Biennial Report of the North Carolina Division of Archives and History
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C b FORTY-EIGHTH BIENNIAL REPORT Ilf iVu ms THE NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY 1998-2000 BIENNIAL REPORT DIVISION OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY July 1, 1998-June 30, 2000 Top left: In July 1998 Division ofArchives and History underwater archaeologists resumed exploratory activities at the site of what is believed to be the wreckage of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, flagship of the pirate Blackbeard, by examining this wooden-stock anchor found near the wreck site (photo by Rick Allen, UNC-TV). Top right: In September 1998 the Historic Sites Section inaugurated a souvenir passport program to make purchasers eligible for special incentives by visiting multiple sites. Center left: These women participated in the division’s special centennial commemoration (November 1998) of the Wilmington race riots. During the commemoration the division dedicated a new highway historical marker to the memory of Wilmington newspaper editor Alex Manly. Center right: Late in 1999 the division issued Recollections of My Slavery Days, an important slave narrative by William Henry Singleton, whose tombstone in New Haven, Connecticut, attests to his Civil War service as a sergeant in the Union army (photo by Roderick Topping, New Haven). Bottom Left: In March 2000 members of the staff of the State Historic Preservation Office conducted a reconnaissance survey of Princeville in the wake of severe damage to the Edgecombe County town resulting from Hurricane Floyd. Bottom Right: Also in March 2000, a reenactment of the Battle of Bentonville attracted hundreds of authentically attired reenactors and thousands of spectators. FORTY-EIGHTH BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY July 1, 1998 through June 30, 2000 Raleigh Division of Archives and History North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources 2001 © 2001 by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History All rights reserved NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL RESOURCES Lisbeth C. Evans Secretary Elizabeth F. Buford Deputy Secretary DIVISION OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY Jeffrey J. Crow Director David J. Olson Deputy Director NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION William S. Powell (2001) Chairman Alan D. Watson (2003) Vice Chairman Millie M. Barbee (2003) Mary Hayes Holmes (2005) Janet N. Norton (2005) N. J. Crawford (2001) H. G. Jones (2001) Gail W. O’Brien (2005) T. Harry Gatton (2003) B. Perry Morrison Jr. (2005) Max R. Williams (2001) THE NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 4610 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-4610 • 919-733-7305 To His Excellency James B. Hunt, Jr. Governor of North Carolina Sir:—In line with the practice of the North Carolina Historical Commission from its creation in 1903 until it became the State Department of Archives and History in 1943 and with the subsequent practice of the Department (Division) of Archives and History, I have the honor to submit herewith for your Excellency’s consideration the Forty-eighth Biennial Report of the North Carolina Division of Archives and History for the period July 1, 1998 - June 30, 2000. I am pleased to report to you on behalf of the members of the North Carolina Historical Commission that the Division of Archives and History has acquitted its responsibilities as North Carolina’s historical agency admirably during the past two years, making it a distinct pleasure to transmit to you this report as the most recent addition to a distinguished series. Respectfully, William S. Powell Chairman Raleigh, North Carolina July 1, 2000 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/biennialreportof1998nort CONTENTS Director’s Report 1 Archives and Records Section 4 Historic Sites Section 19 Historical Publications Section 34 North Carolina Maritime Museum Section 39 State Capitol/Visitor Services Section 47 State Historic Preservation Office 53 Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens Section 66 Western Office 77 Appendixes ADMINISTRATION 1. The North Carolina Historical Commission 83 2. Appropriations and Expenditures, July 1, 1998-June 30, 2000 84 3. Appropriations and Expenditures, 1950-2000 85 4. Roster of Employees 86 5. Publications of Staff Members 100 6. New Highway Historical Markers Approved 107 ARCHIVES AND RECORDS 7. Accessions 108 HISTORIC SITES 8. Attendance at State Historic Sites 174 9. Special Programs 175 10. Contributions of Time and Funds 176 11. Planning and Construction Projects 177 12. Unpublished Archaeological, Historical, and Technical Reports 178 13. Archaeological Activities 179 14. Accessions 183 HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS 15. Complete List of Publications Issued by the Division of Archives and History 186 NORTH CAROLINA MARITIME MUSEUM 16. Visitation 190 17. Program Attendance 191 18. Activities and Programming Related to Blackbeard, Pirates, and the Vessel Believed to Be the Queen Anne’s Revenge 192 19. Exhibits Undertaken during the Biennium 193 20. Accessions 197 21. Number of Hours and Types of Work Donated by Volunteers 200 STATE CAPITOL/VISITOR SERVICES 22. Attendance 201 23. Accessions 202 STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE 24. Historic Preservation Fund Grants 203 25. Certified Local Governments in North Carolina as of June 30, 2000 207 26. Underwater Archaeology Permits Issued 208 27. Technical Preservation Services Rendered 209 28. Historic Preservation Tax Credit Projects Reviewed 214 29. North Carolina Properties Listed on the National Register 242 30. Survey and Planning Branch Activity by County 247 TRYON PALACE HISTORIC SITES & GARDENS 31. Attendance and Revenues 252 32. Acquisitions 253 33. Capital Improvements 265 34. Current Members of the Tryon Palace Commission 266 Biennial Report Division of Archives and History July 1, 1998-June 30, 2000 Historic Gardens Palace & Sites Tryon Office Historic Preservation State Section Capitol/Visitor Services Resources State History Cultural Organization and Museum Carolina of 2000 30, Archives North Maritime Department June Administrative of Division Publications Carolina Section North Historical Sites Section Historic and Section Archives Records BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY July 1, 1998-June 30, 2000 Jeffrey J. Crow, Director In the biennial report for 1996-1998 two damaging hurricanes figured prominently in the director’s report. Unfortunately, the director’s report for the current biennium cannot begin without reference to an even larger and more destructive hurricane. In 1999 four hurricanes struck the North Carolina coast. Hurricane Floyd in mid- September produced flooding in eastern North Carolina of near Biblical proportions. It also had a calamitous effect on the state’s budget. Nearly a year after the hurricane the state has not yet fully recovered. Various state historic sites and other properties suffered tremendous damage from Hurricane Floyd. Hardest struck was the CSS Neuse state historic site. Three feet of water inundated the visitor center. Rather than attempt to renovate the damaged building, plans to build a new museum facility around the gunboat assumed heightened urgency. In the meantime the staff utilized a trailer and the Richard Caswell Memorial to keep the site operating. Fortunately, in the wake of Hurricane Fran in 1996, the gunboat had been moved to higher ground, where it safely rode out the storm. Other members of the staff of the Division ofArchives and History responded magnificently to the crisis generated by Hurricane Floyd. Archivists assisted Edgecombe County and Princeville officials in recovering and saving valuable records. Professional members of the staff of the State Historic Preservation Office combed eastern North Carolina, providing technical advice and assistance to homeowners and local officials. Princeville, the first black-incorporated town in the United States, was especially devastated. The staff worked effectively with federal officials to identify extant properties in the flood-ravaged town for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places and to secure funds for restoration. The State Historical Records Advisory Board sponsored a special cable television program in which conservationists and preservationists advised viewers how to salvage damaged buildings, photographs, documents, and furnishings. The biennium also experienced a significant turnover in key managerial positions as a result of retirements and promotions. In the fall of 1998, Dr. George W. Shannon Jr. joined the North Carolina Maritime Museum as director. Following the retirement of Samuel P. Townsend after forty years of service to the state, Carol C. Henderson assumed administrative duties for the State Capitol/Visitor Services Section. In the fall of 1999, deputy director Larry G. Misenheimer retired after thirty-four years of service and was succeeded by David J. Olson, former state archivist. Catherine J. Morris replaced Mr. Olson as state archivist and records administrator. Those transitions presaged further changes that were under active study at the end of the biennium. In early 2000 the director launched two long-range planning processes. The first, the Archaeological Services Task Force, began examining how well the division manages its archaeological resources. The second, a strategic plan Director’s Report for the division during the next five years, was well under way at the end of the biennium. The new deputy director, David Olson, chaired both initiatives. Other challenges continued to confront the division. In July 1998 an arsonist set fire to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, a National Historic Landmark, in Asheville. Two years after