Dolores Clark’s family has lived in her house for five generations, and local groups are working to ensure that it can remain as a reminder of Carrboro’s history.
Clark’s house on Jones Ferry Road was built around 1879 by her great-grandfather, Toney Strayhorn, a former slave.
“The family that built it is still in it,” said Ernest Dollar, director of the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill.
On Friday, residents and donors who have contributed to the preservation of the building gathered at a Preservation Society reception to celebrate a restoration five years in the making.
Dollar said the 133-year-old house is in need of major repairs. He said the building’s oldest chimney fell off, termites attacked its foundation and the windows needed to be replaced.
Clark asked Dollar in 2007 to help her repair the house — and soon, community members had come together to restore the structure.
In April 2009, the Carrboro Board of Alderman voted to approve a $28,000 loan to the property. Alderwoman Lydia Lavelle, a professor at N.C. Central University School of Law, said she voted for the loan because she wants to support Clark and her family any way she can.
During the renovation process, which is ongoing, Clark signed an agreement with the Preservation Society to preserve the house’s authenticity.
The house, which is being studied to be on the National Register of Historic Places, was built at a time when racial tensions and inequality made it uncommon for black people to own property in Orange County.
