Establishment of a Historic Preservation District

Commission Members Seated

June 13, 2024

The newly appointed members of the Historic Preservation Commission convened for their first, official meeting where they took the Oath of Office and were seated for an orientation session. Staff members Emily Yopp, Jennifer Hunt and Jamie Sandoval introduced the Commissioners to historic preservation and the project to establish a historic district in Carthage. Pines Preservation Guild President and Executive Director, Leslie Brians, introduced herself and her organization and briefly discussed what the HPC could anticipate in the month to come as they work toward the establishment of the historic district. The HPC voted to adopt their official meeting schedule and set their regular monthly meeting to the 4th Monday of every month beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the McDonald Building. They also elected a Chair and Vice Chair to preside over the meetings and lead the group for the next year. Congratulations to Ariel Matthews, Chairperson, and Ashley Coates, Vice Chairperson, on their recent election. 

In 1992, the State Historic Preservation Office surveyed 92 historic homes and buildings in the area of McReynolds, Barrett, Pinecrest and Brooklyn Streets and placed the district on the National Register of Historic Places. While being on the National Register is absolutely a special achievement for our quaint NC town, the National Register offers no protections from demolitions and insensitive changes to this collection of historic homes and buildings. Luckily, Carthage has had many great stewards to these homes over the last few decades and many of the houses and buildings retain their historic character today. 

While our Unified Development Ordinance already has the National Register District zoned as the Residential Historic District (R-HD) Carthage does not have all of the necessary pieces to truly protect these homes and buildings. In 2018, the Carthage Board of Commissioners took the next step in preserving the district by adopting an ordinance for the establishment of a Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) but the remaining steps were never completed, likely due to a lack of staff and expertise available to Carthage at the time. 

Today, Carthage has been awarded a matching grant of $5,000 and has partnered with The Pines Preservation Guild, a local non-profit organization dedicated to historic preservation in Moore County and will assist Carthage and the Historic Preservation Commission members with completing this project. The citizen-volunteers who applied to serve on the Historic Preservation Commission have been appointed by the Board of Commissioners. They are: Ariel Matthews (Chairperson), Ashley Coates (Vice-Chairperson), Greg Pilson, Jill Lumgair, Lisa Schickendanz, Alyssa Kennedy, Janet Gardner and Ian Lumgair serving as an Alternate member. 

The Pines Preservation Guild will be guiding Carthage and the HPC through the training and processes needed to establish a historic district that abides by the North Carolina General Statute regulations for Historic Preservation (NCGS Chapter 160D) and that reflects the historic character and culture of our community. The Town of Carthage encourages the public to stay engaged with this project and participate in the public comment sessions that are to come and to check this page as well as the Public Notices page for information on meetings and agendas relating to this project.