The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

Homepage

Related Photos

  • Myrtle Grove will be the first stop on the Preservation North Carolina brunch and tour of four historic houses in Edgecombe County. The Daily Southerner

    DSCF1756.JPG
September 21, 2012

Edgecombe to celebrate historic preservation

The Daily Southerner John H. Walker

TARBORO — On Sunday, October 7, Preservation North Carolina (PNC) will be showcasing four distinctive historic properties in Edgecombe County with a Sunday brunch and afternoon tour.

The houses are clustered along the Tar River between Tarboro and Greenville and include Myrtle Grove, Bracebridge Hall and Piney Prospect. The fourth house, recently added to the tour, is the Jordan-Cobb House, which was moved from near Falkland to a spot adjacent to Myrtle Hall.

Attendance is expected to be in the 350 to 400 range and tickets remain available on the Preservation North Carolina (PNC) website at www.presnc.org. All-inclusive tickets are $35 each and the fund-raising goal for the day is $20,000.

Myrtle Grove’s Joe White said the tour will get under way at 11 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. Brunch will be served until 2 p.m.

“Participants will come here first and park,” he explained, noting that Myrtle Grove is the house closest to the Colonial Road-N.C. Highway 43 intersection.

“We have parking here while the other houses really don’t,” he noted. “People can either do the tour and brunch here and then get on a shuttle bus to visit the other houses or they can get on the shuttle first and come back here.”

White said he was hopeful some patrons would want to take the shuttle first to eliminate excessive crowds at Myrtle Grove.

Myrtle Grove (1842) is a substantial house — the original portion of the house consisted of 10 large rooms and two 40-foot long halls, one lower and one upper — was built by the prominent Vines family, combining Federal and Greek Revival elements. White and co-owner Dan Roberson have converted Myrtle Grove into a dining and event venue, as well as their home.

The late addition to the tour — the Jordan-Cobb house — is actually two houses that were combined and is in an unrestored state.

“It was actually going to be burned,” White said, so when the opportunity arose, we bought it.

The smaller of the two houses — and the portion closest to Myrtle Grove — is the oldest of the two and was built in the early to mid-1700’s. The newer portion, which was used as the front of the house, was built about 1770, according to White.

White said students from Edgecombe Community College’s historic preservation program will help on the restoration once brick piers are built under the house and the house mover’s steel removed.

Shuttle buses will take guests to nearby Bracebridge Hall (1815) and Piney Prospect (1790) for tours.

Bracebridge Hall is the homeplace of Gov. Elias Carr and is owned by his great-granddaughter, Martina Taylor, and her husband Fletcher. The house started out in 1815 as a single federal home, and in 1826 Gov. Carr's father added the Greek Revival section of the home, naming it "Bracebridge Hall" after Washington Irving's sketchbook publication that was first printed in 1819. Gov. Carr was born there in 1839. He was active nationally in agricultural movements of the 1880's and was one of the founders of the North Carolina Farmers Alliance and its first president. He served as governor from 1893-1897.

Piney Prospect was originally built around 1790 as a late Georgian house on the Tar River. Peter Evans, a highly respected local builder, purchased it in 1820 and enlarged it with an outstanding Federal addition. Piney Prospect is most unusual for having a Charleston-style, enclosed and windowed double piazza. It's considered one of the finest Federal houses in eastern North Carolina with its outstanding Adam-style decoration, inside and out.

Preservation North Carolina takes particular pride in the preservation of Piney Prospect. After years of vacancy and decay, and with no prospect of its being saved on site, PNC found buyers to relocate and restore this incredible house. In 2006 Bob and Sharon Foster purchased it through PNC's Endangered Properties Program and moved the house a short distance to a similar location along the river. This Preservation Celebration will mark its first public showing after a complete restoration by the Fosters. PNC's covenants will help ensure that the house doesn't once again fall into a state of extreme deterioration.

The Preservation Celebration will help support PNC's work in eastern North Carolina through its Northeast Regional Office based in Edenton. Though our historic property work is picking back up statewide, the market continues to be slow in the region.

Volunteers are needed to assist with the tours, including docents, parking attendants, and people in general to guide and provide basic information throughout the day. Persons interested in volunteering should contact White at 827-5876 or by email at  HYPERLINK "mailto:myrtlegrovenc@aol.com" myrtlegrovenc@aol.com.



(A Preservation North Carolina press release contributed to this story.)

 

Text Only
Homepage
Pay-Dirt.jpg

Barrett Flowe, of Midland, drives Pay Dirt during the 2012 Pinetops 300. He and many others will be on hand this weekend at the annual tractor and truck pull.

  • PINETOPS 300

    PINETOPS  — One thing’s for certain, the first-time attendee at the Pinetops 300 truck and tractor pull will learn something in a hurry … these are not your Daddy and Grandaddy’s tractors!
    Some of the best known and most successful pullers in the country will converge School Street here tonight and Saturday to vie for honors in the longest running not-for-profit tractor pull in the Southeastern United States.

    May 17, 2013 1 Photo

  • Happening in Tarboro Saturday
  • Parents and educators meet on school events and initiatives
Local News
DWI-Tests.jpg

The National Transportation Safety Board wants all 50 states to lower the blood alcohol content level to 0.05.

Sports
THS-Relay-Teams.jpg

Six Tarboro Viking track stars are going to compete in the NCHSAA 2-A state championship meet Friday in Greensboro at NC A&T State University.

  • Six Tarboro girls to compete in track finals

    Motivation is a big part of the Tarboro Viking girl's track team's success this season. They enjoy working hard during practice for their coach Rickie Dozier and get fulfillment when they compete in events. Friday will be no different for the six girls that are headed to Greensboro to compete in the NCHSAA 2-A state championship meet at North Carolina A&T State University. They will compete in three relay events and the long jump.

    May 16, 2013 2 Photos

  • BIG FISH
Opinion
  • We Salute...

    Each Friday, The Daily Southerner will recognize individuals, groups and businesses in Edgecombe County who have gone “above and beyond” in their effort to make this a better place to work, play and raise a family.

    May 17, 2013

Lifestyles
  • 5246-WED-Corbett.jpg Corbett/Chasse Wedding

    Brittney Joyce Corbett and Kenneth Robert Chasse, Jr. were united in marriage on April 6th, 2013, at 5:30pm at the Imperial Centre in Rocky Mount. The Rev. Carrol Bradbury officiated the ceremony.
    The Rehearsal Dinner was hosted by Shirley and Donald Foreman, Grandparents of the Groom and also Elisha and Kenneth Chasse, Parents of the Groom, at Pizza Inn in Rocky Mount.
    The Bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Durwood Corbett of Macclesfield, NC. The Groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Robert Leonel Chasse, Sr. of Pinetops, NC.

    May 13, 2013 1 Photo

Obituaries Archives
Food
Events
  • Edgecombe Events May 17

    Edgecombe Events should be submitted by noon the day before publication. Items eligible include notices of local meetings and activities of non-profit organizations, clubs, schools and civic groups in the community. Information should be brief and typewritten, neatly printed or via e-mail. Questions? 823-3106 or e-mail: events@dailysoutherner.com. Leave  a daytime contact phone number.

    May 17, 2013

Our Community
Tarboro's 2012 Christmas Parade


Poll

Does the IRS tax exempt disclosure concern you?

Yes
No
     View Results
CNHI Network News
AP Video
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel? Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting Raw: School Bus Crash Injures Five Children Quick Response Saved Baby on Phila. Train Tracks One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Facebook
Peter Temple Tribute
Photo of the Day