
DATE: Tuesday, August 19, 1997              TAG: 9708190293

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JENNIFER LANGSTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: EDENTON                           LENGTH:  103 lines

EDENTON MILL MAY BE REBORN AS A MECCA FOR EDUCATION AND TOURISM.

With its blackened hardwood floors, the Edenton Cotton Mill, some have suggested, would make a perfect roller-skating rink.

But a newly formed non-profit organization is trying to transform the vacant industrial building into a ``heritage discovery center.''

Plans for the mill building include art studios, a wellness center, conference spaces, rooms for guests and a gallery.

Spinoff programs could include a sailing school, charter fleets touring historic ports by water, and educational walks through the cypress swamp that borders the mill.

``Heritage means history, art and the environment,'' said Anne Perry, executive director of the Chowan Arts Council and CEO of Edenton Institute. ``We're trying to do educational programs in all three areas.''

Renovating the 114,000-square-foot building is the next step in preserving a historic mill village in Edenton that existed until Unifi Inc., the last owner of the cotton mill, shut its doors in 1995.

The brick building and surrounding homes built for mill workers were donated to Preservation North Carolina, an organization that saves historic and threatened buildings across the state.

The organizations sell the mill houses, built between 1899 and 1923, to owners who agree to refurbish them. They must preserve the original architecture and streetscape.

Efforts to renovate the quaint wooden houses, with their tin roofs, wide front porches andtowering trees, have been successful. Only eight of the 57 homes remain for sale.

But restoring the mill building has been more challenging. Barriers include raising money to renovate the building and deciding how to put it back into production.

``That's one of the biggest problems in preservation history - finding a use for huge industrial buildings,'' said Carrie Albee, 23, a summer intern at the mill village who is pursuing a master's degree in architectural history.

Preservation North Carolina will donate the mill building to an owner who raises the money to restore it and conducts programs to benefit the economically struggling rural communities in the eastern part of the state.

``The building is in a holding pattern - we're trying to find someone to take on the restoration,'' said Peter Rascoe, 40, manager of Preservation North Carolina's northeastern regional office.

Edenton Institute, a non-profit organization created last month, hopes to transform the mill building into a center that would offer educational courses and a vacation in one package.

Board members include representatives from local governments, area universities, Chowan Hospital and the Chowan Arts Council. They are seeking funding - about $8 million - to renovate the building, and another $250,000 to plan educational programs over the next two years.

They envision a place where visitors could come learn about architecture, take pottery classes and tour the nearby lakes and wetlands.

They have loosely modeled their plans on the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York, a renowned center where families can attend classes, hear speakers or take advantage of nearby outdoor recreation during its summer session.

``The thrust in tourism is that people travel to do and not just to see. They want to participate,'' Perry said. ``It's a stimulating vacation.''

Fine arts graduate students from Eastern Carolina University in Greenville would staff studio classes in painting, sculpture, ceramics and textiles.

Chowan Hospital wants to develop a wellness center that would include an aerobics room and indoor swimming pool. It would also offer diet and nutrition counseling.

Organizers also feel the mill could serve as a hub for day trips and tours capitalizing on historic homes and diverse outdoor excursions in eastern North Carolina.

``We have Merchants Millpond, rivers, sounds, the ocean and Lake Mattamuskeet,'' said Perry. ``When we started putting down what we have to show off, the environment was spectacular.''

Part of the balancing act requires creating a tourist destination that will not disrupt the charm and rural atmosphere that are among the mill village's best selling points.

``I think when you develop a project like this, you have to be conscious so that you don't ruin what you have,'' Perry said. ``We're very aware of that.''

Local residents who have bought houses in the mill village have differing thoughts about developing the building.

Roy L. Harrell, 66, former mayor of Edenton, grew up in the mill village, playing baseball in the open field that will be preserved on the property. He recently renovated a mill house for his daughter and her three children.

``For the mill to be used almost in any way is advantageous for the town,'' he said. ``I think they have enough strings attached so they're going to hold the mill village as close as possible to what it was.''

But others said they hope planners will retain the small-town, tranquil feeling in the neighborhood where they have chosen to raise their families.

Keith Nixon, 35, renovated the grand two-story home that once belonged to the superintendent of the mill. He grew up in Edenton and used to know just about everyone who lived in the village.

``I have concerns,'' he said.

Then he wistfully imagined the perfect use for the building.

``A cotton mill wouldn't be too bad.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

WILLIAM P. CANNON/The Virginian-Pilot

Finding a new job for an old building

Carrie Albee, an intern pursuing a master's degree in architectural

history, and Peter Rascoe, manager of Preservation North Carolina's

northeastern regional office, above, are hoping a suitable owner

will be found for the vacant industrial building that was once the

Edenton Cotton Mill. The homes once occupied by mill workers, right,

are also being renovated; workers use a special drill to route pipes

around an old tree.