News From the Department
Reclaimed Pine Lumber Donated to Caswell Memorial in Kinston
For more information contact Guy Smith at (252) 522-2091 or Mary Cook at (919) 733-7862.
RALEIGH— Back in the late 1700s when North Carolina’s first Governor Richard Caswell was traveling the state on business, he rode through dense forests of long leaf pine, which then covered much of downeast.Later known as “heart pine”, this handsome, durable wood was highly sought after for building everything from bridges to tobacco barns to houses.
By the early 1900s heart pine had all but vanished from America. But just as the memory of Gov. Caswell evokes the state’s early history, Our Heritage Preserved in Maury recalls the beauty of this antique wood by reclaiming it from old buildings and processing it for modern construction. Excited about helping the CSS Neuse/Govenor Caswell Memorial State Historic Site in Kinston create a new exhibit on the governor, the company recently donated $5,000 worth of venerable old pine to North Carolina Historic Sites.
Company president Jim Blount said,“We decided to make this donation because Govenor Caswell was one of the most important figures in the history of our state, which makes this new exhibit such a worthwhile cause.”
Our Heritage Preserved is a family-owned company that deconstructs buildings and recycles 200 year-old heart pine lumber. Its skilled professionals reclaim aged quality wood products.
Harvested from tobacco barns and an old house in Kinston itself, the donated woods are what the company calls “The Pitt” and “The Guilford” grades. Named for the largest producing tobacco county in the world, “The Pitt” features a flat sawn grain pattern alternating between smooth and rough. “The Guilford” is sleeker looking, featuring a high pine heartwood content and old nail holes and knots.
“We are excited about this new exhibit, and proud that it will have this historic wood from North Carolina,” said North Carolina Historic Sites Director Keith Hardison.“;The wood will be used to frame graphics, sheath exhibit artifact panels and create a countertop.”
Closed while the new exhibit was being created, the Govenor Caswell Memorial will reopen August 17 during a week-long community celebration of the governor’s life and career. One of Kinston's most important citizens, Caswell moved to North Carolina from Maryland and settled in the area eventually known as Lenoir County. In 1754 he was elected to the colonial assembly, where he served for 17 years. In 1762, Caswell introduced a bill in the assembly establishing the town of Kingston (now Kinston). An active member of the colonial militia, he fought in the Battle of Alamance against the Regulators in 1771.
When relations between the colonies and England became strained in 1774, Caswell was elected to the Continental Congress. During the American Revolution, Caswell resumed his military career, commanding patriot forces at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in 1776. While the war was still being fought, Caswell was chosen to be North Carolina's first elected governor and headed the committee that wrote the new state's constitution. He would eventually serve six one-year terms as governor both during and after the war. In 1789, while presiding over the state senate in Fayetteville, Caswell died from a fatal stroke. After a funeral service there, tradition says his body was returned to Kinston and buried in a family cemetery.
Glimpses into two of our nation's most pivotal wars can be found at the CSS Neuse/Govenor Caswell Memorial within the city of Kinston. Here visitors may learn about the celebrated life of Govenor Richard Caswell during the Revolutionary War and early days of our state and have a chance to study the remains of the Confederate ironclad gunboat the CSS Neuse.
The CSS Neuse/Govenor Caswell Memorial is located off U.S. 70. Take U.S. 70, west of downtown Kinston, exit on U.S. 70 Bus. East (W. Vernon Ave.). The site is located approximately one-half mile on the right. For more information on the state historic site, call (252) 522-2091. Information on the August celebration of Govenor Caswell . The Web site for Our Heritage Preserved is www.OurHeritagePreserved.com.
Administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, the CSS Neuse/Govenor Caswell Memorial is part of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture through such programs as “History Happens Here”. For more information, visit www.ncculture.com.
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