A Note From the President
In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, we take tremendous pride in the strength and resiliency of the people of North Carolina. Devastating hurricanes are not new to us, but the far-reaching impact of Hurricane Florence from the coast to the mountains is unprecedented. Our thoughts are with all of those recovering at this time and for the many weeks and months ahead.
Many of our historic property owners have been impacted by Hurricane Florence, and our regional staff is busy reaching out to assess the extent of damages. We are here to assist our PNC property owners in their recovery. We will also try to offer guidance to owners, local governments, etc. for historic properties, whether or not they are protected by PNC covenants.
If you need us, please
Click HERE to contact the Regional Director that serves your county.
Also, the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office has lots of useful information about Disaster Recovery on its website.
Click HERE to visit their disaster
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Storm Damage to Bellamy Mansion -- and Site Manager Bob Lock, already on top of it!
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The Bellamy Mansion in Wilmington
If you're wondering how the
Bellamy Mansion in Wilmington
weathered the storm, here's an update. While the damage certainly could have been worse, we did have fairly extensive leaking due to wind damage on the roof around the belvedere. This area of the roof had just been repaired two weeks ago along with small areas of plaster. The torrential rains following Florence's initial landfall caused further damage. There's wet plaster in most every room, and water damage extends all the way down to the basement. Thanks to the phenomenal (and brave) work of our staff and volunteers, we've buttoned up what we can and we're drying out, but the full repairs will take some time. The Bellamy Mansion Museum will be closed until further notice as recovery efforts in Wilmington continue.
We know it's minor compared to the loss of life and home that so many are experiencing, but the damage to the Bellamy Mansion, as well as the loss of revenue, will hit our budget hard this year. Since Wilmington is in a high-risk area for wind and hail, our insurance deductible is $272,000 for the Bellamy Mansion (it's $2,500 for the rest of our properties) so we will receive no insurance proceeds to help offset the losses! We'll need your help.
We are hopeful that we will be able to carry on with this year's Annual Conference in Wrightsville Beach/Wilmington in October, but we just won't know for a little while. If it's possible, it will be a tremendous opportunity for us to show our support for one of North Carolina's great historic cities. We'll keep you posted.
Again, if we can be of service to you and your historic property in the days, weeks and months ahead, please let us know. Thank you for your continued support for Preservation North Carolina, and for supporting those recovering from Hurricane Florence.
J. Myrick Howard, President 
Preservation North Carolina
