ARCHAEOLOGY

The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office staff utilized an early nineteenth century archaeological site near Kenansville as a training site for Soil Conservation Service personnel in 1990. Over 200 prehistoric and historic archaeological sites have been recorded in the Historic Preservation Office's inventory for Duplin County.

ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY

Faison and Warsaw were surveyed under the guidance of the Historic Preservation Office in the early 1980s. In 1992 to 1994, the rest of the county was comprehensively surveyed with the assistance of a federal matching grant. This was a cooperative local-state project accomplished with grants and staff assistance from the Historic Preservation Office.

GRANTS

Preservation-related grant projects in Duplin County include an architectural survey of the county ($33,000 in federal grants) and a survey publication for the town of Faison. Restoration efforts at the L.P. Best House in Warsaw and the Pearsall House in Kenansville also received grant assistance. A total of $110,500 in state appropriations has assisted preservation work in the county.

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Nine individual properties and four historic districts are listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Duplin County. They include the Robert Dickson Farm near Magnolia, Buckner Hill House near Faison, Needham Whitfield Herring House (Kenansville vicinity), the I.M. Powers House (Wallace vicinity), Waterloo (Grady House) near Albertson, and historic districts in Faison, Kenansville, Wallace, and Warsaw.

LOCAL PRESERVATION COMMISSIONS

The Historic Preservation Office assisted in the establishment of the Warsaw Historic Preservation Commission in 1998.

PRESERVATION TAX CREDITS

Income-producing tax credit projects at the Needham Whitfield Herring House in Kenansville and the Margolis Building in Wallace have been completed at a total construction investment of $427,000; two additional projects are currently undergoing renovation. One residential renovation is 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 tax credit projects.

PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PUBLICATIONS

The Historic Preservation Office assisted in the preparation of The Historic Architecture of Faison, North Carolina, which was published in 1995. A publication of the county-wide survey is anticipated in 2000. Staff worked with local groups to save the L. P. Best House in Warsaw as offices and a local museum.

RESTORATION

The Historic Preservation Office has provided technical restoration assistance to many projects throughout the county such as the Duplin County Courthouse and Pearsall House in Kenansville, the L.P. Best House in Warsaw, the Magnolia Freight Depot, and the Stanford School.