Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
26 <br /> of that,they agreed with the church in Hillsborough to provide a place and a dedication and marker <br /> for the unknown graves. He said those were moved and reburied to Little River. <br /> Commissioner Fowler thanked Peter Sandbeck for the history of the landmarks. <br /> A motion was made by Art Menius, Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, <br /> seconded by Commissioner Richards, to open the joint public hearing. <br /> VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> PUBLIC COMMENT: <br /> Paul Kleever and his wife Sally Freeman said that John Wesley Thompson was one of the <br /> builders of Harvey's Chapel. He said that he, his wife, and their neighbors live on land that was <br /> owned by John Wesley Thompson. He said they are members of the Eno Friends Meeting of <br /> Hillsborough. He said that their name is from the historic Eno Friends. He said that they are <br /> privileged to be part of the legacy of the community of Harvey's Chapel, and they speak in <br /> endorsement on behalf of their neighbors. <br /> John Bell said there has been an effort for over twenty years to document the cemetery. <br /> He said it does not have an owner or access, except through a neighboring property. He said <br /> without proof of ownership, the Chapel Hill Society of Friends, felt that the landmarking process <br /> was the best way to preserve the property. <br /> Frank Alford said his mother is a part owner of the 700-acre Crutchfield property that <br /> adjoins and surrounds the original church site. He said he was curious how landmark status will <br /> affect his mother's property. <br /> Peter Sandbeck said that landmark status will not affect neighboring properties. He said <br /> that the goal of the designation is to preserve the status quo. He said it will not injure the <br /> surrounding land. <br /> Frank Alford asked if the church is still the owner of the land and that the family story is <br /> that part of their land was given for the church. <br /> Peter Sandbeck said the church is still the owner and there is a deed from 1892 where it <br /> was conveyed. <br /> Vice-Chair McKee said it mentions in the information packet that the Quaker burial ground <br /> was leased. <br /> Peter Sandbeck said that is the problem and there was no deed. He said that no one was <br /> keeping track of all of property deeds. He said that Harvey's Chapel cemetery is one example of <br /> hundreds of cemeteries in the county that are not maintained. He said ultimately there needs to <br /> be a mechanism of ownership and that creating a landmark is one step to that. He said they have <br /> discussed creating a trust to maintain the cemetery. <br /> Commissioner Greene said the commission had mentioned using ground penetrating <br /> radar to mark graves and that could be something at Little River as well. <br /> Peter Sandbeck said that the Town of Hillsborough had used the technology in the old <br /> town cemetery to identify burials and they found a couple dozen graves. He said that is a great <br /> tool for places like that. <br /> Vice-Chair McKee said he was glad to hear mention of the other possibly hundreds of <br /> cemeteries. He said that two of the farms that he has leased for years have family plots on therm. <br /> He said that in 50 years of leasing them, he only had one instance where a family member came <br /> to try and track it down. <br /> Peter Sandbeck said that outside of Hillsborough, Governor Burke is buried next to Latta's <br /> Egg Ranch and to access it, you have to go through a cow pasture that is privately owned. He <br /> said they let you do that, but access is an issue for many burial sites. <br />