Endangered Heritage Fund

In preserving our local heritage structures, time is of the essence. 

Time, and money. 

In Moore County, we're facing rapid development. That results in more and more situations where a heritage structure facing imminent demolition is brought to our attention and needs immediate saving. And immediate sometimes means less than 30 days, especially when a building is not in a protected heritage district.

They become emergency rescue situations.

While direct fundraising efforts can help us meet the financial needs to move or purchase a building, in a severely abbreviated timeline we simply don't have the time for a massive fundraising campaign.

We need to act fast and provide some form of financial means as soon as possible.

Honoring the lost heritage buildings of Moore County

The PPG faced an emergency preservation situation in July 2023 when we were made aware of the existence of Kennelwood, a structure in Moore County with great local significance threatened with imminent demolition. You can read more of the story of Kennelwood here. Our organization was given the opportunity by the owners to move it if we could find a new home for it and raise the $50,0000 estimated to move it...all in less than 30 days.

We teamed up with other local nonprofits to discuss the feasibility of that financial goal, and after consulting a certified house mover and Pinewild Country Club we realized that the timeline was shrunk to approximately a week. The building would have been a prime candidate for a state historic preservation grant, but those usually require a 4-6 month application and review timeframe. None of the nonprofit organizations we were working with, including ours, had any money that could be spared for this effort. When we realized that raising $50,000 in that timeline was out of our reach, salvage of Kennelwood's pristine logs became our next option. Thankfully the demolition contractor waived his normal salvage fee, but otherwise, the cost would have been approximately $15,000, a figure none of our organizations could collectively cover. While we were able to help salvage parts of Kennelwood, this has not always been the case. Unfortunately, we have lost in entirety several other heritage buildings in Moore County since 2019, including Carthage and Southern Pines’ Lustrons, The Johnson-McIver House in Carthage, The C.T. Patch House in Southern Pines,  and Miss Belle’s Tearoom in Cameron.  

Being Proactive

As a preservation organization with the mission of saving threatened heritage buildings in Moore County, we cannot be in a situation where we have no funds to contribute to an emergency. We also cannot continue to be reactive, needing to launch massive fundraising efforts after the demolition threat becomes evident. If we're going to save the heritage buildings of Moore County, we need to be proactive and we need to raise funds now so we have them in a reserve fund to use in these instances. 

The Board of The Pines Preservation Guild has decided to create "The Pines Preservation Guild Endangered Heritage Fund" for instances like Kennelwood.  As unprecedented development pressures continue, we feel that this fund will be our best way to prove that we are providing real solutions when a building is threatened.

But we need your help to make this happen!

The money raised in this fund will be used to help our organization as follows:

1. Provide emergency funds (60 days or less) to help cover, partially or in full, the cost of moving a threatened heritage structure to a new safe location, with an easement on the property to ensure its perpetual protection

2. Provide funds to cover, partially or in full, assisting with emergency stabilization and/ or repair efforts of threatened heritage properties, especially when required by a local municipality, in 60 days or less

3. Cover, partially or in full, the cost needed to salvage and store substantial portions of a threatened property when saving or moving the structure is no longer an option, keeping irreplaceable historic materials from the landfill. 

Funds will not be used to assist a private individual or business with the purchase of a threatened property. 

So we ask you to make a donation today and support us in being proactive in saving at-risk heritage structures in Moore County. Your help also helps to honor Kennelwood and the other heritage structures recently lost to demolition in the county. No donation is too small. 

Note: Yearly contributions to The Pines Preservation Guild above $45 are fully tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

The Pines Preservation Guild is qualified as a charitable organization under Section 501 ( c )( 3 ) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Pines Preservation Guild EIN 86-2498626