Survey and Planning Branch
Claudia R. Brown, Branch Supervisor
Survey and Planning Branch
Claudia R. Brown, Branch Supervisor
The Survey and Planning Branch of the State Historic Preservation Office coordinates or participates in five major program areas related to the preservation of historic structures in North Carolina: (1) the statewide historic building survey, (2) the National Register of Historic Places program, (3) environmental review of state and federal projects that affect historic structures, (4) local historic preservation commissions, including the Certified Local Government program, and (5) public information and assistance.The branch includes staff in Raleigh, Greenville, and Asheville.
Claudia R. Brown, who served as Branch Supervisor between 1992 and 2003, resumed those duties again on April 1, 2006.
Since the mid-1970s, over half of the state's 100 counties have participated in comprehensive historic building surveys, and twenty-seven counties have joined in regional reconnaissance surveys. Sixty-two municipalities have conducted surveys independently of their surrounding counties. Most surveys are conducted by trained consultants working through the section's federal grant program to local governments, and are supervised by Claudia Brown and Jessica Dockery, National Register and Survey Specialist in the Raleigh office. Scott Power and John Wood in the Archives and History Eastern Office in Greenville and Rebecca Johnson in the Archives and History Western Office in Asheville supervise projects in their respective regions. Over forty county surveys and twenty-nine municipal surveys have been published. (Click here for a list of survey publications). The Survey and Planning Branch is the repository of historic buildings survey records, and maintains files on an estimated 100,000 historic buildings, with over 2,000 files typically added to the collection annually.
The National Register of Historic Places is the nation's official list of buildings, sites, objects, and districts that warrant special preservation consideration in public planning. The National Register Coordinator and other staff edit and process an average of sixty National Register nominations annually, most of which are prepared by private consultants engaged by local governments, private institutions, or private property owners. North Carolina now has over 2,500 listings in the National Register, of which over 300 are historic districts that may encompass hundreds of historic buildings. The National Register Coordinator is Ann Swallow, with Jessica Dockery also taking part in reviews of nominations. Jannette Coleridge-Taylor is the National Register Assistant. Field office staff conduct preliminary reviews of nominations within their respective regions.
Staff participates in the Environmental Review program and reviews more than 2,000 state and federal undertakings annually to assess their impacts on historic resources and to initiate mitigation procedures when a public action affects historic properties.
North Carolina has over 80 historic preservation commissions established by local governments under state enabling legislation to designate and monitor historic properties locally. Staff assists the Preservation Commission Services/Certified Local Government Coordinator in helping local governments in establish preservation commissions, advising commissions on operations and procedures required by law, reviewing local landmark and designation reports, and administering the state's Certified Local Government program.All staff members respond to public inquiries concerning historic properties in North Carolina and several offer lectures on historic preservation and architectural history topics. Staff is assisted by Chandrea Burch, photo/file room archivist, Anna Grantham, file room assistant, and Bill Garrett, photographer assigned to the Technical Services Branch of the Archives and Records Section.
Mailing Address:
Survey and Planning Branch
State Historic Preservation Office
NC Office of Archives and History
4617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh NC 27699-4617
Fax: 919-807-6599
Fed Ex/UPS Address:
109 E. Jones St.
Raleigh NC 27601
File Room Telephone: 919-807-7286
Offices of the Survey and Planning Branch are located on the second floor (east side) of the Archives/State Library Building at 109 E. Jones St., Raleigh, 27601. The File Room is temporarily located at 120 E. Peace St. (SW corner of Peace and N. Blount) while the Archives & History building is undergoing renovations. Visitors are encouraged to call in advance to ensure that staff will be available to provide assistance. See the new Visitation Policy effective April 1, 2001.N.C. State Historic Preservation Office Home Page
Office of Archives and History Home Page
