A comprehensive architectural survey of Polk County's historic buildings and structures will resume in 2026 after experiencing multiple delays over the past several years. The North Carolina Historic Preservation Office will deploy a specialized team to complete the countywide documentation project that originally began in 2022.
The survey project faced significant setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing changes within the preservation office, and most recently, recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene's impact on the region. Despite these challenges, state officials remain committed to completing this important historical documentation effort.
Funding for the Polk County survey comes from a federal grant awarded to North Carolina through the Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund. This funding was made available following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Florence and Michael in 2018, which prompted federal disaster declarations across multiple counties. Polk County's survey represents one of seven similar projects funded across counties that received federal disaster status after those storms.
Architectural Survey Specialist Kelly Molloy will serve as the project leader, working alongside other staff members from the state preservation office. "We are excited to get this survey underway again and happy to be learning about the history and architecture of Polk County," Molloy stated, expressing enthusiasm for the renewed effort to document the county's architectural heritage.
The survey team plans to work throughout Polk County, concentrating their efforts on buildings, structures, and entire communities that are more than fifty years old and have not been previously documented. Their comprehensive approach will include taking detailed photographs, creating architectural sketches, and compiling extensive notes about the architectural features and historical significance of each location they examine.
Community engagement represents a crucial component of the survey process. The preservation team particularly values input from local residents who can provide insights about when buildings were constructed, who built and occupied them, how structures have evolved over time, and how they connect to broader local history. Residents who possess old photographs of historical buildings are encouraged to share them, as these images will be copied for inclusion in the official survey documentation.
All materials collected during the survey will be permanently archived as part of the state's historical record. North Carolina's architectural survey program has been operating since the late 1970s, systematically documenting the state's built heritage county by county. While some of Polk County's architecture has been recorded over the years through various smaller projects, this marks the first comprehensive countywide survey in the area's history.
Upon completion of the Polk County project, 85 of North Carolina's 100 counties will have undergone comprehensive architectural surveys. This milestone represents decades of dedicated work to preserve and document the state's diverse architectural heritage for future generations of researchers, historians, and community members.
Residents interested in learning more about the upcoming survey or who wish to share information about their property's history or community heritage are encouraged to contact Kelly Molloy directly. She can be reached at her Raleigh office via email at kelly.molloy@dncr.nc.gov or by phone at 919-814-6598.
