CONRAD HOUSE

Forsyth County Commissioners Repeal Historic Designation For River John Conrad Property
On Monday, December 21, 2009, a majority of the Forsyth County Commissioners voted to repeal the ordinance designating the River John Conrad house and lands a Local Historic Landmark. Commissioners Ted Kaplan, Richard Linville, Dave Plyler and Gloria Whisenhunt voted for the repeal. Commissioners Beaufort Bailey, Debra Conrad and Walter Marshall voted against the repeal. The State Historic Preservation Office, the Winston-Salem \ Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission and Preserve Historic Forsyth -- as well as many other friends and supporters of historic preservation in Forsyth County, were united in opposition to the delisting of this property. Since the property has been delisted as a Local Historic Landmark, neither the 1805 house nor the 10+ acres that surround it have further protection as an historic property.

Current Photo of 200 year old River John Conrad House

Photo courtesy of David Bergstone

River John Conrad House Historic Designation Overturned

A little background

Side View of Conrad House

Before his death in 1850, "River John" owned a 950+-acre plantation on the east bank of the Yadkin River and ran a ferry across the Yadkin River. The ferry ran for over a hundred years, and was an essential component of transportation in early Forsyth County and beyond. At a time when the area's economy was based on agriculture, the Conrad farm was one of the largest in the Piedmont and included several mills.

The designated property includes ten+ acres of the original plantation and a house built by "River John" Conrad about 1805 on a knoll overlooking the Yadkin River at the end of beautiful Conrad Road. John Conrad was a slaveowner, and enslaved African-Americans may have built the house. They did build a well on a property, and were essential to the operation of the farm which raised fruit and berries for interstate shipment.

In 1981 the owners, Kenneth and Annie Belle Poe, applied to the Historic Properties Commission for the River John Conrad House and lands to be designated a Local Historic Landmark.

Later that year, the HPC recommended Local Historic Landmark designation for the River John Conrad property. It was among the first properties outside of Salem recognized by the HPC and designated a Local Historic Landmark by the county commissioners. .

The Poes understood that they were stewards of the historical heritage of our State and that Forsyth County was their partner. With the County Commissioners' official recognition of the property's significance to local history, owners -- present and future -- would be subject to a local ordinance governing changes to all Forsyth County Local Historic Landmark properties.

Owners seeking to make changes to a LHL property would be required to apply to the local Historic Properties Commission for approval. Owners would also be entitled, upon application, to a 50% deferment in local property tax -- in part to offset the cost of maintaining a Local Historic Landmark for posterity. The Poes thought the designation would protect and preserve the property forever.

The original application was written by Susan Poe Hauser, the daughter of the owners. She had grown up in the house; she and her husband Michael Hauser were married there; applying for the Local Historic Landmark designation was something she could do for her mother and for her father, who was terminally ill. Susan Hauser was a nurse with four small children, a great appreciation for the local history, but with little knowledge of historic architecture or preservation.

Brick Pattern on House

However, the members of the Commission approving the designation were knowledgeable people and longtime residents of the county. We do not have a complete list of commission members, but they included:

Attorney Ham Horton, who made the motion to designate the property a Local Historic Landmark,

Architect Ed Bouldin, who seconded the motion,

Chairman Mary Alice Warren, a recognized preservationist, and

Secretary Jim Yarbrough, Director of Planning in Forsyth County.

The Commission itself was one of the first in the state of North Carolina, and in 1981, was only one of a handful of local commissions authorized by the State of North Carolina to designate and list historic properties.

After Mr. Poe died, Anne Gray bought the property in 1983, and she and her son, Tom Gray, rehabilitated the interior and restored the exterior of the house - returning the exterior to its appearance around 1805 and adding modern conveniences to the interior, including central heat. The architect for the work was Ed Bouldin and the contractor was Wilson-Covington. These changes were reviewed and approved by the HPC.

In 1988 the current owners, Nadja Lesko and Kerry Link, bought the Local Historic Landmark property, and have lived there for 20 years. They, too, have made changes in the interior and on the land. One COA for some of these changes was found in the Planning Department's files.

House Roof Truss System

In 2008, the current owners sought a COA (Certificate of Appropriateness) from the HRC (City/County Historic Resources Commission) to build a six-thousand (6,000) square-foot addition wrapping around the house built in 1804. They planned to retire and to live there, along with an elderly parent.

Applying the standards established by the Forsyth County Commissioners for additions to historic properties, the HRC denied the application. An explanation of the national standards on which these are based can be found here.

At the County Commissioners' September 14, 2009 meeting, about 50 supporters of the River John Conrad landmark designation attended and seven or eight spoke out against repeal.

Speakers included John Larson, Vice President of Old Salem Museums & Gardens. He had served on the HPC at the time the Grays' changed to the house were approved and came out against repeal.

The head of the State Historic Preservation Office, Peter Sandbeck, also came out against repeal, calling the potential repeal a "very serious matter." The County Commissioners voted 5-2 to return the matter to HRC to consider the matter. (David Plyler and Ted Kaplan opposed the delay.)

On November 4, 2009 the HRC conducted a public hearing. In the 30 minutes allotted to the proponents of repeal, there was one speaker, the current owners' attorney. In the 30 minutes allotted opponents of repeal, ten people spoke.

They represented a broad coalition including Preserve Historic Forsyth, the Lewisville Historical Society, the Presidents of the Bethania Historical Association and the West End Association, Preservation North Carolina, Mike Leonard, a member of the National Board of the Conservation Fund, and Nancy Poe Hauser. Following the hearing, the HRC voted unanimously to recommend against repeal -- which they did at the November 7, 2009 meeting of the County Commissioners.

However, the current owners had lined up their own speakers and allies to support repeal, including many from outside Forsyth County. Current owner Kerry Link asserted they had been "sold a bill of goods" and that the River John Conrad house and lands are without historic integrity. Other speakers, including at least one man who had done work on the house, complained that the current owners should have been allowed to build.

PHF's broad coalition against repeal also spoke during the brief Public Comment period.

Despite the HRC's determination that the legally-required "cause" to repeal does not exist, the County Commissioners did not vote on repeal. They instead voted 4-3 to direct the HRC and the current owners to work toward a "compromise." As of December 10, the HRC and the current owners had not met, and no "compromise" had been reached.

Six Reasons Preserve Historic Forsyth Opposed Repeal of Historic Landmark Designation for the Conrad house and the surrounding 10 acres

This is a terrible precedent: There are currently 121 Local Historic Landmarks in Forsyth County. Fewer than 15 are in the county proper. This is one of them. Many of the properties in Old Salem, Bethabara, and Bethania have made changes similar to those made by the Grays in the 1980s - changes that were made to add modern conveniences to the interior and to restore the exterior to an earlier appearance. Most LHL designation ordinances could be repealed if the standards used in the current owners' arguments were applied.

The present owners knew what they were buying when they bought the property: What Lesko and Link bought in 1988 was a Local Historic Landmark, and they knew what they were buying was a property important to the history of Forsyth County. Although they chose not to apply for the 50% property tax deferment until just a year ago, they have always had that financial benefit from the county available to them.

The State Historic Preservation Office and the Winston-Salem \ Forsyth County Historic Commission jointly opposed this repeal.

The significant historic features of the house and of the property prevail. The significant features of the 1805 house remain, as does the magnificent setting overlooking the river, the important history of the site, including the contribution of the enslaved peoples, and of the role of River John in ferrying people and goods across the Yadkin River. Any Forsyth County citizen looking at a photo of the River John Conrad House atop the knoll overlooking the Yadkin River, would say, "That house must have been in this place on this land a long, long time."

If the River John Conrad House was delisted, this piece of Forsyth history will be lost to the public forever. This 1804 property was rare in 1981; it is even more so in 2009 - 28 years later. "Delisting" opens these rural lands to development. Forsyth County's rural lands are under pressure to be "developed." If the LHL designation were removed, the current or subsequent owners would be free to sell the historic ten acres - in lots of whatever size permitted - and to reap the significant financial rewards that LHL status has given the property owners for the past 28 years.

Finally, revoking the designation dishonored Forsyth County's visionary leaders in historic preservation. The people who made the decision to designate this property were state and national leaders in historic preservation. They knew what they were doing. Ham Horton, as a member of the General Assembly, later introduced the historic preservation tax credit legislation that has resulted in over one billion dollars of investment in historic properties in North Carolina. Their work should be honored, not ignored.

What You Can Do

Be alert to the development pressures that threaten the remaining historic properties in Forsyth County and our State.

Let your elected official know that you support historic preservation efforts and that you support public officials that share these values.

Follow the decisions of the Forsyth County Historic Properties Commission and the Forsyth County Commissioners that affect historic properties in our community.

Join Preserve Historic Forsyth today, to add your voice to the other committed citizens in our community that support the historic preservation of Forsyth County's heritage.