State will mark tract

Clemmons asked for historic site to get a marker

By: Lisa O'donnell | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: July 17, 2008

CLEMMONS

The Clemmons Village Council learned Monday that it will soon get a historical marker at the site of the Wachovia Tract.

The N.C. Highway Historical Marker Advisory Committee informed Mayor John Bost on July 7 that it had approved the village's request for the marker, which will be put up on the north side of U.S. 158 between Bryn Mawr Lane and Wade Frye Lane.

The inscription will read: "On Dec. 27, 1752, survey for Moravian settlement began near here. Bishop August Spangenberg led frontier expedition that selected 98,985 acres."

The marker has been ordered and could be delivered to the village in October, said Megan Ledbetter, the planner for the village.

After the marker arrives, the village will have an unveiling ceremony.

The site has an important place in the area's history, said Robert Beroth, a local historian who worked on the project.

"This marks where civilization began in the Piedmont, North Carolina," Beroth told the council.

In other news, the council passed two resolutions drafted by Village Attorney Warren Kasper that set guidelines on the acceptance of gifts to the village and the use of the village chambers.

The issue on use of the chambers came up several weeks ago when a local community group wanted to use the chambers for a meeting on schools. The council denied the group's request to use the chambers because of concerns that other groups, including those that some people would find offensive, would ask to use the chambers.

Under the new resolution, the chambers will be used only for governmental purposes.

Village Manager Gary Looper will respond to most requests and, in some cases, present them to the council for a vote.

Also, Larry Kirby, the public works director, reported that construction of a sidewalk along Middlebrook Drive has been delayed for a few months by the N.C. Department of Transportation because of a technicality in the bidding process.

The sidewalk will stretch from the Clemmons Civic Club to Double Gate Drive, which is about 1,600 feet. It will be five feet in width.

Once a bid is accepted, the sidewalk will be constructed within 90 days, Kirby said.

■ Lisa O'Donnell can be reached at 727-7420 or at lo'donnell@wsjournal.com.