For 40 years of Stewardship, Preservation and Interpretation of the Joel Lane Museum House
The Joel Lane House is the oldest extant dwelling in Wake County. Built ca. 1770 by Joel Lane, it was the setting in 1771 for Wake County’s first court sessions. In 1792, Lane sold 1,000 acres of his plantation for the new state capital and county seat of Raleigh. Acquired in 1927 by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of North Carolina, the house has, since 1972, been operated by the Joel Lane Museum House, Inc. (JLMH) under a lease arrangement with the Colonial Dames. JLMH has responsibility for all aspects of the site’s management and operation including, but not limited to: fundraising, maintenance, improvements and programs.
Fortunate to have had the effective leadership of a succession of presidents and Boards of Directors, the generosity of many friends, and the professionalism and integrity of staff and consultants, the accomplishments of JLMH over the past forty years are many and far reaching. In 1976, JLMH opened the site to the public on a regular basis; in 1977, installed gardens; in 1979, moved an early 19th-century one-room dwelling from northern Wake County – where it was threatened with demolition – and restored it for interpretation as a kitchen; in 1999, Joel Lane Historical Society founded and the first paid staff member hired; and, in 2008 new programming initiated on site: Lecture Series, Lizzie Lane’s Colonial Tea, Tavern Party, as well as off-site programming at various events around Raleigh.
Over the past seven years JLMH has conducted an extensive program of repairs and capital improvements including numerous rehabilitations of failing structural members, siding, doors, windows, shutters, as well as painting all three buildings; replacement of the wood-shingled roof on the Joel Lane House porch and the installation of a brick sidewalk along St. Mary’s Street. Concurrent with these repairs, JLMH also focused on providing additional facilities necessary for the continued, effective operation of the site. Some of these improvements include: 2007, Visitors Center opened; 2010, restroom added; 2011, storage shed added and Joel Lane’s office in the historic house opened for interpretation.
The Board of Directors of Capital Area Preservation, Inc. is pleased to present a 2012 Anthemion Award to the Joel Lane House Museum, Inc., recognizing its forty years of tireless dedication and commitment to the stewardship, preservation and interpretation of the Joel Lane Museum House.