Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. – 2 Corinthians 13:11

One of many super-cool things about Tarboro is how much is happening in the historic district. Reliable sources tell us that more renovation permits have been issued in the past two years than the entire previous decade. Anecdotally, folk from the church and the community say they are seeing a lot happening in the way of new life and restoration.

According to more than one observer, downtown Tarboro is becoming increasingly desirable for younger families. All this gives us more confidence in what is obviously a fairly risky venture.

Learning more about old Tarboro:

One of our church families is renovating a spectacular 1850 era Church Street home with plans to offer upscale guest accommodations. Saturday morning Lance and June were kind enough to give us a tour before heading over to take a look at our project on St. Patrick.

We were blown away by the elegance, the attention to detail, the faithful honoring of history, the scale of the work and what the tour offered us in terms of inspiration as we look forward to both what is possible and what is practical.

We were also brought down to earth a little as we realized how labor intensive and potentially costly every idea can be. “Hold on a moment, Lance,” I wanted to say, “don’t show Rebekah what you’re planning on doing over there – and let’s not even take her into that other room!”

One of many interesting nuggets is revealed in this photograph (left). Back in 1850 these gorgeous heart-pine floors were not stained but waxed, and supplies were at a premium. So for 150+ years a rug defined the middle of most rooms and homeowners just waxed around them!

Another interesting feature is that the house – like the circa 1750 neighbor across the way – originally faced Trade Street. Later, when Church Street was cut in from Main, both houses built entries to face the new thoroughfare.

Over time a variety of additions and modifications expanded the original footprint of our friends’ house, leaving exposed brick and windows that add architectural interest to several interior walls. The result is a wonderfully elegant home that – if we just pay attention – has countless interesting stories to tell.

I promise a complete set of “finished” photographs once the project is complete.

It really is about the people!

Meanwhile, Lance and June posed with Rebekah in front of the St. Patrick Street house after we showed them what is happening over there. I am compiling a series of photographs that show all of our early restoration guests. The prayers and the encouragement of our friends comprise a critically important component that we would be lost without.

I want to highlight the importance of the people because, while Tarboro has a beautiful historic district and we dearly love the aesthetics of this town, what has really drawn us is the good people who give Tarboro its life… who give this place heart… the living, breathing, open-spirited heartbeat of the community.

Now, because of our in-process “adventures in restoration” project, Rebekah and I have a new and even deeper connection with this town, and we are finding that it is one thing to form a romantic attachment to a place, but it is a whole other level to go all in and to stake our resources and our future.

Of course, as in all things, it turns out that we are not alone. – DEREK

• the following set of photos begins with June showing us the view from Trade Street.