To lead-off Preservation Month in May and celebrate Fuquay-Varina’s centennial, CAP and the Wake County Historic Preservation Commission (WCHPC) hosted a series of preservation-related events in Fuquay-Varina between April 23 – 25, 2009. The festivities started with a Landmark Lecture on Thursday, April 23. National Trust for Historic Preservation Vice-President for Community Revitalization, Lauri Michel, was the featured speaker. Ms. Michel addressed the important role that historic preservation plays in revitalizing our communities and offered strategies that work in today’s economy. The program took place at the Fuquay-Varina Woman’s Club Clubhouse. The program was free, thanks to a generous grant from the Wake County Board of Commissioners through the WCHPC Preservation Fund. The action picked-up again on Saturday, April 25 with the Fuquay-Varina Landmarks Tour. CAP and the WCHPC hosted the event in cooperation with the Fuquay-Varina Woman’s Club, Fuquay-Varina Centennial Committee and the Fuquay-Varina Questers. The tour showcased twelve properties in the Fuquay Springs Historic District and the downtown Varina Commercial District, and nearly 400 attended. Immediately following the Landmarks Tour, CAP and the WCHPC hosted the Annual Wake County Preservation Celebration in the garden of the Fuquay Mineral Spring Inn and Garden. Mayor John Byrne and his wife Patty own the property which is a Fuquay-Varina Landmark and contributes to the Fuquay Springs National Register Historic District. WCHPC Chair, Ed Morris, presented landmark plaques to the owners of four recently designated landmarks: the Calvin Wray Lawrence House in Apex, the Guess-White-Ogle House in Cary, the Dr. John Pullen Hunter House in Cary, and the Montague-Jones Farm in the Wendell Vicinity. In addition, CAP raffled “A Christmas Delivery,” a giclee print by William S. Phillips. Mayor Byrne and Ashley’s Art Gallery in Fuquay-Varina donated the print with all proceeds benefiting CAP.
