Agenda - 08-25-1986 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Raleigh News 8 Observer September 6, 1986 Sec. C, p1 . • Inventory to help save Orange County history •: By SUSAN MARSCHALK society, said Torgan,flipping • For The News and Observer through the recently complet- HILLSBOROUGH — If ed list of more than 350 church- you've spotted someone es, schools, wildlife areas and hunched over gravestones in other sites."They're our histo- an out-of-the-way cemetery - ry. They provide a sense of lately, chances are it was heritage to the county." Orange County planner Brad. Torgan's efforts weren't the S.Torgan. - • first, but the inventory in- Poking around cemeteries is eludes specific locations, a part of the county's latest stab crucial element• missing in at preserving local heritage— earlier listings,he.said. The a comprehensive inventory of - inventory also catalogs all sig- cultural,historical and biologi- nificant sites in the county in • cal resources. 4 :. - - "These are the milestones of - See INVENTORY,page 2C • Inventory to help. save Orange County history Continued from page 1 C threat ahead of time and keep that the Little River Township, be - one document. from happening." . said. The plot is flanked by brick The inventory was made to help Torgan, a native Californian, pillars with markers. The first design newly proposed wa m develop-to hlp said exploring rural Orange Coun--- reads,."This.is the family ceme- design regulations aimed at preser- ty also has given him a sense of tery of Samuel and Alexander vation, said Marvin E. proses the character of the people who Turrentine, brothers who came planning director. settled here. from Ireland in 1751."The second -But Torgan is primarily in- "There was no vital records law reads, "Every Turrentine in terested in the purely historical in North Carolina until early in America traces his ancestry to benefits.. • this century,"he said. "Often the this farm." "Cemeteries=are already'pro- cemeteries and old buildings are T oldest tombstone at the plot tected by the state,"Torgan said. the only way to piece together the is dated 1784. "But when you don't know where lives of Orange County residents. - Torgan said he hopes the inven- the cemeteries are,there's no way "It's a very stable county. Lots tory will spur public interest:in of knowing if a cemetery's been of family cemeteries are on land preservation efforts. plowed over.• There have been still owned by the heirs to the A public hearing on the pro- incidents of developments using people buried there." . cemeteries as dump sites. • � posed development regulations is p Demonstrating that sense of set for Sept.16 at 7:30 p.m.at the "With this inventory,hopefully, family pride is the Turrentine Chapel Hill Post Office on Frank= we'll be able to spot a potential burial plot near Bill Poole Road in lin Street.