Preservation North Carolina will host the first Fayetteville Ramble on Saturday, Nov. 14, from noon to 4 p.m. It’s a self-guided tour of 14 historic buildings, homes, and landmarks in…
Preservation North Carolina will host the first Fayetteville Ramble on Saturday, Nov. 14, from noon to 4 p.m. It's a self-guided tour of 14 historic buildings, homes, and landmarks in downtown Fayetteville. Tickets cost $25 per person, The Fayetteville Observer reported.
A closing reception follows at MacPherson House Bed & Breakfast from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Most of these sites stay closed to visitors the rest of the year. Their dates stretch from the 18th century to the early 20th century.
Preservation North Carolina is the state's only private nonprofit group devoted to saving historic places, per the publication. It buys run-down or endangered properties and restores them through its Endangered Properties Program. Fayetteville has never hosted one of its events until now.
Cool Spring Tavern, at 119 N. Cool Spring St., went up in 1788 and served drinks until 1795. It survived the fire of 1831. Today it stands as the oldest building in Fayetteville, and Ramble guests get exclusive access.
Evans Metropolitan AME Zion Church, at 301 N. Cool Spring St., received its charter in 1801, according to the outlet. The current building rose between 1893 and 1894. The church traces its origins to Henry Evans, a free Black cobbler who welcomed both Black and white worshippers.
According to The Fayetteville Observer, three Episcopal and Presbyterian churches sit on the route. St. Joseph's Episcopal Church, at 509 Ramsey St., started the St. Joseph's Parochial School. After the Civil War, it was one of the few places where Fayetteville's Black youth could get an education. St. John's Episcopal Church, at 302 Green St., was founded in 1817 and rebuilt in 1832 after the fire. First Presbyterian Church, at 102 Ann St., built its first church in 1810 and had to rebuild after the same fire.
Several stops line Hay Street. The Cameo Art House Theatre, at 225 Hay St., began as the New Dixie, a movie theater that opened in 1914. Rude Awakening Coffee House, at 227 Hay St., opened in 1999, when owners Molly and Bruce Arnold saved the condemned building from being torn down. City Center Gallery & Books, at 112 Hay St., sits in a building from 1890. Founders Hank and Diane Parfitt will lead a private tour of their apartment above the gallery.
Merchant James Kyle built the Kyle House, next to St. John's Church, in 1855. The Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Armory & Museum, at 210 Burgess St., honors a company founded in 1793. It is among the oldest volunteer military companies in the U.S.
Cross Creek Cemetery No. 1, at 325 N. Cool Spring St., dates to 1785. It is the city's oldest public cemetery, per the publication. The 1897 Poe House, at 801 Arsenal Ave., belonged to E.A. Poe, a local businessman who owned the Poe Brick Company. Heritage Square, at 225 Dick St., holds the Sandford House, the Baker-Haigh-Nimocks House, and the Oval Ballroom.
Tickets and details are at presnc.org/events/event/fayetteville-ramble . The closing reception takes place at 701 Hay St.