The North Carolina Historic Preservation Office (HPO) will conduct a comprehensive architectural survey of historic buildings, structures, and sites within the town limits of Taylorsville in Alexander County beginning the week of Aug. 9. The survey will be conducted by Audrey Thomas, Architectural Survey Specialist in the Western Office of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in Asheville.
Scheduled for completion this fall, the project involves the documentation of approximately 130 buildings and structures built prior to 1975 throughout the town. Ms. Thomas will be in Taylorsville for fieldwork in the commercial and residential areas of town Aug. 9-13 and will return for follow-up fieldwork as needed. She also will meet with representatives of the town and local historians. In addition to documenting properties with photographs, written descriptions, and oral and archival history, Ms. Thomas will identify properties that appear to be potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as districts. Properties that are found to be potentially eligible for the National Register would also be potentially eligible for state and federal tax credits for certified historic rehabilitation. The project will culminate in a final report that analyzes the town’s history through the lens of its historic architecture.
Taylorsville’s historic resources were first surveyed in 1986, when architectural historian Vicky Mason recorded historic dwellings, schools, churches, and commercial buildings in the county. That work was part of a two-county project that included Caldwell County, with an emphasis on documenting resources in unincorporated areas. Recent consultation between the HPO and local stakeholders has revealed a growing interest in identifying and documenting Taylorsville’s historic buildings. In April 2019, HPO staff examined the town to determine the scope of work for the survey.
At the conclusion of the project, the HPO will share the digital files with the town. Public access to the information will be available through HPOWEB, the HPO’s geographic information system, which is accessible online at http://gis.ncdcr.gov/hpoweb/. The survey material will facilitate the environmental review necessary for state and federal undertakings and will aid in planning for future economic and community development projects. Survey products also will be useful for the continued development of heritage tourism programs in Taylorsville.
For more information on the comprehensive architectural survey of Taylorsville, contact Audrey Thomas, Architectural Survey Specialist serving the 25-county western region for the North Carolina Historic Preservation Office, at audrey.thomas@ncdcr.gov or 828-250-3107.
About the State Historic Preservation Office
In North Carolina, the State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) is an agency of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The HPO carries out state and federal preservation programs that assist private citizens, non-profit institutions, local governments, and agencies of state and federal government in the identification, evaluation, protection, and enhancement of properties significant in North Carolina’s history and archaeology. The HPO oversees the statewide architectural survey; administers the National Register of Historic Places for North Carolina properties; conducts environmental review of state and federal actions affecting historic and archaeological properties; provides technical assistance to owners in the restoration of historic properties, including those owners seeking state and federal rehabilitation income tax credits; provides grant assistance for historic preservation projects; provides technical assistance to local preservation commissions; and provides historic preservation education, including publication of preservation plan updates and the HPO newsletter, Worth Saving (http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/newsletter/newsletter.htm).