Plaque Program History and Changing Guidelines
In 1966 the Historic Wilmington Foundation awarded the first historic plaque to the Purnell-Empie House. From the beginning (the Foundation had been incorporated only four months earlier), it was the intent of the charter members that preservation and education went together. The plaque program would educate the public as to the historical importance of the building while trying to save it.
Early
plaque committee members were educators, historians, businessmen and
lawyers. It was decided that extensive research would be required on
each house before a plaque would be awarded. Ida Brooks Kellam, Wallace
Murchiston and R.V. Asbury were responsible for many of the early research
reports. Date of construction, name and occupation of the first resident
and sometimes second male owner were the requirements for the first
plaque texts.
The scope and style of the plaque text has changed over the years to the present formula. Birth and death dates of owners were added. If known, the name of the architect and builder were included under the date of construction. In the 1980s the committee began requiring information about spouses and wives were included as full partners in house ownership. The architectural style and the dates of major architectural changes were noted. If an owner, other than the first, occupied the building for 40% of its existence, their name was added to the building name. Since Wilmington is a port city with a diverse population, the committee began to add interest by including the nativity of the owners. If one person or family owned a building for a very long time, the length of the ownership was added to the plaque text.
Although the plaque committee follows a general formula of what to include in a plaque text, each building is unique and the text may emphasize one or more components of related history. Some buildings have so much history that it is impossible to include all of it and the committee has to make hard choices as to what is the most appropriate. Other times the committee finds itself trying to flesh out a little more history for the text.
Text
style has also changed over the years. Architect names, which were originally
placed in the plaque text, are now placed under the name and date of
the building. Sentence structure has also changed over time. In an attempt
to make the plaque texts uniform for this database, some word structure
may have been altered. While compiling this database some information,
i.e., death dates and occupations have been inserted into early plaque
texts. The research reports included in the website are different in
organization and scope depending on when they were created. The pagination
may also differ. It the report begins on page two or three, it does
not mean that the contents are incomplete. Today when early plaques
are repainted, the committee revisits the text and adds updated information.
Houses often changed over time and have more than one architectural style. This compilation allowed for only one style. Therefore, the style that is now most prevalent was chosen. For example, a house originally built in the Italianate style may have been greatly altered in the Queen Anne style during the 1890s. What can be seen today is a Queen Anne style house with a few Italianate vents and brackets. For this website, Queen Anne was chosen as the most predominate style visible today.
Wilmington, North Carolina, an Architectural and Historical Portrait, written by Tony P. Wrenn, forms the basis for much of the research on building histories. Since its 1984 publication, districts have increased and new areas have been surveyed. The plaque committee has furthered and enhanced the depth and accuracy of the Wrenn research and other early surveys.
From
1966 to 2003, the plaque committee has awarded 385 plaques. Members
tend to make their commitment a long one. Margaret Thompson, James D.
Carr, Ann Scott, Bill Reaves and Louis Poisson were longtime faithful
members. When Jimmy Carr died in 1994, the plaque committee was given
funds to donate one free plaque per year to a deserving building in
his memory. Current longtime members include Janet Seapker, architectural
historian and former chair; Merle Chamberlain, archivist; Joan Howard,
wordsmith; and Beverly Tetterton, history librarian and chair since
1990. Beth Keane, architectural historian, has been preparing plaque
reports for several years. The majority of reports seen on the website
come from architectural historian, Edward F. Turberg. His quality of
research and organization of data have lifted our standards over the
years.
Together the sum of the plaque applications and accompanying research tell the story of a building, how it fits into the historical context of the neighborhood, the city and the county. The Historic Wilmington Foundation plaque program continues to educate by focusing on the local history, architectural history, and family history of the region. About twenty-five plaques are awarded each year. They will be added to this website as they are approved.
Beverly Tetterton, Plaque Committee Chair
April 2003
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