McDowell County has been chosen as the subject of a comprehensive survey of historic buildings and landscapes. Funding for this architectural survey comes from the Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund, for hurricanes Florence and Michael. Because the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared a major disaster in McDowell County following both storms, the county is an eligible location for planning projects intended to document the degree of damage from past storms as well as provide preparedness for future disasters.
North Carolina has chosen to allocate funding to support the survey of historic resources to determine the overall degree of damage, as well as provide data for resiliency planning for the treasured cultural resources. McDowell County was selected from among other eligible counties because the State Historic Preservation Office has not previously conducted a comprehensive architectural survey of the county. The architectural survey will intensively document historic buildings and landscapes from the early 19th century through the 1970s, including those in Marion and Old Fort and rural areas. Data gathered during the survey will assist McDowell County in planning for the preservation of its historic resources.
Preliminary fieldwork will start in December. An architectural survey entails documentation of buildings and landscapes that are at least 50 years old. Fieldworkers take photographs, draw site plans, and collect oral history from people they meet on site.
For more information on the McDowell County Comprehensive Architectural Survey, contact Elizabeth C. King, Architectural Survey Coordinator for the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, at elizabeth.king@ncdcr.gov or 828-250-3108.
