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The National Register of Historic
Places: A Planning Tool
| The National Register
of Historic Places is essentially a planning tool. Its
fundamental purpose is to assure that Federal programs and State programs
do not have an adverse impact on properties listed in or declared eligible
for listing in the National Register. The three governing pieces of
Federal legislation are the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966,
the Department of Transportation Act of 1966, and the National
Environmental Policies Act of 1969. Section 106 of the the
National Historic Preservation Act mandates that the impact of all Federal
programs upon National Register properties must be taken into account
before the money is released. This includes properties listed in the
National Register and those declared eligible for the National
Register. The State of North Carolina has extended this protection
to include State programs that impact properties actually listed in the
National Register. If the impact is determined to be adverse,
mitigating measures should be considered. Matching grants are
provided to the States to administer this process. The State
official involved is known as the State Historic Preservation Officer or
SHPO. The Department of Transportation Act directs the Secretary of
Transportation to take into account the impact of roadways on natural and
historic resources. This is provided by Section 4F of the act, so
you will frequently see this referred to as "4F" review.
That National Environmental Policies Act mandates that all Federal
programs must undertake an Environmental Impact Study or E.I.S.
Among the items to be considered are historic and pre-historic
resources.
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| The Croft Historic
District exists because the developers of Davis Lake, a large
suburban community in North Mecklenburg, needed to have Federal
permits from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to
provide Federally insured mortgages to home buyers. Here you
see images of Davis Lake, a typical "up-scale" U.S.
suburb. |
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| This is the house to the
immediate rear of the Croft Schoolhouse. The contrast between
the built environment of suburbia and historic rural Mecklenburg is
especially striking. The commodity in developments is
lots. Therefore, houses are slammed close together on streets,
including cul-de-sacs. Note the field beside the Croft
Schoolhouse, especially its openess. |
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| The Croft Historic
District is linear. This road stretches along the railroad
tracks as it extends southward. Notice how important the
eastern or left edge of the roadway corridor is to the protection of
the district's character. The second photograph shows what is
just beyond the bramble -- a Davis Lake house. |
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| This is the Davis
Brothers Store, which stands at the southern end of the Croft
Historic District. Imagine how having a suburban home visible
from the store would impact its historic character. Because it
was in the National Register of Historic Places, the store was
protected from such an adverse impact. |
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| The developers of Davis
Lake sold the Croft Schoolhouse to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Historic Landmarks Commission as part of its mitigating measures to
assure sensitive treatment of the Croft Historic District.
Here you see the schoolhouse being restored. The second
photograph shows a Davis Lake house in the distance. |
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