HEARTS in the News
Photo courtesy of Lake Norman Publications.
Local entities rally to preserve Brevard’s Chapel
March 12, 2025
A historic church that Abigail Jennings, who has a proven track record of saving special buildings around Lake Norman, refers to as an “irreplaceable artifact of African American heritage” is slated to be torn down and “once it’s gone, there’s no bringing it back.”
Not standing alone in the desire to save Brevard’s Chapel United Methodist Church, Jennings is joined by Lincoln Landmarks, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the historic structures of Lincoln County, the Lincoln County Historical Association, Preservation North Carolina, with a mission of saving historic places important to the diverse people of North Carolina and Preserve Mecklenburg, an organization focused on the preservation of historically and culturally significant properties in Mecklenburg County and the surrounding region, in asking UMC for a pause in their plans to include preservation assistance.
Photo courtesy of Lake Norman Publications.
DAR chapter celebrates 75th anniversary, honors preservationist
February 12, 2025
The Alexandriana Chapter was born on Feb. 1, 1950 – the 60th anniversary of the national organization’s founding – in Huntersville to support the women of Davidson, Cornelius and Huntersville. Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) emphasizes historical preservation, promotes education and encourages patriotic endeavors, like supporting local veterans.
True to the organization’s mission, the chapter chose to honor a prominent Lake Norman resident for her historical preservation efforts at the celebration held in the historic Cedar Grove house on Gilead Road. Regent Susan Gammon and Historical Preservation Chair Amanda Pittman bestowed the rare honor of a DAR Historic Preservation Medal on Abigail Jennings, a partial owner of the estate through the Torrance Preserve partnership.
Photos courtesy of HEARTS.
A historic preservation success story in Cornelius
January 29, 2025
Often historic structures – be they homes or other buildings – pave the way for new development. A term coined by Abigail Jennings, president of Lake Norman Realty, “Preserv-italization,” perfectly describes the best of both worlds. Recently, Jennings’ firm handled a transaction that could have had a very different outcome, if not for the first step of the success story: The seller, Elaine Howard, wanted to preserve their historic properties.
The subject historical structures are located on Catawba Avenue. One is known as the “Gabriel-Puckett House” which has been part of the middle-class neighborhood that arose on Catawba Avenue in the first decade of the twentieth century, according to a history prepared by Preservation Mecklenburg (PMI), a nonprofit that specializes in historic preservation easements. The “Perry Goodrum House” is the older of the two houses. Perry W. Goodrum bought the lot in 1900 and erected the residence sometime thereafter. His family owned the house until 1989.
“Without this first step, this success would not have been possible,” Jennings explained. “It’s an opportunity for sellers to win, historic preservation wins, the community wins, and the new buyers win.”
Photo courtesy of Cornelius Today.
HEARTS Collaborative founder lands top award from leading preservation group
October 20, 2023
Abigail Jennings received the Best All Around Preserver Award at the Golden Night of Preservation at the Duke Mansion in Charlotte this week. The CEO of Lake Norman Realty has been an advocate of historic preservation and served on the Historic Preservation Commission in Cornelius before it was transitioned to a committee. She was active behind the scenes in efforts to preserve the J. M. Alexander Farms Tenant House on the site of the former Alexander Farm where are large mixed-use project called Alexander Farms is under construction. Abigail and her husband Randolph Lewis restored the former Mt. Zion United Methodist Church parsonage just south of downtown Cornelius as their residence. The couple is also restoring historic Ingleside of Huntersville, a 170-year-old farmhouse on Bud Henderson Road in Huntersville. They recently joined with Torrance Banks, the seventh-generation owner of the Cedar Grove mansion on Gilead Road, with a mission to preserve and share the site with everyone by hosting several of HEARTS’ monthly nonprofit programs, called HEARTS Happenings, at Cedar Grove and at its’ sister site, the historic Hugh Torance House and Store. HEARTS Happenings are free community events, open to the public, and focus on local history, nature and our shared sense of place.
Video courtesy of Town of Hunterville, NC
Town of Huntersville releases collaborative video commemorating its 150th Anniversary
July 18, 2023
“This was the backcountry and mills were the key to development. No more than every four or 5 miles you’d find a mill. It was very sparsely populated and all of those plantation families grew up together, socialized together… Learning the Torrance family history opened my eyes too many of the other histories in our area - The Alexanders, the Davidsons, the Lattas, the Gastons, and the Grahams.” says Cedar Grove owner and HEARTS Board Chairperson, Abigail Jennings.
— Town of Huntersville, NC
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Landmarks.
Tour historic homes and grounds across Lincoln and Mecklenburg
April 22, 2023
Lincoln Landmarks, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the historic structures of Lincoln County, is sponsoring a Home and Garden Tour featuring more than a dozen different homes, grounds or structures across Lincoln and Mecklenburg counties.
Stately homes and other remnants of the past are sprinkled here and there across Lincoln and Mecklenburg counties. Often surrounded by new housing developments, many remain standing only because of dedicated owners. Some, like Cedar Grove in Huntersville, are open for scheduled events, and many are private homes. The history surrounding these locations has been preserved by individuals like local residents Abigail Jennings and Randolph Lewis, who have collaborated with descendant Torrance Banks and his wife, Liv Wu, in the process of rehabilitating Cedar Grove. The nonprofit programming hosted at Cedar Grove and its’ sister site, the Hugh Torance House and Store, is managed by HEARTS. What Jennings didn’t know when she got involved with the houses and the Torrance family was that the Torrances’ were connected with all the other houses and historic properties in the area.
Photo courtesy of Lake Norman Publications.
November pause before HEARTS holiday events
November 02, 2022
The monthly series of programs organized by HEARTS at historic Hugh Torance House and Store and the neighboring historic Cedar Grove is taking a pause in November. Planned work to continue restoration and preservation of the 191-year-old Cedar Grove home on Gilead Road is underway, including the installation of a new heating and air system to manage humidity levels and help preserve the historic structure.
Although special events will be paused, the Hugh Torance House and Store, the oldest standing store in North Carolina at 8231 Gilead Road, will still be open each Sunday in November for historic home tours and offering a selection of sundries, local goods, and artisan crafts and gifts.
The return of HEARTS Happenings will be their annual “Winter Wisdom” event on Dec. 10 with special guest Margaret “Chuck” Basinger. Basinger is the fifth-generation descendant of Hugh Torance, and the fourth-generation to Cedar Grove’s first Torrance family, James and Isabella Torrance. Margaret will share her holiday memories through the pages of “Tis the Season with Belle and Chuck,” her recently published book authored with her mother, Belle Banks.
Photo courtesy of QCity Metro.
Residents of historically Black neighborhood push back against gentrification
April 6, 2022
Established in 1909, Pottstown was once the home of formerly enslaved people. Today, some residents say the 150-home community faces gentrification from the planned construction of Valea Village, a 30-acre project set to be built on vacant land there.
“It should have been determined to become a landmark years ago,” Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP, told QCity metro.
Pottstown has emerged as the latest in a growing list of historically Black neighborhoods fighting gentrification. Part of the community’s history is tied to the historic Newell Rosenwald School located in Pottstown - one of only six Rosenwald schools still standing in North Carolina.
Photo courtesy of Cornelius Today.
Potts Barber Shop becomes an Historic Landmark
February 28, 2022
It was long customary that barbers who were black did not cut black customers’ hair. This kind of segregation in Cornelius ended quietly in 1972 when a Black man entered the shop and asked for a haircut.
Wilson Potts decided to go ahead, do the haircut, and then the new customer quietly left. Hair-cutting in Cornelius was integrated.
“The Potts Barber Shop is an important cultural and historic property for the Town of Cornelius and very worthy of the historic landmark designation,” said historic preservation advocate Abigail Jennings, who attended on Saturday. “The Potts family’s contributions to our region should be preserved and shared with future generations. They have touched many lives over the years and this is a well-earned accomplishment.”
Photo courtesy of HEARTS.
Cornelius couple envisions new life for Cedar Grove mansion
February 12, 2021
Built of brick made on the historic Cedar Grove plantation by James Torrence—over the course of 250 years, the family name changes from Torance, to Torrence, to Torrance—the Greek Revival mansion is adjacent to the Hugh Torance House and Store.
Both sit on property purchased by James’ father Hugh Torance in 1779.