Agenda 10-17-23; 5-a - Joint Public Hearing with the Historic Preservation Commission Regarding the Proposed Designation of the Davis Cotton Gin and Press as an Orange County Historic Landmark

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29 b. New Discoveries in the Woods: Staff presented a PowerPoint to share highlights of a recent tour he took with Judge Beverly Scarlett, where she showed him a cemetery containing burials of the enslaved workers associated with Hardscrabble Plantation, the seat of the prominent Cain family, who also built the fine house Sans Souci in Hillsborough. Members viewed photos of the house, then views of the cemetery, which was identified during a property survey. The owner, Jim Parlsey, agreed to donate the cemetery to a new non-profit group called Indigenous Memories, formed by Judge Scarlett and her sister. More research is needed on the enslaved population there. From preliminary assessments, there are at least 50-75 burials there. Staff then went on a tour with Judge Scarlet to view several very interesting rock piles or mounds located on her farm nearby off of Terry Road. One site exhibited five piles or mounds of rocks arranged in a rough circle, while another is freestanding and high, perhaps six feet. The theory is that these may be associated with Indian ceremonial activities or perhaps burials, although there is no definite proof. This area of the county has traditionally been the home of the Maroons, a term used to describe the mixed race Indian and Black people who lived in their own community here. Judge Scarlett hired Shawn Patch, a respected professional archaeologist with New South Associates in Greensboro, who came to assess the rock piles. He is doing research and will present his findings or opinions at a later date. Staff also toured the Ray slave cemetery, located nearby off the driveway of the gravel road leading to the late Peter Kramer's farm, on the north side of Lipscomb Grove Church Rd. Peck noted that there is now a much greater interest within the Black community to search for their enslaved ancestors, leading to a growing number of new discoveries of just such sites as these. We should expect to see many more cemeteries being discovered or perhaps just revealed as they were never lost, just not discussed. Judge Scarlett's leadership and willingness to take action and talk about these sites will be a great asset to this effort. Staff noted that he has received multiple inquiries from county residents who are discovering such cemeteries or are interested in their preservation. All agreed that the HPC can certainly take on an important role in this effort. c. Strayhorn House in Carrboro• potential for HPC involvement in a National Register nomination: Staff reviewed the recent history of this important historic property built by formerly enslaved members of the Strayhorn family, located in Carrboro. Preservation Chapel Hill received a recent Covington Foundation grant to help with some needed restoration work to the floor system. They are hoping to raise funds to help match the grant. The house is protected by a Preservation Easement held by Preservation Chapel Hill, implemented while Ernie Dollar was the director there. There has been an interest in placing this on the National Register for some years, and it is already on the State Study List as being eligible. Staff would like to get a general sense of the pleasure of the group to see if there is interest in having the HPC help with this effort, perhaps with funding assistance or administration of the effort. Members were in favor and agreed that this is a good project to pursue if needed. d. Updating our HPC ordinance to reflect changes made by the General Assembly: Staff just wanted to note that this is a project that will be in the works this coming year, to review and fine-tune our ordinance, working with the county attorney's staff. Our last update was in 2013. e. News and updates from the Preservation NC Annual Meeting: Staff provided an overview of the various programs and topics covered at the meeting held in Winston- Salem last week, including sessions on the preservation of the burial grounds of the enslaved in Forsyth County, and a very impressive and informative panel about preserving and revitalizing Black neighborhoods that were destroyed or impacted by highways and urban renewal, with panelists including city council members and local preservation leaders, discussing the long-term damage these projects caused and are still causing, through the destruction of close-knot communities. 2