The Bingham School and its outbuildings have been preserved as a residential property by PNC through an easement since 1977, one of the first such protective covenants held by the organization.

Get to know this year's Robert E. Stipe Professional Award Winner: Sarah Woodard! Woodard has dedicated her professional life to preservation since graduating with a degree in history from @guilfordcollege , followed by a Master’s in Historic Preservation from the University of Georgia. With a decades long career as an architectural historian, Woodard has helped document our state’s significant historic buildings. For the past 7 years, she’s worked for the State of North Carolina as the Survey and National Register Branch Supervisor. While there, Woodard has been instrumental in continuing the work of uncovering documentation and history of the state’s more than 800 Rosenwald schools. The Robert E. Stipe Professional Award is the highest honor presented to working professionals who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to preservation as part of their job responsibilities. The award was established in 1983 to memorialize the many contributions of Robert E. Stipe of Chapel Hill, an educator in the field of historic preservation and a mentor to a generation of preservation professionals. A big congrats to Sarah and we look forward to presenting this award in person at our annual conference in High Point in October!

New Easement Protected Property! Get to know our latest PNC Protected Property: The Deep River Friends Meeting House in High Point. Home to a Quaker congregation founded in 1753, the current Front Gabled Plan brick meetinghouse was built in 1875 and modeled on the design of the Eutaw Street Meeting House in Baltimore. Subtle Italianate details include molded window and door hoods and raking eaves. The cemetery north of the meetinghouse contains graves dating to the mid-eighteenth century, though most are simple or unmarked. Later burials include elaborate markers for non-Quakers from Jamestown and the surrounding area. Today, it’s still used as a gathering place for worship and conviviality in the local Quaker community. As of this summer, the meeting house, along with the grounds, is protected by easements managed by Preservation North Carolina. 🙏

🎉📣Thrilled to announce this year's Annual Conference registration + details are live! 📣🎉We're heading to High Point this year for the first time for an immersive educational experience. Expect tours, receptions, networking, awards + more. 🗓A few agenda highlights: 🥂Welcome Reception @cohab.space 🏨High Street Ramble @pandorasmanor 📚Keynote Address, Lunch & Signing with @victordover 🚋Field Sessions around @downtownhighpointnc Our conferences aren't limited to people who work directly in or study preservation. They are open and fun for anyone who appreciates history and old buildings. See stories to book your room at our conference hotel, review the schedule & register!

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