Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
16 <br /> • Establish a small -grant program to help preserve endangered rural historic resources: <br /> Numerous endangered rural historic structures and sites, including abandoned Black burial <br /> grounds, merit preservation or protection or they will soon be lost, effectively erasing much <br /> of the county's diverse history. The HPC sees a need for a small-scale grant program to <br /> assist owners with essential preservation work. The HPC will pursue grant funding to help <br /> start this program, with some level of County funding, to address the following resources: <br /> • Abandoned Black burial grounds: The important work of identifying, mapping, surveying <br /> and protecting these will require funding. <br /> • Historic Black schools: The few remaining historic small Black schoolhouses that closed <br /> in the 1950s are seriously threatened. Most stand on farms and are being used as <br /> storage buildings or just deteriorating; grant funding can help with critical needs like new <br /> roofs and building stabilization. <br /> • Threatened rural historic buildings: Many of the county's deteriorated historic log houses, <br /> dairy barns and other farm buildings will be lost in the next decade due to ongoing rot <br /> and termite damage. These humble buildings tell important stories about the county's <br /> history. Most are on farms and no longer used, and many farms are being sold and <br /> subdivided for new houses. <br />