SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — In a historic town, when a relic of the past is torn down, seemingly, many take notice.
This brings Port City Daily to its most-read story of 2021. When former assistant editor Johanna Still covered the demolition of historic home Shandy Hall, people far and wide reached out — historians and historic restoration buffs alike.
Still reported Shandy Hall is “believed to have existed on the property in the mid-1700s, set ablaze in the mid-1800s and later rebuilt. The earliest record of the site dates back to a land deed to Thomas Conner from King George II in 1737.”
Located at the end of Greenville Sound Road, the home stood as a remnant of antebellum life and was purchased in March 2020 for $1.6 million. The property owner, Dr. Robert Fleury, hired Tongue & Groove design firm, leading neighbors to question whether Fleury planned to demolish what had become a historical beacon in the area.
After Tongue & Groove did research on the structure in the county library’s North Carolina Room, the firm noted little remained from the original 1880s home. The call was made to tear it down, much to the dismay of neighbors and the Historical Wilmington Foundation’s executive director, Travis Gilbert.
“To destroy Shandy Hall would to would be to destroy a piece of this county’s history,” Gilbert said.
In the design firm’s presentation, which Fleury shared with a neighbor, the firm explained: “There isn’t enough to restore, and so we will re-build. If we find items worthy of preservation, we will incorporate them into our plan.”
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