Historic Preservation Commission

Historic Preservation Commission – Staff Report 3rd Floor Committee Room –Fred Turnage Municipal Building 6:00 p.m. Regular Meeting June 27,2023  AGENDA ROCKY MOUNT HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEETING JUNE 27, 2023 AT 6:00 P.M. COMMITTEE ROOM, THIRD FLOOR, FREDERICK E. TURNAGE MUNICIPAL BUILDING Board Membership Voting: Mike Latham (Chair), Adrienne Copland (Vice-Chair), Sam Johnson, Josie Davis, Raymond Gantt Jr., Roslyn Haynes, Bianca Costa-Davis, Emmette Burke, Bill Johnson Staff: Stephanie Goodrich, Senior Planner Samantha Andelin, Administrative Assistant 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes (March 28, 2022) 5. Public Hearings 5.1 Certificate of Appropriateness (Major Work) a. Requested Action: Addition of Commercial Signage Location: 143 N Washington Street Historic District: Central City Land Use: Commercial Property Owner(s): Brightspeed Applicant(s): Capital Sign Solutions Case Manager: Stephanie Goodrich, Senior Planner 5.2 Local Districts and Landmarks a. Requested Action: Consideration of Local Landmark Status Location: E Holly Street Historic District: Site: extension of Northeastern Cemetery Land Use: Funerary Property Owner(s): CORM Applicant(s): Hap Turner, Heritage Research Consultant Case Manager: Stephanie Goodrich, Senior Planner 6. Commission Review 6.1 Certificate of Appropriateness (Minor Work) 7 Elm Street Screen Door 214 Villa Street ADA Wheelchair Ramp 6.2 National Districts and Landmarks No updates 6.3 Events Neighborhood Meeting, Edgemont Historic District – August 7. Next Meeting Date: July 25, 2023  MINUTES OF THE ROCKY MOUNT HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEETING HELD MARCH 28, 2023, AT 6:00 PM IN THE FREDERICK E. TURNAGE MUNICIPAL BUILDING, THIRD FLOOR, COMMITTTEE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT MICHAEL LATHAM, CHAIR ADRIENNE COPLAND, VICE-CHAIR ROSLYN HAYNES SAMUEL JOHNSON EMMETTE BURKE BIANCA COSTA-DAVIS RAYMOND GANTT, JR. BILL JOHNSON MEMBERS ABSENT JOSIE DAVIS STAFF PRESENT STEPHANIE GOODRICH, SENIOR PLANNER ADMINISTRATOR SAMANTHA ANDELIN, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT GUESTS  HPC Minutes for March 28, 2023 1. Call to Order Mike Latham, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. 2. Roll Call Samantha Andelin, Administrative Assistant, conducted the roll call and a quorum was present. Member Josie Davis was not present. 3. Approval of Agenda Sam Johnson made a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. The motion was seconded by Adrienne Copland and the Commission passed the motion unanimously. Vice-Chair, Adrienne Copland is the owner and applicant of Agenda Item 5.1b therefore, she will abstain from any board discussion, decisions, and vote on this agenda item. 4. Approval of Minutes Adrienne Copland made a motion to approve the minutes from the January 4, 2023, meeting as presented. The motion was seconded by Sam Johnson and the motion passed without opposition. 5. Public Hearing The Chairperson announced the beginning of the public hearing portion of the meeting. Per North Carolina law anyone planning to speak regarding the application(s) is to be sworn in. Stephanie Goodrich and Adrienne Copland were sworn in accordingly. 5.1 Certificate of Appropriateness (Major Work) 5.1a Requested Action: Commercial Signage Location: 152 E Thomas Street Historic District: Central City Land Use: Commercial Property Owner(s): City of Rocky Mount Applicant(s): Stephanie Mitchell Case Manager: Stephanie Goodrich, Senior Planner Mrs. Goodrich advised that this request is to add commercial signage to the commercial property. The signage would be placed on the side façade that opens up to the sidewalk and grassy area on the east part of the building. An excerpt from the NRHP: Manhattan Theater, ca. 1935, Contributing Building, Code A 122 E. Thomas Street One-and- one-half-story brick building constructed as the Manhattan Theater to serve the African American community. This theater is first listed in the 1936 city directory. Since 1980, the Art Deco marquee has been removed, the ticket windows and one entrance enclosed, and the façade's central fluted section, which extends into a stepped parapet, infilled with stucco. Two small octagonal windows pierce the parapet. The signage proposed is permissible under the land development codes. Applicant must ensure that the hanging sign is 9’ above grade. Mrs. Goodrich advised that staff recommends approval because the application meets the intent of the Rocky Mount Standards and design guidelines and is compatible with the character of the overall district and adjoining properties. Page 2  HPC Minutes for March 28, 2023 The Chair asked if the applicant was present to answer questions. The applicant was not present to answer questions. Adrienne Copland asked if the pictures submitted is how it would look and if it was an after-the-fact. Stephanie Goodrich stated that it was before the fact, however, she did tell the applicant that she could go ahead and hang the sign, if she didn’t mind that she may have to remove it if the Board did not approve it. Mike Latham asked for clarity on the signs as to location. Stephanie Goodrich stated that it was from the awning and on the door. Sam Johnson asked if the door was blacked out. Stephanie Goodrich stated that it was not and that you can see through it. The Chair summarized the evidence and facts and noted there was no evidence in opposition to the application; therefore, the public comment portion of the hearing was announced closed. Sam Johnson made a motion for the findings-of-fact. The motion was seconded by Emmette Burke based upon the evidence that has been presented in the application and during the public hearing, the Commission finds that the work applied for is compatible with the Historic District guidelines, and upon voting, the motion passed unanimously. Sam Johnson made a motion for approval of the COA to add commercial signage on the side façade that opens to the sidewalk and grassy area on the east part of the building on the commercial property with the condition that the sign meets the 9’ height requirement. The motion was seconded by Bianca Costa-Davis based upon the evidence that has been presented in the application and during the public hearing, the Commission finds that the work applied for is compatible with the Historic District guidelines, and upon voting, the motion passed unanimously. 5.1b Requested Action: Door replacement and relocation Location: 204 S Howell Street Historic District: Villa Place Local Historic District Land Use: Residential Property Owner(s): Adrienne Copland Applicant(s): Adrienne Copland Case Manager: Stephanie Goodrich, Senior Planner Mrs. Goodrich advised that this request is to change the location of the rear door and replace both front and rear doors. An excerpt from the NHRP 1988: Johnson House. The frame, one-story, front-gable bungalow exhibits plain siding, two interior brick chimneys, exposed rafter tails, knee braces and a front gable porch with battered posts on brick bases. Fenestration consists of eight-over one Craftsman style sash windows and a glazed and paneled door. a. C Garage. ca. 1923. Frame, front gable one-car garage with plain siding and exposed rafter tails. The house was built circa 1923. The earliest known occupant of the house is William S. Johnson, a pharmacist with H.L. Hicks Drug Company in 1925. Mrs. Goodrich advised that staff recommends approval because the application meets the intent of the Rocky Mount Standards and design guidelines and is compatible with the character of the overall district and adjoining properties. There is physical evidence that the door placement on the rear has been altered over time and is not historic. The Chair asked if the applicant was present to answer questions. The applicant was present to answer questions. Page 3  HPC Minutes for March 28, 2023 Mike Latham asked for clarity on where the rear door was being installed. Adrienne Copland stated that the door on the rear would be installed where it appears to have been originally when the house was built. Sam Johnson asked if the picture of the two doors submitted were the actual doors that are going to be installed. Adrienne Copland stated that they were and the blue one would be on the front. The Chair summarized the evidence and facts and noted there was no evidence in opposition to the application; therefore, the public comment portion of the hearing was announced closed. Bianca Costa-Davis made a motion for the findings-of-fact. The motion was seconded by Bill Johnson based upon the evidence that has been presented in the application and during the public hearing, the Commission finds that the work applied for is compatible with the Historic District guidelines, and upon voting, the motion passed unanimously. Bianca Costa-Davis made a motion for approval of the COA to change the location of the rear door and replace both front and rear doors with historically appropriate doors at 204 S Howell Street. The motion was seconded by Roslyn Haynes based upon the evidence that has been presented in the application and during the public hearing, the Commission finds that the work applied for is compatible with the Historic District guidelines, and upon voting, the motion passed unanimously. 6. Commission Review 6.1 Certificate of Appropriateness (Minor Work) Mural SE Main at Marigold Mrs. Goodrich advised that Downtown Renaissance, Inc. (DRI) is proposing a Music Mural at 110 Marigold Street (Corner of Marigold and SE Main Street) has been submitted. The Mural Design is by local artist Marion Weathers and the Artist(s) is to be determined. The Rocky Mount and Twin County area has been home to a great variety of musicians through the years. This mural will complement the existing Thelonious Monk mural while showcasing additional talents from this area. The artists being featured in the proposed mural are George Higgs, jazz guitarist; Kay Kyser, nationally known big band leader and TV personality; Milton Bulluck, Golden Platter and local performer; Brenda and Dan Crocker, organizers and leaders of the Tar River Orchestra and Chorus; Luther Barnes, nationally known gospel singer; and Patsy Gilliland, singer and Director of the Tar River Children’s Chorus. All of the artists featured have been inducted into the Twin County Hall of Fame. A QR code will be added on the mural that will take you to the Twin County Hall of Fame website where the bios of these artists from this area can be seen. DRI and the building owner have completed/signed a “Mural Easement Agreement”. 6.2 National Districts and Landmarks None 6.3 Events Citywide Survey Stephanie Goodrich presented a handout from Richard Grubb & Associates regarding aArchitectural Survey of the City of Rocky Mount. This survey is part of the mitigation measures associated with the CCX intermodal terminal that will be supervised by NCDOT Historic Architecture staff. The Seaboard Coast Line railroad tracks run from north to south and roughly bisect the city. The railroad tracks form the boundary between the two Page 4  HPC Minutes for March 28, 2023 counties that make up the city: Edgecombe County, on the east side of the tracks, and Nash County on the west side. The high number of pre-1975 properties in Rocky Mount necessitates a clearly defined scope of work that focuses survey efforts. It is estimated that a three day windshield survey will be conducted. The report will include a summary of the results of public meetings and the windshield survey and will make recommendations for Phase II. Historic contexts will be recommended to guide the focus of Phase II. It is proposed to complete the City of Rocky Mount Phase I Architectural Survey within 120 days of the notice to proceed from NCDOT. Stephanie Goodrich stated that Ellen Turco with RGA would like contact information of anyone who may be of assistance with this project. Neighborhood Meetings Stephanie Goodrich stated that she will be attending a Ward 7 neighborhood meeting. She also stated that she would like to meet with other neighborhood associations and the Realtor Association. 6.4 Miscellaneous 7. Next Meeting Date April 25, 2023 8. Adjournment There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 6:33 p.m. Respectfully submitted, __________________________________________ Rocky Mount Historic Preservation Commission Stephanie Goodrich Page 5 Public Hearing 143 N Washington St– Map/Aerial Photograph 5.1a Local Historic District National Register District Certificate of Appropriateness (Major Work) 5.1a Requested Action: Commercial Signage Location: 143 N Washington Street Historic District: Central City Land Use: Commercial Property Owner(s): Brightspeed Applicant(s): Capital Sign Solutions Case Manager: Stephanie Goodrich, Senior Planner DETAILS OF PROPOSED REQUEST: This request is to add commercial signage to the commercial property. The signage consists of two signs, one over the entrance on Washington Street and one to be placed on the northern upper elevation. Both sign panels are aluminum and not lit. NRHP Expansion excerpt: Carolina Telephone & Telegraph Building 1948, 1970, Noncontributing Building, 143 N. Washington Street This building had a 131-143 and 151-159 N. Washington Street address in the 1980 nomination. Three-story brick office building constructed for Carolina Telephone and Telegraph in 1948. A metal cornice with a geometric Art Deco motif surmounts the central two-story row of windows. Metal geometric screens are inset in the entrance’s sidelights and transom. A pink marble entrance surround enlivens the buff-colored brick façade; the rest of the building is red brick. The four-story ca. 1970 Modernist addition on the south side has square buff-colored brick panels outlined in white concrete and has the appearance of a separate building. APPLICABLE DESIGN GUIDELINES: Chapter 2 – Site and Setting 2.7 Signs 1. Protect, retain, and preserve historic signs with appropriate preservation methods. Remove non-historic signs and sign structures which are abandoned. 2. Commercial signage should not be placed on a building façade (excluding windows and doors) at street level (under 8’). 3. New designed signs including graphics in windows and on awnings, must be compatible with the overall building scale and must not cover a large portion of the building façade. It is not appropriate to install signs which obscure windows or major architectural elements. 4. Rooftop signage is not permitted. 5. Construct new signs of traditional signage materials such as wood, stone, and metal. Contemporary sign materials, such as plastic and vinyl are discouraged, but not prohibited. 6. Select colors and text for new signs that are compatible with the historic building and streetscape where the sign is located. 7. Install small, flush-mounted historical information signs (less than three feet square) so that architectural features are not damaged or concealed. Locate holes for fasteners in the mortar joints only on masonry buildings. 8. Place freestanding signs appropriately, such as on well landscaped ground bases or low standards. Rocky Mount Historic Preservation Commission June 2023  5.1a Internally illuminated signs are discouraged but not prohibited. When used, internally illuminated signs may not: exceed 16 square feet in size; extend more than four feet in length or height; have any flashing or moving elements; or damage any historic materials or obscure any significant feature of the building façade. Any wall-mounted internally illuminated sign should be placed in a location originally intended for signage, if any, and holes for fasteners should be placed in mortar joints. Projecting internally-illuminated signs should be compatible with other adjacent signage and the mounting hardware should be an attractive and integral part of the sign design and should not use transparent facing. NOTE: Signage proposed is permissible under the land development codes. STAFF ANALYSIS: Staff is recommending approval because the application meets the intent of the Rocky Mount Standards and design guidelines and is compatible with the character of the overall district and adjoining properties Rocky Mount Historic Preservation Commission June 2023 DocuSign Envelope ID: 7D7907A7-F44A-4168-A211-D1C783F8C144 Application for a CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS Street address of property: 143 N. Washington Street Date: 6/13/23 Historic District property is located in: Central City Local Historic District Street Address: 143 N. Washington Street-Rocky Mount, NC 27801 Property Owner(s): Brightspeed Applicant Name: Brandon Mangum - Capital Sign Solutions Applicant Mailing Address: 5800 McHines Place-Suite 110 City: Raleigh State: NC Zip Code: 27616 Daytime Telephone: (919) 306-3802 Applicant Email Address: brandon@capitalsignsolutions.com Lot Dimensions: Width _______ 309'-0" Length _______ 448'-0" Total Area in Sq.Ft. _______ 138,432 (2.33 acres) Project Categories (check all that apply): ★ Exterior Alteration ____ ____ New Construction ★ ____ Addition ____ Demolition ____ Tree Removal I understand that all applications that require review by the Commission’s Certificate of Appropriateness must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the application deadline otherwise consideration will be deferred to the following Commission meeting. An incomplete application cannot be accepted. Applicant Signature: ______________________________________ Date: ______________________ 6/13/23 A fee of $25.00 (or $50.00 for an after-the-fact) must be submitted with this application to the Department of Development Services so your request may be placed on the agenda. SUPPORTING INFORMATION: Attach 8 ½” x 11” sheets with written descriptions and drawings, photographs, and other graphic information necessary to completely describe the project. Use the checklist below to be sure your application is complete (mark N/A if item is not applicable). □ ✔ Written Description. Describe below, clearly and in detail, the nature of your project. Include exact dimensions for materials to be used (e.g. width of siding, window trim, etc.). □ ✔ Description of material (provide samples if appropriate). □ ✔ Plot plan (if applicable). A plot plan showing relationship of buildings, additions, sidewalks, drives, trees, property lines, etc., must be provided if your project includes any addition, demolition, fences/walls, or other landscape work. Show accurate measurements. You may also use a copy of the survey you received when you bought your property. Revise the copy as needed to show existing conditions and your proposed work. □ ✔ Photographs of existing conditions. □ ✔ Drawings showing proposed work. Include one set of full-size drawings when available. o Plan drawings. o Elevation drawings showing the new façade(s). Division of Planning ◦ 331 S Franklin Street, Rocky Mount NC 27802 ◦ 252-972-1172 DocuSign Envelope ID: 7D7907A7-F44A-4168-A211-D1C783F8C144 Application for a CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS o Dimensions shown on drawings. o 8 ½” x 11” reductions of full-size drawing. “Xerox” reductions may be obtained from a number of blueprinting and photocopying businesses around the city. □ ✔ Please prepare your application in black ink on 8 ½” x 11” paper so it can be copied for Commission members. GUIDELINES: Provide the written description of your proposed project citing the applicable section(s) from Design Guidelines for the Rocky Mount Historic Preservation Commission. ______________________________________________________________________________________ (E01-Proposed Street Level Sign) A. Remove & dispose of one (1) existing 2'-0" h x 10'-0" w single face non-lighted wall sign panel reading: ______________________________________________________________________________________ "Logo-Century Link". B. Provide & install one (1) set of 1'-0 9/16" / 10 3/4" high non-lighted individual letters reading: "Logo-Brightspeed". Note: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Proposed signage to be equal to or slightly smaller in size than existing Century Link signage and be placed in the same position on the wall. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ (E02-Proposed Upper Elevation Wall Sign) A. Remove & dispose of one (1) existing single face non-lighted wall sign panel reading: ______________________________________________________________________________________ "Logo-Century Link" from inset structural building tower. B. Provide & install one (1) 10'-9 1/8" h x 18'-9 1/8" w single face non-lighted ______________________________________________________________________________________ wall sign panel reading: "Logo-Brightspeed" fabricated of aluminum onto brick tower located adjacent to N. Washington Street. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ (Do not write below this line. For office use only.) Application Number: _________________ Date Received: _______________ Staff Initials: _____________ Minor Work Authorized Signature: ______________________________ Date: _________________ Fee of $_____ paid on ____/____/_____ Staff Initials _____________ Revised 12/19 Division of Planning ◦ 331 S Franklin Street, Rocky Mount NC 27802 ◦ 252-972-1172  Site ID: E2553L Address: 143 N. Washington St. City, St: Zip: Rocky Mount, NC Survey Date: 08/02/22 Elevation Building Material: Brick Access behind Wall? No Fascia Material: Brick Roll-up Gate Present? No Fascia Shade : SW7686 Is Electrical Present? No 14' 4' 4" Material:Brick 85' 85' 250' 250' 220' Left Side Right Side 160' Stand Alone Front E01  Site ID: E2553L Address: 143 N. Washington St. City, St: Zip: Rocky Mount, NC Survey Date: 08/02/22 Elevation Building Material: Brick Access behind Wall? No Fascia Material: Brick Roll-up Gate Present? No Fascia Shade : SW7686 Is Electrical Present? No 14' 4' 4" Material:Brick 85' 85' 250' 250' 220' Left Side Right Side 160' Stand Alone Front E02 143 N Washington Street– Properties Notified 5.1a Cemetery– Map/Aerial Photograph 5.1b Local Historic District National Register District Local Districts and Landmarks 5.1b Requested Action: Designation of Local Historic Landmark Location: Between Scott Street, Northeastern Cemetery, and Cowlick Branch Creek Historic Landmark: Displaced Cemetery Land Use: Funerary Property Owner(s): City of Rocky Mount Applicant(s): Hap Turner, Rocky Mount Heritage Research Consultant Case Manager: Stephanie Goodrich, Senior Planner ANALYSIS: The unnamed cemetery located between the Unity Cemetery and Northeastern Cemetery was a municipally established African American Cemetery with internments dating between 1915 and 1981. To date there have been 21 identified graves that include notable Rocky Mount citizens. A few of those citizens are as follows: Peter Darden was the first African American elected to Town Council. Frank W. Davis was a prominent dry goods merchant as well as real estate investor. Tom Weston was a local deacon and prominent businessman. William Lee Person was first a local Postmaster and was later elected as a state senator. The site was established by Town Council in 1915 in response to the Board of Alderman’s decree that there would be no more burials at that site and unused lots be confiscated. This Municipal Cemetery appears to be plotted out in a grid format. The headstones and grave markers are typical of their respective dates, being mainly upright monument style markers that appear to be marble or granite with professional engravings. There are some urn statutes and floral patterns on some of the monuments. Boundary markers are still in place in some areas. Many of the markers have been broken over time. The site has become overgrown with vegetation and it is not possible to have a complete inventory at this time. Please see the link for some details and photos. THE DISPLACED CEMETERY - Google My Maps STAFF RECOMMENDATION: This site is significant as an African American cemetery created during the Post Fusion era that contains the burials of several important African American figure of that time. The site may also yield important archeological information about early twentieth century mortuary and funerary practices. Staff recommends the proposal to designate the Displaced Cemetery as a Local Historic Landmark is forwarded to the City Council recommending approval. Local Historic Landmark Report: The Displaced Cemetery I General information 1. Common and Historical Property Names: The practice of minimizing and controlling Black landscapes by neglecting to give them proper names has made these landscapes and achievements easier to erase. Therefore all of the descriptions historically used for this Black landscape can only be understood in context, and the reader may find it easier to read Section lll first, keeping in mind that one goal of this application is to recover history that has been largely erased. The different “names” or phrases used for this cemetery played a significant role in the loss of this history and help illustrate how the Black community of Rocky Mount was excluded from any consideration or ownership of its own history. Two phrases and one word have been used in the past to refer to this landscape: “New Colored Cemetery,” “Negro Cemetery Addition”, and “Unity”. None of these represent a proper name, the first and second are causal references and the last is completely inaccurate. In 1916 the Town Council of Rocky Mount used the words “ New Colored Cemetery '' to describe the second property purchased by the City of Rocky Mount to accommodate the burial needs of its African American citizens .1 This “name” served to distinguish this cemetery as different from the first municipal African American Cemetery established during the Fusion period,2 a period marked by cooperation and increased power sharing in Rocky Mount. The original cemetery was also unnamed, but in March of 1892 the Town Council referred to it as “ the Colored Cemetery ''.3 By 1916, the Board of Aldermen (the new name of the Town Council) referred to the original cemetery as the “Old Colored Cemetery” in contrast to the “New Colored Cemetery” they were then establishing.4 Both the 1913 and 1914 minutes of the Board of Aldermen refer to the Town’s search for cemetery property as an “addition to the Colored Cemetery”.5 But what appears at first to be an attempt to add acreage, became instead a move to 1 Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting April 6, 1916. 3 2 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book :89 Page 372.; Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, December 2, 1915.; Resolution statement, Records of Board of Aldermen Meeting , April 6, 1916; Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, April 6, 1916. 3 Minutes of the Town Board of Commissioners Meeting, March 2, 1892; March 28, 1892. 4 Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, April 6, 1916. 5 Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting October 21, 1915 and November 18, 1915. 1  replace (displace) the existing two acre municipal African American cemetery. Instead of adding acreage to the original plot, in 1915 two acres of land next to the privately owned Union Cemetery was located and purchased.6 The City labeled the survey map of this property “Negro Cemetery Addition”,7 an inaccurate description for this cemetery. Inaccurate because concurrently the Board of Aldermen confiscated all unused lots in its existing African American cemetery (“Old Colored Cemetery”) and this new acreage became that cemetery’s replacement - a fact made completely clear when African Americans protesting against the seizure of lots in the city’s first municipal cemetery forced the issue.8 In response to the protest, the Board of Aldermen issued a Resolution to clear the legal issue at hand: lots in “the old colored cemetery” were confiscated but lots in the "new colored cemetery” were promised as replacements.9 Therefore this new cemetery was not an addition to the old, but a replacement or displacement of the original municipal cemetery. The Board of Alderman minutes, as well, refer to each as separate entities, referring to the first as the “Old Colored Cemetery” and the newly purchased parcel as the “New Colored Cemetery.”10 Lastly, this two acre municipal cemetery is often confused to be part of the privately owned Unity Cemetery and is sometimes simply referred to as “Unity”. This confusion is a direct result of the lost history that this proposal seeks to correct and has unfortunately been reinforced by further misconstructions and the loss of visual boundaries due to reforestation. The land bought to replace/displace the original municipal cemetery was adjacent to the privately owned African American Union Cemetery.11 To the south and adjacent to Union Cemetery was the privately owned Unity Cemetery Association’s 6 acre parcel. Unchecked vegetation and reforestation have blurred the visual boundaries of these parcels, resulting in a failure to distinguish roads, walkways and separate parcels. Their legal boundaries and histories are, though, clearly different. The cemetery for which we seek Landmark designation can neither be construed as an addition to Unity Cemetery or as another privately owned parcel in “Unity” cemetery. Unlike this landmark cemetery, Unity Cemetery was and is a private 6 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 167 Page 583.;Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Session of the Woman's Union Burial Association, Held in the Woman's Union of Tarboro, N.C., August 29th, 30th, and 31st, 1911 .... United States: Harrell's ptg. House, 1912.; Nash County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 195 p 249; Hill's Rocky Mount, North Carolina City Directory [1930] p 416,Hills Directory Company; Frank Pope death certificate No 21, Aug 30, 1917 North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, copy on file with the Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Register of Deeds; Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 140 p 360. 7 Jno. J. Wells, “Negro Cemetery Addition”, November 30, 1915 map. 8 Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, April 6, 1916. 9 Resolution Statement, Records of Board of Aldermen Meeting , April 6, 1916. 10 Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, April 6, 1916.;Resolution Statement, Records of Board of Aldermen Meeting , April 6, 1916. 11 Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Session of the Woman's Union Burial Association, Held in the Woman's Union of Tarboro, N.C., August 29th, 30th, and 31st, 1911 .... United States: Harrell's ptg. House, 1912.; Nash County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 195 p 249; Hill's Rocky Mount, North Carolina City Directory [1930] p 416,Hills Directory Company. 2  -not municipal- cemetery. Furthermore, this cemetery was never deeded to the Unity Cemetery Association, Inc and therefore cannot be an addition or part of it. The Unity Cemetery Complex boundary, surveyed by the City in 2022, includes three distinct and privately owned African American cemeteries:12 1) the Unity Cemetery Association parcel, 2) the Unity Cemetery Extension parcel, and 3) the Union Cemetery parcel.13 (Unity Cemetery Complex thus has its own history of private ownership and deserves its own landmark status.) A further confusion that may need correcting has been the suggestion that there was a desire to hand over the responsibility of the “New Colored Cemetery” to the Unity Cemetery Association.14 This though was not possible for the city to do and stay in compliance with the law requiring the city to provide separate but equal municipal accomadations. In fact the city has continued to own this cemetery since 1915. Further proof of the separate nature of these cemeteries and the city’s intention is a 1935 deed where the city conveys cemetery lots from the New Colored Cemetery stating that the lots “shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the Cemetery Committee of the Board of Alderman of the City of Rocky Mount.”15 On the other hand, until the Unity Cemetery Association Incorporation was dissolved on April 29, 1935,16 it operated “subject to all the rules and regulations for the government and management of Unity Cemetery, either now in force or may be hereafter prescribed by the Board of Trustees of said Unity Cemetery”.17 Therefore, this application will use the name “ The Displaced Cemetery” throughout for this Local Landmark, to both reduce confusion and remind the reader of its historical significance. We propose that the local African-American community should ultimately determine a proper name for this rich historical Black Landscape. 2. Physical Address or Location: East Virginia Street (adjacent to the Eastern Storage Corporation warehouses) 3. Tax Parcel Identification Number (PIN): 38601228530 12 (See II. Abstract 3. Maps and Site Plan) Final Survey map held by Renee Moore, City of Rocky Mount’s Paralegal, photographed by Hap Turner. 13 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 107 p 395;Deed Book 302 p.147;Deed Book 447 p. 443.; Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Session of the Woman's Union Burial Association, Held in the Woman's Union of Tarboro, N.C., August 29th, 30th, and 31st, 1911 .... United States: Harrell's ptg. House, 1912.; Nash County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 195 p 249; Hill's Rocky Mount, North Carolina City Directory [1930] p 416,Hills Directory Company;Frank Pope death certificate No 21, Aug 30, 1917 North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, copy on file with the Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Register of Deeds; Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 140 p 360. 14 Stephen W Raper, Early African-American cemeteries in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, 2011, pg 4 para 3. 15 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 342 p. 172 16 Session Laws of North Carolina, 1935, SB 515 Chapter 185 17 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 371 p.152 3 4. Current Owner(s) Name(s): City of Rocky Mount 5. Current Owner(s) Mailing Address(es): P O Box 1180 Rocky Mount, NC 27802 6. Appraised Value of the Property (a copy of the most recent tax card will suffice): $20,000 (@$10,000 per acre) II. Abstract 1. A clear summary statement of the property’s significance and degree of integrity in two to three sentences. Why are you proposing designation for this property? This historic African American Cemetery is significant primarily because of the number of historically significant African Americans, including State Senator William Lee Person and Town Councilman Peter Darden, buried there, and because in many cases it represents the only remaining landmark associated with these African American founders of the modern urbanized Rocky Mount township. The tree canopy creates an atmosphere of quiet and seclusion and the overall layout and design of the cemetery remain intact - original road and plot survey stakes, family plots with concrete curbing, and commercial grade marble and granite mounuments. Even though some of the monuments are broken and on the ground, the adjacent cemetery parcels on the north and south boundaries, and Cow Lick Creek on the west, assure the Displaced Cemetery’s integrity and feeling of place. 2. A concise statement of what buildings and portion of land are to be included in the designation. Is it all of the legal parcel(s) historically and currently associated with the building)s) or only a portion? The land area included should be, at minimum, that which is historically associated with and which continues to provide historic context for the building(s) for which designation is proposed. The Displaced Cemetery property is legally described in Edgecombe County Deed Book 167, Page 583 (see Figure 1) and being the exact same property shown on an unrecorded John J. Wells survey map dated November 30th 1915 entitled “Negro Cemetery Addition” (See Maps and Site Plan). In recent times the Edgecombe County tax department consolidated the Northeastern Cemetery GIS tax parcel map (a portion of the City’s R H Moore Farm property described in Deed Book 395, Page 455, which was designated by the City for cemetery use but never surveyed or subdivided) with the Displaced Cemetery property described in Deed Book 167, Page 583 - Edgecombe County PIN #38601228530. To be clear, this Edgecombe 4  County consolidated tax parcel map does not constitute a recombination plat of City property. This tax map simply contains a clerical error, easily corrected with the addition of the northern boundary line coordinates of The Displaced Cemetery as established by the City’s 2022 SEPI Survey. [Proximate to this cemetery, the Unity Cemetery Restoration and Preservation Project is developing a draft Local Landmark Report for “Unity Cemetery Complex”, but thus far the Project has been unable to establish ownership of the property in order to meet the Local Landmark requirement of owner notification.] 3. Maps and Site Plan 1915 John J. Wells’ Boundary Survey (the original cemetery plot layout for this cemetery boundary map was held in City Manager’s Office until at least 1935)18 18 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 342 p. 172 5  Screenshot of October 20, 2022 Final SEPI Survey of The Displaced Cemetery19 The Sepi Survey does not include The Displaced Cemetery within the boundary of Unity Cemetery Complex. On the map below the blue hatching overlay indicates the location of The Displaced Cemetery. The orange hatching overlay indicates the location of Union Cemetery. And the area with no hatching indicates the location of Unity Cemetery and Unity Cemetery Extension. 19 Final signed SEPI Survey map held by Renee Moore, City of Rocky Mount’s Paralegal, and photographed by Hap Turner 6 Area Map showing relative locations of Unity Cemetery, The Displaced Cemetery and Northeastern Cemetery . See My Map Google here: THE DISPLACED CEMETERY (PIN) #38601228530 : The Displaced Cemetery - Deed Book167/Page583 7 III. Historic Background 1. A narrative of the property’s history that focuses on points relevant to the significance and integrity criteria. A chain of title should not be included unless you are claiming that the property is significant for its association with a historically significant person – and then only those deeds directly related to that person. To understand the history of the Displaced Cemetery, Rocky Mount’s second municipal African American Cemetery, one must understand the history of Rocky Mount’s original municipal African American Cemetery and the people who established the first cemetery, but were buried in the second. In the 1890s, the Town of Rocky Mount and the people living there were in the midst of great change. Federal Reconstruction had done much to redefine the relationship between whites and former slaves. Even in the midst of great opposition, African Americans were experiencing the positive effects of the efforts of Federal Reconstruction efforts.20 The African American vote meant the Black community held considerable sway not only in the Republican Party, but also in national and local politics.21 African American Schools were educating more community members.22 Black entrepreneurship was growing.23 Fusion politics, allying the biracial Republican party and the Progressive or People’s party, was proving successful 24and Black representation in the Second district was at a zenith.25 Rocky Mount was not excepted from the successes garnered in this era. One of these achievements resulted in Rocky Mount’s first African American municipal Cemetery. In 1890, politically and locally prominent African Americans W. Lee Person, Thomas Weston and Peter Darden were appointed by the Rocky Mount Town Board of Commissioners to a biracial Cemetery Committee to establish the city’s first publicly owned cemetery26. And on May 11th, 1892, the city purchased two acres of land,27 abutting Pineview Cemetery, for a public “colored burying ground”. 28 The city sold one-half acre of the two acre parcel to the Cedar Hill Cemetery Association for use as a private cemetery,29 and retained the remainder of the parcel for public cemetery use. 20 Edmonds, The Negro and Fusion Politics in North Carolina 21 Eric Anderson, Race and Politics in North Carolina, 1872-1901: The Black Second (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1981),Benjamin R. Justesen, George Henry White: An Even Chance in the Race of Life (LSU Press, 2001). 22 “Mount Pisgah church dedicated,” Synod of Catawba Argus 6, no. 2 (July 1962)4.;“Local Dots,” The Phoenix, June 14, 1894, 3.;“Mrs. Cara Bunn Sessoms, one of Rocky Mount’s oldest citizens, tells about early schools here,” Rocky Mount Telegram, June 29, 1958, 11. 23 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book: 86 Pg 436; Nash County Register of Deeds, Deed Book: 91 Pg 484;The Gazette (Raleigh, North Carolina) Sat, Dec 5, 1896 Pg3, Sat, Aug 14, 1897 Pg 2, Sat, Feb 13 1897 Pg 2; Frank W Davis, Sr Papers, Manuscript Collection, Joyner Library ECU (see A.F. &A.M. Grand Lodge Meeting annual reports 1893-1900. 24 Edmonds, The Negro and Fusion Politics in North Carolina 25 Eric Anderson, Race and Politics in North Carolina, 1872-1901: The Black Second (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1981) 26 Minutes of the Town Board of Commissioners Meeting, November 4,1890. 27 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, DB 76/Page306 28 Minutes of the Town Board of Commissioners Meeting January 28, 1892. 29 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book :89/Page 372; Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, 8  30 Until 1915, the City of Rocky Mount owned and sold burial lots in both the all white Pineview cemetery and the municipal African American Cemetery.31 These two cemeteries were adjacent to each other, separated only by Pineview Street.32 By 1915 though, much had changed in Rocky Mount and in North Carolina. The Fusion period had ended and Disenfranchisement was destroying the gains in power previously realized by the Black community. 33 Progress for whites, however, continued and development plans, characteristically for this era, ignored, or even worse, displaced Black interests. In 1915, a large area of undeveloped property situated west of both the all white Pineview cemetery and the municipal African American cemetery was targeted for white only suburban development, including a new $50,000 grade school,34and the white only Edgemont and Edgemont Terrace Subdivisions.35 On December 2nd, 1915, twenty three years after the city had established its first municipal African American Cemetery, the Board of Aldermen ordered all the sold but unused burial lots in the “Old Colored Cemetery '' confiscated.36 The Aldermen then ordered that no more burials be allowed in the “Old Colored Cemetery.” Prior to confiscating the lots, the Board had given the Mayor and the City’s now all white Cemetery Committee the power to secure land near Unity Cemetery for a “New Colored Cemetery”.37 They located and surveyed a two-acre boundary of property north of Union Cemetery which was adjacent to Union Cemetery. Surveyor John J Wells drew a cemetery plot map and staked the layout on the ground.38 The property was purchased and then conveyed to the City on December 7, 1915.39 On motion the action to establish the “New Colored Cemetery” was ratified.40 In April of 1916, four months later and after protest from African Americans whose property had been seized without due process of law, the Board of Aldermen “Resolved that the Mayor and the Chief of Police be authorized to set apart lots in the new colored cemetery to the parties holding lots from the City in the old colored cemetery”.41 30 Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, December 2, 1915.; Resolution statement, Records of Board of Aldermen Meeting , April 6, 1916; Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, April 6, 1916. 31 Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, December 2, 1915. 32 Minutes of the Town Board of Commissioners Meeting, January 28, 1892. 33 North Carolina General Assembly, Chapter 188 p 524 of the Private Laws of 1899 and Chapter 380 p 923 of the Private Laws of 1901 https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p249901coll22/id/210222 34 Rocky Mount Telegram (Rocky Mount, North Carolina) ·7 Apr 1917, Sat · Page 6. 35 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Map Book 1, Page 86.; Map Book 1, Page 55. 36 Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting December 2, 1915 37 Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting October 21, 1915 and November 18, 1915 38 Jno. J. Wells’ unrecorded November 30, 1915 “Negro Cemetery Addition” map 39 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, DB:167/ Pg 583 40 Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting December 2, 1915. 41 Resolution statement, Records of Board of Aldermen Meeting , April 6, 1916; Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, April 6, 1916 9  The history of these two cemeteries illustrate and preserve the important history of the losses to the African American community in the Post Fusion era. It demonstrates those changes that occurred between the last decade of the 19th century, when the city appointed a biracial committee to locate and establish the first city owned African-American cemetery, and the first decades of the twentieth century, after Disenfranchisement when African-American interests are only superficially served. The Displaced Cemetery and the African Americans buried there stand in testament to a promising, but unfulfilled, time in history that our state is increasingly acknowledging and celebrating.The Displaced Cemetery is a symbol, an historical marker of the change of fortune and reduced representation and opportunity experienced by Rocky Mount’s African American community after Disenfranchisement. Three exceptionally active figures in Rocky Mount’s political, social, and economic development during the Fusion Period are interred in The Displaced Cemetery, W. Lee Person, Frank W. Davis, and Peter Darden. William Lee Person was a major historical figure at the state, national and local levels.42 He was appointed Postmaster of Rocky Mount by the Benjamin Harrison administration, serving between 1890-1893.43 Later in November of 1896, Person was elected Senator to North Carolina’s Fusion legislature. One of his most significant accomplishments while serving in the Senate was enactment of the Bill he introduced entitled “An act to amend the charter of Rocky Mount ''.44 The Act, ratified on March 5th, 1897, protected the ballot box and enabled the popular democratic election of the Mayor and Town Commissioners in Rocky Mount. Two months later, as a direct result of the amended Charter, Peter Darden was elected and served as Rocky Mount’s first African American Town Council member.45 Senator Person was an excellent campaign speaker. He gave speeches across the country and became well known as a politician and a race conscious civil rights activist. 46 He would maintain lifelong strong connections to the National Republican Party leadership.47 By 1898 he had also become a major target of Josephus Daniels and the Democratic Party’s white supremacy campaign.48 Like other Black and Fusion politicians, his political career locally ended, but he continued for a decade to fight at 42 An Infamous Outrager,” Wilson Advance, April 3, 1890, 2; see, also Anderson, Race and Politics in North Carolina, 1872-1901, 228–29 (discussing Person’s close support of Henry P. Cheatham in 1896) 43 Political Notes,” Staunton Vindicator, May 16, 1890, 2.; Benjamin R. Justesen, “Black Tip, White Iceberg: Black Postmasters and the Rise of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1897-1901,” The North Carolina Historical Review 82, no. 2 (2005): 212. 44 Private laws of the state of North Carolina passed by the General Assembly at its session of 1897, Chapter148, Page 278-279 45 Stephen W. Raper, “Breaking the Color Barrier: Early African-American Town Commissioners in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, 1897-1903,” City of Rocky Mount NC, March 2011. 46 Hap Turner, “A Brief Sketch of Senator William Lee Person’s life and the White Supremacist conspiracy to destroy his work and his memory. 47 Weeks S. Armstrong, “Rocky Mount Grits,” The Gazette, November 28, 1896, 3.;“Political Notes,” Staunton Vindicator, May 16, 1890, 2.; “Hickory Negro speaker in deal with G.O.P. leaders,” The Lincoln County News, October 25, 1920, 1. 48 Lee Person,” The Charlotte Observer, September 20, 1898, 2; William Lee Person, “Democratic papers will not correct,” The Caucasian, October 6, 1898, 1.; H.E.C. Bryant, “North Carolina Newspapering,” The News and Observer, August 10, 1930, 7.; Daniels, Editor in Politics, 253, 622. 10  the State level for an African-American arm of the Republican Party, vigorously opposing North Carolina’s Lily White Republican Party movement.49And he continued making campaign speeches for the National Republican party in other States where African-American were not Disenfranchised.50 Peter Darden, in addition to serving two terms on the Town Council, was a master carpenter (contracting jobs with the City)51 and a prominent businessman in Rocky Mount’s Fusion Period.52 He also founded the first two African-American Baptist Churches in Rocky Mount.53 Frank W Davis partnered with Tom Weston in a very successful dray business and he invested heavily in profitable real estate ventures in and around Rocky Mount.Davis, Weston and Darden were close friends, all serving as Deacons at Saint James Baptist Church.54 In 1893 and 1894, these men, acting as Trustees for the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, purchased the Odom Livery Stable, near the corner of Tarboro and Washington Street for $5,500, a single horse dray wagon and harness, and a white mare, all from John D. Odom. This Odd Fellows tobacco transport business appears to be the first cooperative African American business venture in Rocky Mount.55 Two other examples of important Rocky Mount historical figures buried here are Tom Weston and Rena Person. Thomas Weston is buried here beside his wife Lucinda. He served on the 1890 biracial Cemetery Committee alongside W. Lee Person, and was a leading drayman during the Fusion Period.56 Rena J. Person, Senator Person’s wife, was a founder of the Fusion Period Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church,57 and was active in the day to day operation of the Rocky Mount Post Office.58 She also helped establish the Logan High School for African-Americans built on Mount Pisgah Church property.59 She taught at this schoolhouse from its inception in 1893 and was employed throughout her life as a teacher and a nurse.60 The earliest dated monument discovered in the “New Colored Cemetery” is 1915 and the latest is 1981. At least 21 people were buried in this historic cemetery. In many cases, their graves and thus the cemetery represent the only remaining landmark associated with the African American founders of the modern urbanized Rocky Mount 49 The North Carolinian (Raleigh, North Carolina) · 23 Oct 1902, Thu · Page 4 50 Ibid. 51 Minutes of the Town Board of Commissioners Meeting, June 4th 1898. 52 Stephen W. Raper, “Breaking the Color Barrier: Early African-American Town Commissioners in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, 1897-1903,” City of Rocky Mount NC, March 2011. 53 Ibid., Exhibit No. 1, B. 54 Who’s Who Among North Carolina Negro Baptists, with a Brief History of Negro Baptist Organizations, by M. S. Williams and George W. Watkins, 1940 Pg 244. 55 Ibid.; Rocky Mount Telegram (Rocky Mount, North Carolina) ·7 Nov 1954, Sun · Page 36 23 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book: 86 Pg 436.; Nash County Register of Deeds, Deed Book: 91 Pg 484. 56 Minutes of the Town Board of Commissioners Meeting November 4,1890.; Stephen W Raper, Early African-American cemeteries in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, 2011, Exhibit No.1, D. 57 “Mount Pisgah Church Dedicated,” 4. 58 Quay Wimberly Whitlock, interview by the author, January 9, 2023. 59 Local Dots,” The Phoenix, June 14, 1894, 3. 60 Mrs. Cara Bunn Sessoms, one of Rocky Mount’s oldest citizens, tells about early schools here,” Rocky Mount Telegram, June 29, 1958, 11.; Edgecombe County Death Certificate Book-1936, Page 445 11  township. [ In 1949, thirty four years after establishing the Displaced Cemetery , the city established a third municipal African American cemetery.61 Northeastern Cemetery lies adjacent to the DIsplaced Cemetery. Its history and origin are distinct from the Displaced Cemetery.] 2. Date(s) of original construction (use “circa” and a year if the exact year is unknown). The report may need a chain of title to help prove or substantiate the original construction date. In 1915 The Displaced Cemetery was subdivided as a cemetery parcel from the R H Moore farm parent tract, close to city limits and bordering the northeast quadrant of town. John J. Wells surveyed the two-acre property for the City and prepared two separate maps, both dated November 30, 1915. The first was a boundary map, and the second a map dividing the two-acre property into burial plots and roads, which Wells staked in the field.62 The property was transferred to the City on December 7, 1915. Interments date from 1915 to 1981. 3. Date(s) of all additions and/or alterations (use “circa” and a year if the exact year is unknown) Not Applicable IV. Assessment 1. A full description of the property’s historical, prehistorical, architectural, and/or cultural importance (significance) for one or more of the following specific reasons: a. its association with a historic event: The Displaced Cemetery is historically significant first because of the historical figures interred there. Not only is it the burial site of Senator W. Lee Person, Peter Darden and Thomas Weston, it is the primary burial site of the modern city of Rocky Mount’s African American forefathers. The history of these men and women is not well known, because it is not often told. This Landmark will offer the venue to tell this history. 61 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book:395 Pg 455. 62 Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Deed Book 342 p. 172. 12  Many of the person’s interred in the Displaced Cemetery were active investors of time and money in Rocky Mount’s largest Fusion Period Development, and many were prominent leaders of the African American community both before and after the White Supremacy movement that ended the Fusion era. Honoring their place of rest and telling their stories will bring to light this significant part of the city's cultural heritage. The Displaced Cemetery is also significant because of its unique history, serving as it does in testament to the first Fusion Era municipal African American cemetery and a time of collaboration and great potential. The history of the two cemeteries illustrate the significant difference between Rocky Mount’s Fusion decade and the aftermath of the White Supremacy movement’s success. It also helps tell the history of directed opportunity in Rocky Mount. Today citizens often struggle to understand the vehicles of history that resulted in present day realities. This landscape is significant in its ability to instruct and lift up citizens to what is possible. The Displaced Cemetery is significant culturally because it is the resting place of many of the African American forefathers of modern Rocky Mount. It is historically significant because of the prominent persons buried there, and because of its association with significant historical movements. It is also significant because of the insight it provides into 1890-1920 Rocky Mount. Finally, it is significant because its own history and the histories of those who rest there are histories, in general, not known. It therefore significantly contributes to the historical record. 1. 1915 - Oscar Baker 2. 1917 - John F. Batts 3. 1917 - I.V.A. Pittman 4. 1918 - Kizzie Davis 5. 1918 - Gertrude Mack 6. 1918 - Horace Bryant 7. 1918 - Anna Kent 8. 1922 - Peter Darden - 1890 Cemetery Committee Member 9. 1931 - Edna Darden 10.1931 - Thomas Weston - 1890 Cemetery Committee Member 11. 1931 - Lucinda Weston 12. 1932 - Cary Bunn 13. 1935 - Virgil Staton 13  14. 1936 - Rena J Person 15. 1936 - Leo Vick 16. 1939 - Jack G Parker 17. 1943 - Martha Staton Sumpter 18. 1948 - Frank W Davis 19. 1952 - W. Lee Person - 1890 Cemetery Committee Member 20. 1962 -Mary Ann Battle 21. 1981 - Hattie Jones c. its architectural style or its type of construction or engineering: Not Applicable d. its archaeological potential: The archaeological potential of this site, as with most neglected and abandoned African-American cemeteries, is high. 2. A complete architectural description of the property. For architecturally significant properties, the description should focus on the elements that define the building’s design. For report preparers, commissions, or staff who are unfamiliar with this kind of technical writing, an outline for an architectural description may be found at https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/historic-preservation office/CLG/ArchitecturalDescriptionTemplate.pdf Not Applicable 3. A description of any elements that contribute to the property’s archaeological significance. A brief archaeological comment should be included in every report. If no known archaeological features are present at the current time, a statement to that effect will Suffice. Archaeological features may be an important element of the significance of the cemetery. Cemetery features documented as having information potential include: the location and grouping of graves, the use and quantity of commercial markers, and the lack of handmade markers. A minimum of five John J Well’s plot layout stakes, set in the field in 1915, represent the opportunity to recreate the plot map described in the City’s Deed to Frank W Davis et. al., but not recorded with (or later removed from) the Deed found in Deed Book 342 p.172. Most, if not all the 19 monuments currently discovered and documented represent important Fusion Period political and economic leaders and early prominent African-American families. 14  4. A complete and thorough evaluation of the property’s integrity of design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling, and association, fully accounting for all alterations and changes to the property, including those which detract from or do not contribute to the property’s significance. Not Applicable 5. A justification of the proposed boundaries of the designation. The proposed boundaries of the local historic landmark follow the legal boundaries of the property described in a deed of conveyance from R H Moore and Pattie Lyon Moore, his wife, to the City of Rocky Mount, recorded in Edgecombe County deed Book 167, Page 583. V. Supporting documentation 1. Digital photographs that clearly show the overall property in its current condition See Figures 2-8, pages 19-26 a. At least 1 digital photograph of each elevation, to the extent they are visible or accessible; if an elevation is not visible, the report must explain why. b. At least 1 digital photograph of each interior feature proposed for designation; if interior features are not to be designated, photographs of interior spaces are encouraged for documentary purposes but are not required. c. Supporting photographs that illustrate architectural features, spatial relationships, orientation, size, scale, and texture, or which otherwise illustrate context d. Digital photographs should be submitted to the Local Government Program Coordinator via Drop Box or saved to a cd or flash drive and mailed. 2. A sketch floor plan of the building(s). It does not have to be of “draftsman quality” or exactly to scale, but should clearly show arrangement of spaces and their relationship to one another. Floor plans may be drawn by hand with a ruler and legible printing or may be created with graphics or drafting software. 3. A site plan (preferably but not necessarily drawn to scale) showing: a. the property’s location 15 b. location of primary structures c. location of all outbuildings and appurtenant features (e.g., a well) d. major landscape and hardscape features such as large, ancient trees, driveways, and walkways e. the boundaries of the proposed designation. 4. Plat or tax map, including the tax appraised value of the property. 5. Any other information the local governing board deems necessary. VI. Bibliography/Source Citations Note: If the property has been listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places, the National Register nomination might serve as the substance of the local designation report, either verbatim or reformatted to meet the report guidelines set forth by the local commission (including a cover form required by the commission). If the property boundaries for the local designation are different from those for the National Register nomination or if there have been physical changes to the property since the nomination was written, the nomination may substantively serve as the designation report as long as an explanation of the different boundary and physical changes to the property are incorporated in the report. The usefulness of a nomination depends on when the property was listed and the amount and quality of information in the nomination. Nominations written prior to ca. 2015 may need to be augmented for the architectural description and/or the significance section of the designation report. Bibliography Anderson, Eric. 1981. Race and Politics in North Carolina, 1872-1901: The Black Second. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. Daniels, Josephus. 2012. Editor in Politics. UNC Press Books. Edmonds, Helen G. 1951. The Negro and Fusion Politics in North Carolina, 1894-1901. New York: Russell & Russell, ,” UNC Libraries, accessed February 11, 2023. Hunter, Charles N. and Race Relations in North Carolina | John H. Haley.” n.d. University of North Carolina Press. Accessed February 11, 2023. Hanchett TW. 1998. Sorting Out the New South City : Race, Class, and Urban Development in Charlotte, 1875-1975. The University of North Carolina Press. Johnson, Edward A and W.H. Ferguson. 1899. History of Negro Soldiers in the Spanish-American War :And Other Items of Interest [Publisher's sample book] ed. Cincinnati Ohio: W.H. Ferguson Company. Johnson, Edward A and Grafton Press. 1904. Light Ahead for the Negro. New York 16  Grafton Press. Knight, C. Rudolph., and Lawrence W. S Auld.,2013. African American Heritage Guide.,Tarboro, Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County. Tarboro, N.C.: Perry-Weston Historical Institute. Logan, Rayford Whittingham. The Betrayal of the Negro, from Rutherford B. Hayes to Woodrow Wilson / New York :: Da Capo Press,. Prather, H. Leon. 1979. Resurgent Politics and Educational Progressivism in the New South, North Carolina, 1890-1913. Rutherford, N.J: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. Thorne, Jack. 1907. Eagle Clippings. Brooklyn, N.Y., David B. Fulton, Publisher. Who’s Who Among North Carolina Negro Baptists, with a Brief History of Negro Baptist Organizations, by M. S. Williams and George W. Watkins, 1940 ARTICLES AND JOURNALS Huggins, Kay Haire. “City Planning in North Carolina, 1900-1929.” The North Carolina Historical Review 46, no. 4 (1969): 377–97. Synod of Catawba Argus 6, no. 2 (July 1962) Benjamin R. Justesen, “Black Tip, White Iceberg: Black Postmasters and the Rise of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1897-1901,” The North Carolina Historical Review 82, no. 2 (2005): 212. Raper, Stephen W., Breaking the Color Barrier: Early African-American Town Commissioners in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, 1897-1903, City of Rocky Mount NC, March 2011. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTS North Carolina General Assembly, Chapter 101 of the Private Laws of 1897, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p249901coll22/id/210222 Minutes of the Town Board of Commissioners Meeting November 4,1890. Minutes of the Town Board of Commissioners Meeting, June 4th 1898. Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting December 2, 1915. Resolution statement, Records of Board of Aldermen Meeting, April 6, 1916; Minutes of the Board of Aldermen Meeting, April 6, 1916. Nash County Register of Deeds: Deeds and Mortgages Edgecombe County Register of Deeds: Deeds and Mortgages Map Books Standard Death Certificate Books 17 NEWSPAPERS Wilson Advance, Staunton Vindicator. Raleigh Gazette The Lincoln County News The Charlotte Observer The Caucasian, Raleigh News and Observer The North Carolinian (Raleigh, North Carolina) UNPUBLISHED MONOGRAPHS Raper, Stephen W., Early African-American Cemeteries in Rocky Mounrt, NC. Turner, Hap., A Brief History of African-American Cemeteries Owned by the City of Rocky Mount. INTERVIEWS Hap Turner telephone interview with Quay Wimberly Whitlock conducted Jan. 9, 2023. Hap Turner telephone interview with Rose Foxx Hunter conducted Jan. 15, 2023. APPLICANT AND CONTACT PERSON INFORMATION Name: Unity Cemetery Preservation Project Prepared By: Hap Turner, Heritage Research Consultant Telephone: 828-284-3108 Address: 106 Cameron Glen Dr Chapel Hill NC, 27516 Signature: Hap Turner_____________________________Date: 6/12/2023 SUBMITTAL. Please send completed reports to: Kristi.brantley@ncdcr.gov Or Local Government Program Attn: Local Landmarks Reports North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office 4617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-461 18 Figure 1. Screenshot of Edgecombe County Deed Book 167 Page 583 19 All photos taken by Hap Turner Figure 2. Northeast Corner - Recently discovered Oscar Baker monument. 20 Figure 3. North Boundary line facing West - John J. Wells plot plan stake in foreground. 21 Figure4.NorthwestCorner lookingSouth 22 Figure 5 -West Boundary Line Facing South - 2022 SEPI Survey stake in the distance 23 Figure 6. Cary Bunn monument along West Boundary Line 24 Figure 7. Southwest Corner Looking North 25 Figure 8. Facing East, Thomas and Lucinda Weston Double Monument in Upper right of photo 26 Mary Ann Battle Vault - John J. Wells plot plan stake in foreground. See proposed Local Landmark GIS information here: THE DISPLACED CEMETERY 27 Cemetery– Properties Notified 5.1b GENERAL COMMISSION REVIEW  ATTENTION: The next regular meeting of the City of Rocky Mount Historic Preservation Commission is scheduled for Tuesday, July 25 at 6pm City Hall.