EVM Foundation

12/08/2025

Hayes will be open next Friday and Saturday from 12-3 as part of the Edenton Christmas Tour. Visitors will notice as they approach Hayes that the main gates to the house have been restored. Thanks to a grant from the Edenton Woman’s Club these gates are now in perfect working order and the pedestrian gate on the eastern side has been replaced using documentary photos. As much as we wanted to have the “replacement urns” ready for Christmas they are scheduled to be installed in the spring.

12/05/2025

One of the most meaningful and quietly powerful restorations in America today is taking place in Edenton. Andrew Ownbey and his team are slowly uncovering the remarkable details that have hidden beneath layers of paint on the Cupola House woodwork for decades. Each day reveals a piece of history long thought lost.

This first-floor woodwork—purchased by the Brooklyn Museum in 1918—spent 106 years on display in New York before finally coming home to Edenton last year. Its return feels like a true homecoming, a long awaited reunion with the place where it all began in 1758

The preservation movement in North Carolina was launched when the people of Edenton joined together in 1918 to save the Cupola House. Now that the house and the woodwork are reunited the puzzle is coming together. What was once only dreamed-of by Edenton preservationists, is now unfolding before our eyes: the Cupola House, whole again, is becoming a reality.

12/04/2025

While so much of the built heritage in Edenton has survived and in contrast so many historic buildings that were near the Chowan River have not. Bandon Plantation was lost when it sadly burned in 1963. At the time it was the home of Inglis Fletcher who wrote many of her novels there. The good news is that once again the people of Edenton banded together with the DAR and over a 30 year period gradually moved the early Bandon outbuildings to the James Iredell House property where there are now a part of the State Historic Site. The outbuildings mostly date from the early 19th century. They include an early school, an amazing kitchen and smokehouse.

12/03/2025

Edenton has long been known for its remarkable women—women of strength, vision, and accomplishment. Perhaps this legacy began with the Edenton Tea Party, but it has certainly endured through the generations. Leila Budlong Wood (1899–1976) was one of those exceptional women.

For decades, she cared for Hayes with unwavering devotion, and the camellia garden we enjoy today is a testament to her artistry and dedication. Leila played a vital role in many of Edenton’s charitable endeavors and was the driving force behind the restoration of the Cupola House gardens. She died while arranging flowers in the Cupola House in 1976.

Leila Wood was, without question, one of Edenton’s most influential women of the 20th century. Both Edenton and Hayes were immeasurably enriched by her hard work, generous spirit, and vibrant personality. Today, her beloved camellia garden at Hayes is beginning to bloom once more, and the Elizabeth Vann Moore Foundation is honored to continue caring for this living legacy.

Each Tuesday, a dedicated team of volunteer gardeners lends their time and talent to preserve this magical place, where towering pines shelter Leila’s magnificent camellias. The arbor she once designed has been faithfully recreated, and the effect is truly stunning—an enchanting tribute to the woman who first imagined it.

12/02/2025

Each fall brings a blast of color at Hayes. The ginkgo trees in the graveyard create a show-stopping display as they turn yellow. When the fan-shaped leaves fall to the ground visitors must get much closer to see that the newly-cleaned graves as they turn a brilliant gold. The Elizabeth Vann Moore Foundation is currently in the process of restoring the incredible fence that surrounds this very important place. It is our intent that the ginkgo trees planted by members of the Wood family will continue to delight visitors as they come to see the Hayes each year.

12/01/2025

A little book, “A Lasting Gift of Heritage” details the “preservation struggles” that took place in Edenton around 1945. It was in this year that the plans to build the “New Belk’s building on “Mainstreet” necessitated the razing of the Penelope Barker House. At the same time the Chowan County Commissioners made plans to demolish the old jail behind the 1767 Courthouse. “The Society for the Preservation of Antiquities (now Preservation North Carolina) vice-president and superior court judge Richard Dillard Dixon (1888-1952) joined forces with fellow Edenton residents Penelope S. McMullan Pruden(1877-1966), Margaret S. Davis, and Inglis Fletcher(1879-1969) to fight the demolitions. On June 21, 1945, Dixon notified the Society’s president that an immediate crisis was averted. The county commissioners deferred building a new jail to the next fiscal year. Dixon also received a promise from W. H. Belk in Charlotte to preserve the Barker House”. This group of brave Edentonians carried the flame of the preservation movement. The way Edenton looks today is because these individuals said no to the demolition of important historic structures. Preservation North Carolina has helped Edenton with so many projects for decades.

11/28/2025

11/28/2025

Occasionally individuals send us photographs they take as they enjoy Hayes. In today’s post we are sharing a few. The residents of Edenton are using Hayes in record numbers. The sunrises and sunsets at Hayes are unparalleled. The open space provides a place to walk, run and swim. Hopefully soon the EVM Foundation will begin the process of building new walking trails.

11/27/2025

Today in Edenton we are thankful for our vibrant small town-a place where historic preservation is so important. We are thankful for our 3 preservation projects that are receiving national attention and for the individuals that are guiding these restorations. Edenton is thriving today because of the hard work of many individuals.

11/26/2025

As the world watches, Edenton is carefully restoring many of the most historic and iconic structures in North Carolina. This is all being achieved under the watchful eye of Robert Leath. The most recent edition of Antiques Magazine features an article Robert authored about the re-installation of the original Cupola House woodwork. Let us celebrate this “preservation victory”. The Cupola House is where historic preservation all began in 1918. Thank you also to Andrew Ownbey who is carefully “studying” each and every inch of the building before he or his crew hammer one nail to make sure that this restoration is carried out perfectly.