Release Date:
MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015
Contact Person:
Abigail Dowd | Executive Director, The Weymouth Center | 910-692-0524
Raleigh, NC (August 3, 2015)–The Weymouth Center in Southern Pines will receive the Minnette C. Duffy Landscape Preservation Award from Preservation North Carolina (PNC) on September 18 during its annual conference in Salisbury.
The Center is being recognized for the commissioning and implementation of the Weymouth Cultural Landscape Report – Part II. Weymouth is an outstanding example of a historic Country-Place era estate, and its surroundings exist as one of the Sandhills region’s most significant and influential cultural landscapes. Thanks to the vision, establishment and continued care of the James Boyd family, it encompasses many natural and cultural features, including: the early and ongoing land conservation efforts to save an old growth forest; the planned leisure grounds and public spaces of the Boyd estate; the seat of NC equestrian sport; and the landscape that inspired one of North Carolina’s most prominent literary figures.
At its core, the Weymouth Center’s mission reflects a commitment to education, a strong conservation ethic, and the faithful stewardship of publically accessible Boyd lands, structures, and features. The Weymouth Center is also a statewide literary center, home to the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame and a writer residency program. The Weymouth Cultural Landscape Report Part II, commissioned by the Weymouth Center, serves to uphold the integrity of Weymouth’s historic landscape, and make visible the Center’s mission to envision a vibrant future for Weymouth by examining its past. The Cultural Landscape Report – Part II advances the comprehensive study of Weymouth’s landscape origins and history and serves as a master plan, with specific and actionable guidance for implementation, with protocols for management and maintenance.
The Minnette C. Duffy Landscape Preservation Award is the highest honor given for the preservation, restoration or maintenance of landscapes, gardens, streetscapes, or grounds related to historic structures. This award recognizes the importance of the landscape in the preservation of historic structures. First presented in 1987, the award is made possible by the family of the late Minnette Chapman Duffy of New Bern, whose leadership contributed to the reconstruction of Tryon Palace. Landscape architects, preservation organizations, garden clubs, local governments, property owners or volunteers who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, research or work in landscape preservation are eligible. The recipient receives an engraved plaque and a $500 stipend.
The 2015 awards luncheon will honor five recipients of Honor Awards from across the state on September 18 in Salisbury: R. Mike Leonard of Bethania, Ruth Coltrane Cannon Award; Loray Mill Redevelopment, LLC of Gastonia, L. Vincent Lowe, Jr. Business Award; Weymouth Center in Southern Pines, Minnette C. Duffy Landscape Preservation Award; The Town of Wake Forest, Stedman Incentive Grant; and Heather Fearnbach of Winston-Salem, Robert E. Stipe Professional Award. Tickets for the luncheon and other conference activities may be purchased in advance via Preservation NC’s website at www.PreservationNC.org/conference.
About Preservation North Carolina
Preservation North Carolina, founded in 1939, promotes and protects the buildings and landscapes of our state’s diverse heritage. Through its award-winning Endangered Properties Program, Preservation NC acquires endangered historic properties and then finds purchasers willing and able to rehabilitate them. It has saved more than 700 endangered historic properties, generating an estimated $350 million in private investment. Many of the saved properties have truly been community landmarks. Buyers have put these properties into a multitude of new uses, Preservation North Carolina Award adding millions of dollars to local tax rolls and creating numerous jobs. More than 4,000 acres of open space have been placed under Preservation NC’s protective covenants, perpetually restricting their development. Preservation NC is supported by a membership of more than 4,000. Join today and help Preservation NC continue its groundbreaking work. Contact us at 919-832-3652 or www.PreservationNC.org.
The Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is an economic development organization and non-profit authority of Moore County, North Carolina. The CVB mission is to promote the area as a destination for visitors, meetings, conventions and tours. The CVB is funded primarily by a three percent hotel / motel room occupancy tax paid by visitors to Moore County.
