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INFORMATION ITEM 1 <br /> O .NE COUNTY <br /> 101010, 4 1011111,000 <br /> Holit,,,,IrY11111111111111111111111111111111111111111 1111111111111111111111 <br /> Department of Environment, <br /> Agriculture, Parks &Recreation <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> To: David Stancil, DEAPR Director <br /> From: Peter Sandbeck, Cultural Resources Coordinator <br /> Date: October 12, 2016 <br /> Re: Old Courthouse Square Project / Norwood Jones Office <br /> Preservation <br /> Please find attached an update on planned restoration and landscape <br /> improvements to two adjoining locations in downtown Hillsborough. <br /> Old Courthouse Square Landscape <br /> DEAPR and AMS are collaborating on a project to develop a comprehensive <br /> long-range landscaping master plan to guide and direct all future site <br /> development and utility work on the Old Courthouse Square. The historic Orange <br /> County Courthouse (built in 1845) is widely recognized as one of the finest and <br /> best preserved Greek Revival-style courthouses in the state. The handsome <br /> brick structure with its prominent clock tower is the undisputed centerpiece of <br /> Hillsborough's historic district. Its hillside site, consisting of a full block, has a long <br /> and significant history, beginning with the construction of the county's first <br /> courthouse in Hillsborough, built in 1757. A second courthouse dating to about <br /> 1790 was built there, as were two jail buildings and the office for the Town's <br /> mayor. The first courthouse and its surrounding grounds figured prominently in <br /> North Carolina's history as the setting for numerous events leading up to the <br /> Regulator conflicts between 1768 and 1771. <br /> The existing landscaping, plantings and pedestrian amenities on the Old <br /> Courthouse Square are outdated, aging products of a series of civic projects and <br /> plantings dating back to the work done by the WPA during the 1930s. The <br /> grounds do not present a positive appearance to the thousands of visitors that <br /> come to Hillsborough each year, or to the many visitors who use the grounds for <br /> Orange County Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks&Recreation <br /> PO Box 8181, Hillsborough, NC 27278 <br /> Phone: (919) 245-2510 <br /> Fax: (919) 644-3351 <br />