The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office worked with the Historic Burke Foundation to coordinate archaeological excavations at Quaker Meadows and administered an archaeological survey of the Catawba River floodplain in conjunction with the city of Morganton. Over 350 prehistoric and historic archaeology sites are known in the county.
Burke County sponsored a comprehensive survey of architectural resources funded in part by a federal grant. The city of Morganton was likewise supported in a municipal survey. The results were published in 1987. These surveys were cooperative local-state projects accomplished with grants and staff assistance from the Historic Preservation Office.
Federal grants totaling $72,900 and state funds totaling $346,000 have been awarded to projects within the county. Major projects have included the Burke County Courthouse, Quaker Meadows, the Valdese Rock School House, the North Colony Building at Broughton Hospital, Catawba River archaeology, and the Burke County survey.
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Thirty-five Burke County listings in the National Register of Historic Places include seven historic districts in Morganton. The state-owned Broughton Hospital and the North Carolina School for the Deaf are among the National Register historic districts.
LOCAL PRESERVATION COMMISSIONS
The Historic Preservation Office has reviewed and offered advisory comment on reports for eighteen local landmarks designated by the Morganton Historic Properties Commission. The city of Morganton is a Certified Local Government. In 1997 the Historic Preservation Office awarded a Certified Local Government grant to Morganton for the development of comprehensive design guidelines for the city.
The building at 114 W. Union Street, an income-producing tax credit project in Morganton, has been completed at a total construction investment of $45,000. The Premiere Hosiery Mill in Morganton is currently undergoing renovation. Two residential renovation projects are underway to utilize the new state tax credit for non-income-producing historic structures. The Historic Preservation Office reviews and provides restoration technical services for all preservation tax credit projects.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PUBLICATIONS
The Historic Preservation Office assisted Burke County in publishing the results of the architectural survey in Historic Burke: An Architectural Inventory of Burke County, North Carolina in 1987, which received the Antoinette Forrester Downing Award from the Society of Architectural Historians.
In addition to technical assistance to grant-supported projects such as the Quaker Meadows and Burke County Courthouse restorations, Historic Preservation office staff has provided advsory assistance to numerous other restoration projects including Grace Episcopal Church, Waldensian Presbyterian Church, the Cedars, Broughton Hospital, and the North Carolina School for the Deaf. Staff has also advised various projects in the downtown commercial district in co-operation with the Morganton Main Street Office, and assisted projects in the Jonesboro Historic District, a historic African-American residential neighborhood, in cooperation with the Historic Burke Foundation.