Orange County NC Website
8 <br /> NAME OF BOARD/COMMISSION: Historic Preservation Commission <br /> Report Period: 2024 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS <br /> ANNUAL REPORT /WORK PLAN FOR THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br /> Board/Commission Name: Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) <br /> Person to address the BOCC at Retreat (if requested) and contact information: <br /> Chair: Art Menius (443) 605-4355 email: art artmenius.com <br /> Primary County Staff Contact: <br /> Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation <br /> Peter Sandbeck (Cultural Resources Coordinator): 245-2517 psandbeck@orangecountync.gov <br /> How many times per month does this commission meet, including any special meetings <br /> and sub-committee meetings? <br /> Regular meeting: one each month (4th Wednesday) <br /> Brief Statement of Commission's Assigned Charge and Responsibilities. <br /> The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is charged with the identification, inventory and protection <br /> of architectural and archaeological sites in the County, with publishing and/or offering online records of <br /> this inventory and advising the Board of County Commissioners on matters pertaining to historic <br /> preservation. The HPC is also charged with providing guidance and a forum for public comments on <br /> National Register nominations and administering the Local Landmark Program. <br /> What are your Commission's most important accomplishments? <br /> • National Register Nomination Projects: <br /> 1. Strayhorn House: initiated a project to list this important Carrboro landmark, built 1879 for <br /> former slaves Toney and Nellie Strayhorn, on the National Register. Formed partnership <br /> with Preservation Chapel Hill to help obtain funding for project. Project consultant submitted <br /> the draft nomination to the State Historic Preservation Office in November, 2024, with <br /> approval expected in 2025. <br /> 2. Andrews House: initiated a project to prepare a National Register nomination for this <br /> remarkable Modernist house in Chapel Hill Township, built in 1968 and now owned by <br /> daughter of the original owner. House was designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright and <br /> built by prominent local Black stone artisans Alf and Willis Barbee. <br /> 3. Ridge Road School: In February 2024, the Ridge Road School was officially listed on the <br /> National Register, marking the successful completion of a two-year effort. The two-room <br /> schoolhouse was built in 1932 to serve the Black children of the Ridge Road community, <br /> north of Hillsborough. <br /> • Initiated the HPC's first historic preservation easement project: worked with Lands Legacy <br /> program on project to accept proposed donation of an historic preservation easement for the <br /> Henry Calvin Andrews House, a mid-19th century log house and farmstead in Bingham <br /> Township, as part of a County project to place a land conservation easement on the property. <br />