NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1981 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1056

HOUSE BILL 402

 

 

AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE REHABILITATION OF THE GROVE (BLOUNT-BRIDGERS HOUSE) IN TARBORO FOR USE AS AN ART GALLERY, ARTS EDUCATIONAL CENTER AND COMMUNITY CIVIC CENTER.

 

Whereas, the Grove, constructed in Tarboro in 1808 by General Thomas Blount, is one of the finest examples of North Carolina Federal architecture (National Historic Register Data: Grove (Blount-Bridgers House), Bridgers Street, Tarboro, Edgecombe County, February 18, 1971); and

Whereas, General Thomas Blount served in the Revolutionary War, was a member of the North Carolina Senate, an early trustee of The University of North Carolina, and served North Carolina in the United States House of Representatives for 11 years; and

Whereas, succeeding families residing at the Grove included such notable men as Colonel Louis D. Wilson, a trustee of The University of North Carolina, member of the North Carolina Legislature and colonel in the Mexican War; and Colonel John L. Bridgers, prominent Tarboro attorney and landowner, member of the North Carolina Legislature and Civil War officer; and

Whereas, the estate of the late Hobson Pittman, a native of Tarboro acclaimed internationally as one of the foremost American impressionist artists, has made available to the Town of Tarboro an invaluable collection of Pittman's artwork, furniture and personal memorabilia, on the condition that the Town of Tarboro provide a suitable gallery for such work; and

Whereas, it is fitting that an appropriate gallery be established in order to fulfill the Pittman bequest and to procure these valuable art treasures for all North Carolinians; and

Whereas, a definite need for a community civic center and meeting place in Tarboro has been expressed by individuals, clubs and other civic organizations; and

Whereas, the Town of Tarboro plans to adaptively re-use the Grove as a gallery for Pittman's artwork and meeting place for civic organizations; and

Whereas, the Town of Tarboro has received grants from the North Carolina General Assembly (1979-81 biennium), the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and donations and pledges from private individuals and businesses for the purpose of beginning the first phase of a rehabilitation program for the Grove; and

Whereas, construction on this first phase is underway and funds are now needed to complete the project; Now, therefore,

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Division of Archives and History, Department of Cultural Resources, for the 1981-82 fiscal year the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) which will be available to the Town of Tarboro for the purpose of completing a phased program of rehabilitation of the Grove (Blount-Bridgers House), provided that like amounts are raised by the Town of Tarboro in order to match the grant-in-aid on a dollar-for-dollar basis, and provided that the Town of Tarboro enters into a binding contract with Mrs. Donald B. Gordon for the donation of numerous paintings by Hobson Pittman.

Sec. 2. Funds appropriated in this act shall be expended only in accordance with G.S. 121-11 and G.S. 143-31.2.

Sec. 3. This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 10th day of October, 1981.