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Author and historian Ernest Dollar rightly refers to the Pugh House, pictured above, as "Morrisville's most visible landmark." At present, our most visible landmark, relocated in January 2008 to make way for improvements to the intersection that was it's former home, is in need of significant repair.
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"Significant" in this case equates to $270,000 for scraping, painting, wood repair, window replacement, landscaping, roof & gutter repair and interior work. Even in times of plenty, that's a lot of tax payer dollars. Your 'Tis blogger has an idea and is organizing a volunteer led effort, with support from Morrisville staff, to begin the work of restoring the Pugh House to landmark status. We'll do what can safely be done by volunteers..... some wood repair, some painting, some landscaping. We'll seek donations of materials and funds and generally do what we can to keep the town's shrinking coffers intact. Interested in helping? Stay tuned. Especially needed are those with experience in carpentry, woodworking, landscaping and painting. But there will be opportunities for all who are interested.And a note: in researching recent Pugh House history, I ran across a Cary News article from last June. Sadly, four months after the article was published, Billy Hartness, 40 year resident of the Pugh house prior to it's relocation, passed away on October 14, 2008.
what a great idea for community involvement! In this time of budget cutting, leveraging volunteer labor and community interest seems to be a perfect fit. Great idea and I'll help
ReplyDeleteThe Pugh House the cornerstone of what Morrisville could be. Rather than being another burb of the Triangle with chain stores and cookiecutter houses, why not invest in the past. Morrisville has never had any tourism industry because no one has really looked or recorded the town's past. Saving unique places and promoting the town's history could really relieve the burden on residents by bringing in tourist dollars. The town is perfectly situated on I-40 and adjacent to the airport that it could really draw a great number of people by offering heritage tourists something to see and do. The key to this is the Pugh House and the Civil War battlefield in town. Together with the Christian Church, Morrisville begins to create a historic community that begins to rival Carrboro for authenticity, uniqueness, and desirability. Saving and utilizing the Pugh House is a great first step to giving people a reason to come to Morrisville rather than just getting stuck in Morrisville.
ReplyDeleteErnest Dollar
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ReplyDelete4/23/09 update - Morrisville staff has completed some landscape prep and now begins the volunteer efforts. A group from Morrisville based Lenovo will arrive this morning to continue planting and landscaping. Many thanks to staff and Lenovo.
ReplyDeletewow - I had no idea that the previous owner died in Oct 08. Each time I pass the intersection, I think about him and often wondered how he is doing. What's going to happen to the new house that was built for him?
ReplyDeleteA for the Pugh house, I often wondered why the progress was moving so slow - now I know!!
I think everyone that sets at the light in traffic gazes over to that house (and the intersection) and wonders why the renovation is moving so slow. I think if more people were aware that the renovation project for the Pugh house was being done by volunteered services - more people would offer their services and materials.
What about a website for the house - example -> www.pughhouse.com?? Maybe one could itemize (create a honey-dew list) of what's needs to be completed, what has been completed, and what's pending (per the renovations); as well as those already provided with the donors name and/or business. Maybe the site URL could be displayed on a sign near the house - to promote awareness. I think a lot of people will visit the URL, just to see what it's all about; and possibly identify services they may be able to offer or know someone (or business) that can.
EXCELLENT idea to create a website for public awareness and updates, Patti. Any takers on designing/maintaining a Pugh House website?
ReplyDeleteIn preparation for the Pugh house move, and the destruction of the Penny Hotel being, I was contracted by the town of Morrisville to document each house. I created floor plans, photographs, measurements, and a history of Pugh and his family. If we can get permission from the town to use the research it a web site.
ReplyDeleteErnest, Your floor plans, photos and history would make great additions to a Pugh House website!
ReplyDeleteAny ideas for a webmaster?