NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1967 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1033

HOUSE BILL 1051

 

 

AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THE PURCHASE OF THE HOME OF GOVERNOR JOHN MOTLEY MOREHEAD, KNOWN AS "BLANDWOOD".

 

WHEREAS, John Motley Morehead who was Governor of North Carolina from 1841 to 1845, was one of North Carolina's great Governors, famed especially for his pioneering leadership in the industrial development of our State, and

WHEREAS, Governor Morehead's home, still standing in Greensboro, is one of North Carolina's most notable historical and architectural landmarks, having been designed by A.J. Davis, the most renowned American architect of his time, who in 1833 also designed the State Capitol of North Carolina, and

WHEREAS, the Morehead mansion with original grounds, comprising a city block in downtown Greensboro, is now the property of Guilford College, and the college has offered to sell the property at cost for preservation, and

WHEREAS, the John Motley Morehead Memorial Commission was established by Act of the General Assembly in 1959 for the purpose of preserving the Morehead mansion, and the Commission, enthusiastically assisted by the Greensboro Preservation Society, is ready to proceed with the project, and

WHEREAS, the cost of the project, including land purchase and development, is estimated at approximately one-half million dollars, the major part of which is expected to come from local and private sources, but initial aid is needed from the State, and

WHEREAS, the Morehead mansion in its present state is subject to vandalism and the hazard of destruction by fire and is rapidly deteriorating, so that an emergency situation exists which can be remedied only by immediate action to acquire and protect the property: Now, therefore,

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  There is hereby appropriated out of the General Fund of the State of North Carolina to the Department of Archives and History, the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) to be used for the purchase of the home of John Motley Morehead in Greensboro, North Carolina known as "Blandwood", provided however, that said appropriation is expressly made conditional upon the said sum being matched by a like sum of money from non-state funds for said purpose, and if said matching funds have not become available by June 30, 1969, this appropriation shall revert to the General Fund.

Sec. 2.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3.  This Act shall become effective upon its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 30th day of June, 1967.