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.