Saving the Eno

In the chronology

Dated events connected with this event, earliest first. See these 14 dated events in the chronology →

1. October 14, 1966 The Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley forms Residents who had begun organizing in 1965 against plans to dam the Eno for a water-supply reservoir formed the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley on October 14, 1966. Led by Margaret and Holger Nygard, it began the campaign that preserved the river corridor in Durham and Orange counties. People: Margaret Nygard, Holger NygardEno River Association: ERA Through the Eras, Beginnings of the Eno River Association
2. 1970s and 1980s The Hill family sells parts of Riverbend Farm for Eno River State Park In the 1970s and 1980s the Hills sold portions of their acreage along the Eno to the new state park, leaving about 27 acres with the house.NC State Historic Preservation Office: Cabe-Pratt-Harris House, National Register nomination (OR0656), p. 12
3. May 17, 1972 The State Board of Conservation and Development endorses a state park on the Eno Won over by the Eno River Association, the board approved the idea of a state park along the river in Orange and Durham counties. Soon afterward The Nature Conservancy bought the 300-acre Red Hills Farm and passed it to the state as the first park land.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
4. 1973–1975 Eno River State Park is created After years of citizen opposition to damming the Eno for a reservoir, Governor James Holshouser accepted the first tracts for Eno River State Park in June 1973, including 90 acres donated by Dr. and Mrs. Frederick Bernheim. The first 1,000 acres opened to the public in 1975 along the river in Orange and Durham counties. People: Margaret NygardEno River Association: ERA Through the Eras, Creation of the Eno River State Park and West Point on the Eno City Park
5. August 1975 State planners show three Eno River park plans at a Hillsborough public meeting The Division of Parks and Recreation presented three versions of a river park running about eighteen miles from Guess Road west to near Hillsborough. Landowners along the western river in Orange County objected, above all to the state's use of eminent domain against unwilling sellers.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
6. September 1975 Orange County forms an Eno River task force, and state park planning stops The county formally created a task force to weigh the aims of private owners against protection of the river. At the request of county officials the state put its park planning on hold.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
7. 1976 Orange County adopts a policy for protecting the Eno River After its task force reported in May 1976, still split over eminent domain, the county adopted a statement calling for permanent protection of the river through both state park ownership and restricted private ownership, backed by conservation zoning and easements. It asked the state to use condemnation only to protect the river, not to enlarge the park.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
8. August 1976 Seven landowners near Hillsborough sue to stop the Eno River State Park plan Just as master planning resumed, seven landowners near Hillsborough sued the state, arguing that adopting a park master plan would be an unlawful taking of their property. A restraining order and injunction halted the planning for more than two years.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
9. November 1978 The state Supreme Court refuses the Eno park landowners' appeal By denying discretionary review of a Court of Appeals ruling for the state, the North Carolina Supreme Court ended the injunction against Eno River State Park planning. Work on the master plan resumed the next month.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
10. July 4, 1980 The first Festival for the Eno is held The Eno River Association held the first Festival for the Eno on July 4, 1980, at West Point on the Eno, a Durham city park on the river. The yearly festival of traditional music, crafts and trades raises money for land protection in the Eno River basin.Eno River Association: ERA Through the Eras, Creation of the Eno River State Park and West Point on the Eno City Park
11. 1993 or 1994 The Eno River Association buys timber rights on Occoneechee Mountain To stop logging on about 96 acres along the summit, where the mountain's rarest plant communities grow, the association bought the timber rights the owners had sold to a timber company, holding them for 18 months while it negotiated to buy the land.R. Marina Riley, A Strategy to Protect the Environmental and Cultural Values of Occoneechee Mountain in Orange County, North Carolina (1994), scan p. 27
12. by 1994 Piedmont Minerals grants easements for an Occoneechee Mountain parking lot and trail The mining company, which owned about 40 acres on the mountain's north side, gave easements for a one-acre parking lot on the floodplain by SR 1148 and a narrow trail linking it to the Town of Hillsborough's 28-acre Occoneechee Park.R. Marina Riley, A Strategy to Protect the Environmental and Cultural Values of Occoneechee Mountain in Orange County, North Carolina (1994), scan p. 25