The following update is related to the Town of Yanceyville’s move into the Municipal Building, a former textile mill.
As one of the three interns in Caswell County this past summer, I was fortunately in a position to help facilitate the Town of Yanceyville’s move into the former Royal Hosiery Mill. This building has been owned by the town for several years, housing the Public Works Department. It has also been used by Piedmont Community College (PCC) for Department of Corrections trainings for three years. At the end of their lease agreement in July of ’09, PCC left the building, opening an additional 12,000 square feet of unused space.
The town council has considered relocating to the Municipal Building for some time. With the opportunity at hand (and interns offering creative options for using the space to its fullest potential), town manager David Parrish and members of the council began the process of designing the new floor plan of the old mill and soliciting bids from contractors for remodeling.
The work is moving rapidly, with most of the framing finished and electricians about to reroute what will become the Council Chambers and the various administrative offices. But before they can do their work, and before the insulation, HVAC and drywall can be installed, the town’s Maud Gatewood Collection must be securely stowed away.
With the Yanceyville painter’s death in 2004, Maud Gatewood left the town a collection of more than forty pieces – many were Gatewood’s original work, while many others were collected from her extensive world travels. It is an impressive and diverse range of pieces in numerous media – oil, ink, watercolor, lithograph, and photography. They have been on display in the municipal building since its first renovation and will return to these walls in a dedicated gallery space adjacent to Council Chambers.
With consultation from Caryn Lazzuri, of the Folger Library in Washington, D.C., Parrish and CCP RAs will safely layer the oil paintings in acid free paper and cover them with polyethylene to be stored in a climate controlled space until the renovation is complete. When the new Gatewood Gallery is ready, most of the pieces will be hung professionally in their renewed home. Other pieces that require it will be cleaned or treated by Andrew Nagy of the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill.
By Spring 2010, Yanceyville residents and guests alike will be free to walk the Gallery and see Gatewood’s collection. They can even pay a water bill or catch a council meeting while they’re at it.
For more about the life and work of Maud Gatewood, please visit http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncccha/biographies/maudegatewood.html