Rowan's New Museum
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JAMES lilt AH LEY
Rowan County, which celebrated its
bicentennial last year, has given birth
to an historical museum.
The proposal, long discussed, jelled
into a formally chartered corporation
— Rowan Museum. Inc. — due to the
interest aroused by the celebration.
An early 19th century dwelling near
the center of Salisbury has been ob¬
tained under long lease and has been
restored through careful research and
planning to its original state.
It will be a house museum furnished
with antiques fashioned in Rowan in
the period in which the home was
erected. A rotating room will supply
relics of different ages and of different
interests to utilize all the various ar¬
ticles that have been and will be col¬
lected by the curators.
The house is believed to have been
built by Louis Utzman, a German con¬
tractor. w'ho erected many dwellings
in Salisbury and was designed by
the noted Piedmont architect. John
Stircwalt.
In 1819 Utzman sold the home to
Judge James Martin. Jr., son of the
Revolutionary War hero and nephew
of Gov. Alexander Martin.
Judge Martin resigned his position
on the Superior Court bench in 1836
and offered his home for sale with
"all the furnishings" in that year. But
so poor were the inhabitants of this
section due to the absence of good
roads that it was not until 1840 that
Thomas Davis, an Episcopal rector,
purchased it for the modest sum of
$2.500.
Before the decade drew to a close,
however. Maxwell Chambers, a native
son who had grown wealthy in the
mercantile business in Charleston,
S. C, returned to Salisbury and pur¬
chased the property in 1847. His will,
probated ten years later, left it to the
Presbyterian Church, the present
owners.
Because of Chambers’ benefactions
to Davidson College, the local church
and other causes, this building has
since been called after the man who
did so much in the interest of educa¬
tion and religion.
The Chambers house is not preten¬
tious in the sense that it is large or
spacious, but is typical of the better
homes of the Piedmont section built in
the Federal period. Stircwalt adhered
to the usual building forms, reserving
any architectural efforts for features
such as the entrance door, stair and
mantle.
There is a well-proportioned Doric
peristyle across the front and a beau¬
tiful spiral stairway leading to the third
floor where a rosette medallion is
carved on the ceiling. Beneath the
caves of the home the pilaster deco-
Fod piinfc
By SYLVESTER GREEN
"My son, despise not the chas¬
tening of the Lord; neither be
weary of his correction." — Prov¬
erbs 3:11.
Tragedy stalks the lives of some
people, and they yield to its blackness.
Out of that yielding comes a futility
that excludes good, and that within
itself denies the power and presence of
God working in all things.
Too many people face to face with
tragedy deny the Divine and think that
God has forgotten them, and that
therefore hope has gone permanently
out of their lives. They never envision
using that tragedy for the good of man,
and the glory of God.
A great Texas preacher had his
early days in North Carolina. He loved
his Haywood County birthplace, and
reveled through his long years in his
Tar Heel ancestry. He became one of
the great preachers of modern times,
and today the name of George W.
Tructt remains a name spoken with
reverence and awe by thousands who
heard him proclaim "the unsearchable
riches” of God’s love. He knew God’s
love.
In a hunting accident, when he was
a young man, lie killed one of his
best friends. In utter reliance on God’s
guidance, he set himself to live stren¬
uously and do the work of two. Few
people ever bore more eloquent testi¬
mony to the chastening of the Lord or
knew how completely God under¬
stands and forgives.
George W. Tructt turned his tragedy
into the well-spring of an incomparable
life. There is no other way for a man
who believes in God and truth.
ration takes the form of the Greek key
pattern. On one of the third floor
windows is found fancy woodwork
with a glass fan design.
In proportion and general appear¬
ance it resembles the Cameron Faim-
losh home built in 1802 and located
in Durham County.
For the benefit of the museum a
regional antique show will be held in
Salisbury’ beginning on November 5
where dealers from the Carolinas and
Georgia will display their wares.
THE STATE. NOVEMBER 6. 1954
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