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Historic Preservation Commission

Orange County · Historic Preservation Commission
Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Regular meeting Historic preservationCivil rights and nondiscriminationAppointments and personnelBudget and appropriationsEnvironment and sustainabilityEthics and transparencyFaith and cultural communitiesFarmland and open spaceSchools and education

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 3Approval of Minutes for December 11, 2024 Approved
  2. Approved 5.bHPC website content enhancement Motion carried

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

The Orange County Historic Preservation Commission took a redrafted landmark evaluation form on 29 January 2025 and started work on a new website. There were no decision items. The commission also discussed how to find and map historic Black cemeteries and Indian stone mounds.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The old landmark evaluation form leaned heavily toward properties that are very old and already on the National Register, so staff rebuilt it using criteria from other commissions in the state that were compatible with the county's approach. One aim is to designate landmarks inside the towns' extraterritorial jurisdictions, starting with Hillsborough. Members will bring comments to the next meeting.

On cemeteries and stone mounds, staff said LIDAR is promising and has been used successfully to find stone mounds in Virginia, and that owners are increasingly asking for site visits to have such sites mapped. Staff described a recent visit to a cemetery on one of the Hester plantations, arranged by a descendant of people buried there: one carved gravestone for a woman born in 1847 who died in 1934, along with numerous fieldstone markers, at least eleven rows of roughly fifteen burials each. It resembles the county's own Strayhorn-Blackwood burial ground, and both stayed in use well into the twentieth century.

The commission directed staff to ask the county webmaster for help building a new site, since its old content is no longer visible. Three members whose first terms expire on 31 March all agreed to serve second terms. The Andrews House National Register nomination came in over budget from the county's former consultant, so staff will seek other quotes; funding comes from the Lands Legacy budget because the owners have put about 150 acres under conservation easement.

A lynching memorial marker programme on Courthouse Square was set for 16 February, with the choir of Jones Grove Baptist Church, which owns the Ridge Road School the commission recently placed on the National Register.

A recording is attached to this meeting on the site, but it is a forum on low-barrier housing needs rather than this commission's meeting.

How the votes went

Three motions carried: the December minutes, directing staff to seek webmaster help for a new site, and adjournment.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (9)

Discussion item · 3Procedural · 2Staff or committee report · 2Minutes approval · 1Appointment · 1
  1. 3 Approval of Minutes for December 11, 2024
    Minutes approval
    Approved
  2. 4 Items for Decision
    Procedural
    None
  3. 5.a Landmark evaluation form
    Discussion item Historic preservation
    A redraft, built from criteria used by other commissions, replacing a form biased toward very old properties already on the National Register. One aim is designating landmarks inside town extraterritorial jurisdictions, starting with Hillsborough.
  4. 5.b HPC website content enhancement
    Discussion item Ethics and transparencyHistoric preservation
    The commission's old web content is no longer visible. Staff were directed to ask the county webmaster team for help building a new site.
    Motion carried
  5. 5.c Future projects to identify, map and protect historic Black cemeteries and Indian stone mounds
    Discussion item Civil rights and nondiscriminationHistoric preservation
    LIDAR has located stone mounds successfully elsewhere, and owners increasingly ask for site visits. Staff described a cemetery on one of the Hester plantations with at least eleven rows of roughly fifteen burials each, resembling the county's Strayhorn-Blackwood burial ground.
  6. 6.b Lynching Memorial marker on Courthouse Square
    Staff or committee report Civil rights and nondiscriminationFaith and cultural communitiesHistoric preservationSchools and education
    A programme on 16 February with speakers and the choir of Jones Grove Baptist Church, which owns the Ridge Road School recently placed on the National Register.
  7. 6.c Andrews House National Register Nomination
    Staff or committee report Budget and appropriationsEnvironment and sustainabilityFarmland and open spaceHistoric preservation
    The former consultant's bid greatly exceeds the available budget, so staff will seek other quotes. Funding comes from the Lands Legacy budget because the owners have placed about 150 acres under conservation easement.
  8. 6.f Membership update
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    Three members whose first terms expire on 31 March all agreed to serve second terms.
  9. 7 Adjournment
    Procedural
    Adjourned 8:03 pm

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