MAXTON — Representatives of the North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center Foundation, seeking money to build a $65 million history complex, came before the Maxton Board of Commissioners on Tuesday not asking for money, but for support.
“Let me be clear, we’re not asking for your money,” Foundation President Mac Healy told the board. “We’re asking for your endorsement.”
Maxton becomes the first of many towns petitioned by the foundation for support in its bid to obtain more funding from the state.
The history center will replace the Museum of the Cape Fear in Fayetteville, whose collection it will retain, and will be part of the State of North Carolina’s museum system. The center will be a 60,000-square-foot facility.
“The money comes from the technology,” Healy said. “This museum will be highly interactive.”
So far, $27 million has been raised. Healy said they are looking to the state to take care of the rest.
The town of Maxton has a stake in the project, Healy said. The center will display 10,000 stories of people in North Carolina that relate in some way to the Civil War and Reconstruction area.
“We have an intern from Pembroke who is tasked with finding stories in this area,” Healy said.
Healy said telling the stories at the center will direct people around the country to want to see for themselves.
“It’s very interesting,” Commissioner James McDougald said. “I was just reading about some things. The war did not just affect the black people but also the Native American people here.”
When the center opens, it also will provide curricula from the era for fourth-, eighth- and 11th-grade students in the state.
“I’m pretty sure if you asked a student what role Maxton played in the Civil War era, they couldn’t tell you,” Healy said. “I guarantee no one talks about the role your people played. We have the opportunity to tell that story.”
The board agreed to work on a resolution endorsing the project.
In other business, the board tabled a matter to amend the budget to obtain money to maintain two cemeteries owned by the town. The cemeteries are Oak Grove Cemetery, located on Cemetery Road, and McLeod Memorial Cemetery, on McLeod Drive. Town Manager Kate Bordeaux said the cemeteries have various heritage trees that cannot be removed because the Maxton is considered a “Tree City,” but maintenance is needed.
“Some of these trees are about 100 years old,” she said.
Bordeaux said the trees are so large the town does not have the manpower or equipment to maintain them. The board agreed to discuss quotes to do modest maintenance in the short-term.
The board also:
— Heard from its attorney, Jessica Scott, about problems with multiple-heir properties that are becoming a nuisance to the town. Scott proposed obtaining the homes via eminent domain. The board will discuss the matter at its next workshop.
— Heard an update from Karen Lavinar, of the Housing Authority, on the application process for housing. McDougald asked the authority to work with the town’s Police Department on decreasing the crime in that area.
— Tabled a proposed policy clarifying the water bill leak adjustment assessment process.
Tomeka Sinclair can be reached at 910-416-5865 or via email at tsinclair@robesonian.com.
