Joy Jackson is a graduate student in UNC’s Master of Public Administration program and a CCP intern working in Lenoir and Caswell Counties.
This summer, interns from the Community Campus Partnership will be working with the owners of the Yancey House restaurant create historical tours of town it calls home – Yanceyville, NC. In addition to researching the history of the town, interns will also be sitting down with long time residents to collect the oral history and anecdotes that written documents may lack.
By the end of the summer interns intend to have collected enough information to help the owners create a tour that will both entertain visitors and help shed some light on town’s interesting history. Areas of interest include the local jail house, an old school in the community and the Caswell County Courthouse.
The restaurant currently provides those dining at their establishment an opportunity to learn more about the house-turned-restaurant. Visitors learn about Thomas Day, a prominent African-American woodworker from the 1800’s, who carved the window and door casements as well as the banister in house. Information about the prominent Caswell County family that built and lived in the home as well as ghost stories about the building are also shared with diners. The colorful history the owners have discovered and the interest that visitors have demonstrated have promoted owners to dig deeper into the town’s history and share more information with the public.
The owners of the Yancey House acquired the property four years ago and have sought to make the restaurant a destination for both those in the community and the larger surrounding communities including the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. Since opening in 2004, the Yancey House has enjoyed much success, including winning first place in the “Best Dish in North Carolina” Competition 2009 for Casual Dining in a contest sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Our State magazine. For more information on the Yancey House visit http://www.yanceyvillage.com/.