Mebane council marks Preservation Month, honors historic sites and groups

Mebane leaders marked May as Preservation Month at the city council’s May 4 meeting at the Glendel Stephenson Municipal Building, 106 E. Washington St., putting local historic places and the groups that defend them in the public spotlight. The recognition came as preservation advocates across Alamance County pressed the case that old buildings, neighborhoods and landmarks are not just symbols of the past, but part of the county’s civic and economic future.

Preservation Alamance celebrated Preservation Month on May 2 at The Salvage Shop, 2359 Glencoe Street in Burlington, and said the observance was also launching its 10th Anniversary Year. The group pointed to Preservation Month’s origins in 1973 and to this year’s national theme from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which connects the month to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and calls attention to the sites, neighborhoods and landmarks that tell the full American story.

That local message lands in a county where preservation has been formalized for decades. The Alamance County Historic Properties Commission, established in 1977, is a nine-member advisory board that says one of its central goals is to promote historic preservation as an economic tool through business and tourism stimulation. In practice, that means preservation policy sits at the intersection of identity, land use and development decisions, especially when older structures or districts face pressure from redevelopment or neglect.

Preservation Alamance also used the month to connect preservation with education and race history. The group hosted a guided tour on April 25 at the African American Cultural Arts & History Center in Burlington, one of several efforts aimed at showing that preservation is not limited to architecture alone. It also includes the stories tied to Black community life, neighborhood memory and the institutions that helped shape Alamance County.

For Mebane and the rest of the county, the stakes are plain. If preservation efforts weaken, residents lose more than attractive old buildings. They lose landmarks that define community identity, places that support tourism and local business, and sites that help explain how Alamance County became what it is.