Well, in 2015, the Town of Edenton cited the property as being a “public nuisance” and that the “nuisance is currently being abated.” [See photos]

What is meant by public nuisance?

• Nuisance is a legal remedy, and is defined as the unreasonable and unlawful interference with the enjoyment of the property of another. 

• “Nuisance is based on the absolute right to exclusive possession of land – including the surface, the area below, and the air above your property. Unlike trespass, no physical invasion of your property is necessary to establish a nuisance. In fact, the disturbance to enjoyment” can be noises or odors.
• “A public nuisance is one that affects a large group of members of the public, and not necessarily affecting their land.” Only a governmental agency can bring an action to abate a public nuisance.  
  
  Reference: http://bobholzlaw.com/2014/04/07/nuisance-in-north-carolina/
  

I’m a little confused and need clarity on the purpose of designating a property as historic with the National Register of Historic Sites and then citing it as a public nuisance for abatement.

The first thing I want to know is what did the Town of Edenton actually say in their application to the National Register of Historic sites about the inclusion of the Teeny Blount House, and other African American properties that got them approved for historic status.


This is what I know so far...

Back in a 1987 CAMA Core Land Use Plan, the Town of Edenton indicated the necessity to preserve its historic and cultural heritage by nominating new historic structures for placement on the National Register of Historic Places, and to establish and expand the existing historic district (CAMA Core, 1987, pp. 36-37). 

Fourteen years later, on July 31, 2001, the Town of Edenton applied for the boundary expansion with the National Register of Historic Places. It was approved and entered on October 5, 2001. 

Their supporting statements to the National Register for including the Teeny Blount House and other African American properties in this boundary expansion was:

a. “Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.” (NR 2001, p 3).  

b. “The Edenton Historic District (Boundary Expansion) is eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A in the area of Community Planning and Development because of its reflection of the growth and development of Edenton, and in the area of Ethnic Heritage: Black because it was home to one of the town's leading African American builders who most likely built not only his own residence but also a neighboring dwelling for Teeny Blount, another African American” (NR 2001, Sec 8, p 7).

c. “Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction” (NR 2001, p 3).

d. The house was built within the period from 1883 to 1910 by African American Architect and Builder, John Tyler Page (NR 2001, p 3).

e. The 1898 “Teeny Blount House at 306 East King Street (entry 6), is a traditional story-and-a-jump house typically erected by or for craftsmen and African American workers in Edenton” (NR 2001, Sec 7, p 1).



If this property was so significant, why was it not included in the original 1973 National Register application?

Well, in 2013, two late 19th century (1870-1900) African American neighborhoods [Moseley St and North Oakum St Redevelopments] became the subject of additional study by the Edenton Town Council. 

In May 13, 2014, the Edenton Town Council adopted a resolution to create the Town of Edenton Redevelopment Commission, then designated itself to have the powers, and to perform the duties and responsibilities of the commission. (N. Oakum St. Redevelopment, 2015, Appendix A).  

North Carolina State Statutes give commissions authority to acquire, prepare, sell and redevelop properties in areas that qualify as Redevelopment Zones (Edenton Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan).

The Edenton Town council determined that 73% of buildings in the Moseley Street Redevelopment area, and 81% of the buildings in the North Oakum Street Redevelopment area were considered dilapidated and/or blighted and needed to be removed.  

 

It's unfortunate that these two African American communities did not get the same redevelopment treatment as the dilapidated Cotton Mill village in 2007. (Same condition but a vastly different solution)

In 2015, the Council moved swiftly to begin the process of eradicating the buildings from the town of Edenton (Moseley St. Redevelopment, 2015, p. 3).  

This is an extremely high number of buildings to remove from each neighborhood, especially since African Americans still live in many of the buildings and/or own the properties!

Wow! I am shaking my head right now. 

It appears that this 27-year old strategy from 1987 is an action plan today.   Too bad the plan is not in the best interest of the African American community. 

At the December 8, 2015 Council Meeting, Councilman Elton Bond reported that the he and Ann Marie Knighton, were appointed to the council’s Task Force to come up with ideas to preserve and restore the D. F. Walker building, so it will be useful to the community. 

The Task Force had their first meeting on 11/17/15 and got a few good ideas from the discussion. Councilman Bond also spoke about the community meeting he attended at Providence Baptist Church (11/28/15), where the alumni association expressed their ideas for the buildings’ use. 

Kudos to the Edenton Town Council for appointing two representatives to collaborate with the African American community, Chowan County Commissioner, and others to brainstorm ideas for the future preservation and use of the D. F. Walker High School building. 

Rosenwald schools were conceived in 1910 by Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee Institute, and Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company. These schools were designed to improve African American education in the south during Jim Crow segregation.  This public-private partnership also hoped to promote racial cooperation, and encourage southern localities to increase support for African American education (Hanchett, 2014, p. 23).  

North Carolina ranked first among southern states in embarking on new Rosenwald projects. This was due to the perseverance and diplomacy of Nathan Carter Newbold, who was appointed in 1913, by North Carolina to oversee the development of Rosenwald schools and African American administrators throughout the state. He did this successfully for 37 years, and is part of the history connected to D. F. Walker High School (Hanchett, 2014, p. 23). 

In 1915, Newbold and Rosenwald organized the construction of one of the first schoolhouses outside the Tuskegee area. This two-teacher facility was completed on October 8, 1915 in Chowan County. The African American community “contributed $486, the white community and the school system furnished $836, and Julius Rosenwald himself provided $300, for a total of $1,622” (Hanchett, 2014, p. 24).   

QUESTION: What is the Edenton Historical Commission’s stance on designating the D. F. Walker HS location as a historic site?  

This school location, along with the African American experiences, has historic significance to Edenton’s Jim Crow and Civil Rights history from 1913 to 1975. The town of Edenton began to include the African American presence in their history by allowing the Harriet Jacobs, Historic Edenton State Historic Site Visitor Center to open, and tell the story of one enslaved African American during its antebellum period. 

During an Edenton historic trolley tour, they acknowledged the work of the Myles Badham family (Range 1814-1941) who were African American architects and builders; and around 2009, the town erected an historic marker at the armory to recognize the visit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This just about sums up the promoted African American legacy in Edenton, N.C.

Former D. F. Walker School Alumni Association President, Norman Brinkley, expressed the sentiments of the African American community when he said, "We talk about Edenton being an historical town; we're part of the history" (The Virginia Pilot, 2009).  

Let’s keep our legacy alive!