NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

CHAPTER 995

HOUSE BILL 992

AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THE EXTERIOR RESTORATION OF THE OLD DAVIDSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE.

Whereas, the old Davidson County Courthouse is one of North Carolina's grandest antebellum courthouses; and

Whereas, the heroic Classical Revival style of this monumental building makes it one of the more important examples of the style in North Carolina and the South as a whole; and

Whereas, in 1858, shortly after it was constructed, the Davidson County Courthouse was labelled "the finest in the State…" and it was further stated in the same Greensboro Patriot article that "in point of magnificence there is nothing in the State to compare, except the Capitol at Raleigh"; and

Whereas, since the new courthouse was constructed in 1959, the upper floor of the old courthouse has been leased by the county to the Davidson County Historical Society for use as a historical museum for the education and enjoyment of all citizens; and

Whereas, the interior of the courthouse has been restored and rehabilitated for the historical museum as well as a number of county offices; and

Whereas, the exterior of the old Davidson County Courthouse is now in need of restoration, for which purpose approximately sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) has been raised in local and federal funds; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Division of Archives and History, Department of Cultural Resources, for the 1979-80 fiscal year the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the purpose of restoring the exterior of the old Davidson County Courthouse, provided that a like amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) is raised by the County of Davidson, Body Corporate and Politic.

Sec. 2.  Funds appropriated in this act shall be expended only in accordance with G.S. 121-11 and G.S. 143-31.2.

Sec. 3.  This act shall become effective on July 1, 1979.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 8th day of June, 1979.