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LMC receives Carraway Award of Merit from Preservation North Carolina for restoration of Daniel Boone VI Cottage

Aug. 13, 2012. Lees-McRae College is pleased to announce that Preservation North Carolina awarded Deborah Buxton and the College a 2012 Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit for the restoration of the Daniel Boone VI Cottage.

The Carraway Awards are presented each year to people and organizations demonstrating genuine commitment through extraordinary leadership, research, philanthropy, promotion and/or personal participation in historic preservation.

Deborah Buxton will accept the award at Preservation North Carolina’s Annual Conference in Asheville on September 21. 

“We are blessed to have a beautiful campus with many historic native stone buildings that date back to the early 1900s. Our goal is to be good stewards of this historic legacy and do everything we can to restore and rehabilitate these beautiful and soulful buildings,” said President Barry Buxton. “We are therefore especially happy to have received the 2012 Gertrude S. Carraway Award for the restoration of the Daniel Boone VI Cottage from Preservation North Carolina.

This charming structure, built in 1935, is filled with wormy chestnut paneling and hand-hewn beans, four stone fireplaces, Tennessee marble floors, and hand-wrought iron by Daniel Boone VI. 

Over many years, the house had fallen into disrepair, but with the vision of Deborah Buxton and the help of countless sponsors, volunteers and designers, the cottage was restored and has become a perfect reflection of the ideal “Appalachian Retreat” filled to the rafters with antiques, exquisite artwork, master crafts, and gorgeous fabrics.

The house was open for tours as a designer showcase in fall 2010, a project that was co-chaired by Dianne Davant of Dianne Davant and Associates and Pam McKay of The Art Cellar. Tours of the house raised funds for building restoration and historic preservation on the Lees-McRae College campus.  It is now used as a guest house for campus visitors.

“True to the motto of Lees-McRae College – in the mountains, of the mountains, for the mountains – this charming home has returned to its original purpose and character,” said Deborah Buxton. “It is a showcase for Blue Ridge Mountain talent including artists, craftsmen and designers.”

“I am especially grateful to my wife, Debbie, for leading this effort and to the dozens of community and campus volunteers who made this restoration possible. Their efforts in laying stone, painting, roofing, decorating and furnishing this historic cottage is inspirational and reflects the level of community support for Lees-McRae,” President Buxton said.

For more information about the Daniel Boone VI Cottage and to see a listing of designers and sponsors, visit www.lmc.edu/danielboonecottage