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“This is a big thing,” said Jackson Mayor Jim Gossip. “ A historic and architectural survey for Northampton County has long been needed.”
The countywide survey will cover areas from Murfreesboro to Lake Gaston.
The survey is informational and will be a source of family history which will be gathered through field notes, photographs and research reports.
“Northampton County possesses a substantial inventory of historical assets and this survey will identify the location, condition and significance of these assets,” said Gossip adding that although no additional work will be done in Jackson because the town of Jackson is already a part of the national register of historic places, its 100 pages will be incorporated in the survey.
The survey is supported by two federal grants of $75,000 each. One is from the Preserve America Program which is from the Department of Interior and the other from The Golden Leaf Foundation.
The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office assists private institutions as well as private citizens, local governments and agencies of state and federal government in the identification, protection and preservation of properties significant in North Carolina history and archaeology.
Scott Power, regional supervisor and historic preservation specialist, said that it will take up to a year and a half to document the 675 properties countywide. Rebecca Spanbauer, historic architectural consultant, will be conducting the project in three phases.
First stage is recognizance which is mapping everything. The second stage involves driving down roads that have been less traveled.
Spanbauer will be walking and knocking on doors and asking questions to residents on how much information they know about their homes.
The third stage will be the written report which Spanbauer said she hopes will be published into a coffee table book. “I am grateful to the local community for helping me feel at home and giving me the resources I need,” said Spanbauer, adding that she is excited to see and learn more about the significance of Northampton County historic buildings.
The historic buildings, mostly houses of 50 years or older, will also include barns, public and commercial buildings - even buildings that are dilapidated with crumpling roofs that are barely held up by a few boards.
“This survey is long overdue,” said Margaret Burgwyn, who is a retired resident of Woodland. “It will help educate and inform people that not only there are historic interests right here worth seeing but also worth preserving.”
“It's important for people to know about their past - what happened a hundred years ago,” said Dennis Babb, who is retired and sits on the Northampton County Museum board of directors.
Babb said that the information collected can make residents feel more grounded and secure where they are.
The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office , a component of the Department of Cultural Resources Office of Archives and History in Raleigh, is also surveying Beaufort, Bertie and Hertford counties.
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