HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC minutes 121119 Attachment 1
Orange County
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Approved Meeting Summary
December 11th, 2019
Old Orange County Courthouse
106 W. King Street, Hillsborough
MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Ballard, Tom Loter, Art Menius, Paul Noe, Steve Peck
MEMBERS ABSENT: Todd Dickinson (excused)
STAFF PRESENT: Peter Sandbeck GUESTS: Phil Mace, Upper Eno Heritage Group
ITEM #1: CALL TO ORDER
Vice Chair Menius called the meeting to order at 6:32 pm.
ITEM #2: CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO AGENDA: None
ITEM #3: APPROVAL OF MINUTES for October 23, 2019 (Attachment 1): Menius moved to
approve the minutes as corrected; seconded by Ballard; motion approved.
ITEM #4: ITEMS FOR DECISION:
Approval of the HPC meeting calendar for 2020 (Attachment 2)
Members discussed the draft calendar and agreed that July was the best month for a
summer vacation; that is consistent with other local boards. Peck moved to approve the
calendar with no meeting in July and with the date correction for January; seconded by
Loter. Motion passed.
ITEM #5: DISCUSSION ITEMS
a. Special Presentation about the history and architecture of Mason Hall by Phil Mace:
Staff introduced Phil Mace, a local historian who has carried out research on a variety of
topics and sites in the county, with a focus on the upper Eno area. Mr. Mace provided a
detailed program about the history of Mason Hall, a late 18th/early 19th century village
north of Mebane, and the fine federal period house that stood there until recently. The
program was richly illustrated with maps, reprinted newspaper articles and photos to tell
the full story. The settlement thrived until the completion of the NC Railroad in the 1850s,
which drew the population southward to Mebanesville, now called Mebane. Mr. Mace also
showed a sequence of plat drawings to illustrate changes in the land ownership history
and parcel configurations. Members asked questions about the program afterwards.
b. Annual Report and Work Plan for 2019-20:
Staff referred members to the revised final draft of this document for one last review and
discussion. Members pointed out minor typos and offered some additional thoughts and
edits. Staff noted these and will incorporate into the final draft to be submitted to the
county clerk before the end of December. Peck suggested adding an item that addresses
potential Orange County involvement in the upcoming 2501h anniversary of the American
Revolution. He just spent the morning at the State Archives with the statewide planning
committee as the Burwell representative. Staff will add an entry stating that the HPC will
form a subcommittee to begin working on that topic. Discussion followed about the many
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remarkable events that happened in Hillsborough and the County during the
Revolutionary period that could be highlighted. Peck agreed to email the initial outline of
proposed statewide activities with members after the meeting.
c. Scheduling another field trip to a local site: Staff reviewed logistics for the upcoming
Ayr Mount trip on Dec. 16th. Members discussed scheduling another field trip for February.
Peck invited the group to visit the Burwell School to tour and do additional architectural
investigation. Other sites to consider include the old Faucette Mill on the Eno.
d. Public Hearing on Jan. 22"d for proposed National Register nominations for the
Cedar Grove School and the Schley Grange Hall: Staff reviewed the HPC process we
must follow to comply with the CLG requirement that we hold a public hearing prior to
approving new National Register nominations. We will hold the hearing at our next
meeting, on January 22, in order to allow us to present the nominations to the BOCC for
their support at their Feb. 4t" meeting. This puts us on the correct timeline to return our
letters of support to the SHPO well in advance of Feb. 13, when the National Register
Advisory Committee will meet to approve our nominations (which have already been
reviewed and approved by SHPO staff). Once approved by the SHPO, the nominations
are sent to the National Park Service for their approval, which takes 45 days.
e. Membership: Peck reported that a current member of the museum board has expressed
interest in serving on the HPC. Staff will follow up after Christmas. One possible source is
to ask PNC for a list of their current and past members residing in Orange County. Noe
suggested that we reach out to the UNC Archaeology program.
ITEM #6: UPDATES AND INFORMATION ITEMS
a. Piper-Cox House update:
Staff reported that the contractor has repaired the roof structure, installed the new metal
roof, repaired the siding and made the building watertight. The next step is to get the
reproduction bricks so that they can start on the chimney restoration.
b. Book project status/update:
Editor/author Laura Phillips has returned to work on writing after taking the month of
November to stay with her family in Alabama. Staff is now planning for the photography
phase of the process. We need good exterior views of every property. Staff will begin
taking photos. Todd will speak with Elizabeth Mattheson to see is she might be able to
help. We have decent or good photos of approximately 50% of the rural properties but
need better views of most town properties. This is the ideal time of year, when all the
leaves are off the trees. For historical or documentary photos, sources will include the
Lloyd family photos, Jean Anderson's photos and Mrs. Engstrom's photos. Also, the state
archives has a large collection that are cataloged, so we need to look there too. Peck
mentioned that St. Matthew's Church may have a good collection, albeit not cataloged.
c. Open airtime: None
ITEM #7: ADJOURNMENT: Peck moved to adjourn, seconded by Ballard; adjourned at 8:12.
Meeting summary by Peter Sandbeck, DEAPR staff
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