Dunn shows ignorance or audacity to demolish historic house

County's demolition of Dorsey House a power play

Mayor Lenox right about city-county tax inequity

Dunn shows ignorance

or audacity to demolish historic house

He's done it again! Commissioner

Greg Dunn had the audacity to demolish the historic Dorsey Home last week.

He did it without the forethought to inform the city of Fayetteville and

did not even inform other commissioners of his intentions. Now why is

that?

Mr. Dunn spoke with me and

stated that he truly did not know the value of the history or the architecture

of the Dorsey Home. And that, my friends, is a pile of baloney! Personally,

I think this was another arrogant display from Mr. Dunn showing the city

of Fayetteville that he means business and that what he says goes!

Last year I presented to the

board letters and architectural drawings from the archives of Georgia

Tech detailing the historical significance of the house. I presented to

them the historical background of the house as it relates to the history

of Fayetteville. This house had everything it needed to be on the National

Register of Historic Homes except for the owner's permission, namely the

county of Fayette!

Did Greg Dunn even think to

salvage the valuable carved wood fireplaces and mantels, antique hardware,

hand-blown glass windows, 200-year-old Georgia hardwood floors and ceilings,

and Eastlake Victorian latticework? No! Worse than that, the following

day he had another home demolished and didn't save the antique stained

glass front door and carved mantles.

It makes me sick to think that

we have allowed this elected official the right to destroy what little

is left of any history of Fayetteville. I thank God that my children had

the opportunity to explore the Dorsey House, to see the lathe and plaster

walls made from horsehair, to touch the old doorstops, window pulleys

and porcelain door knobs, to hide in the butler closet, and to appreciate

how things were years ago for the early citizens of Fayetteville.

If we aren't careful, there

will be nothing left of "old" Fayetteville. If we continue to

allow historical architecture to be destroyed in the name of "progress,"

Fayetteville will have nothing left but a courthouse and the dilapidated

Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House. Why bother spending all this money on brick

sidewalks downtown when we have nothing to show for it?

I blame the city officials

almost as much for the senseless destruction of the Dorsey House. They

were given plenty of time to have it moved. They also restricted the relocation

of the house so stringently that they actually signed its death warrant.

I know for a fact that there were interests to move the house outside

of the city limits. Had the city relented and allowed the boundaries to

be extended, the Dorsey House would have been preserved and its history

respected.

In retrospect, I have to wonder

that if the Fayette County Commissioners and Fayetteville city officials

can't communicate on a subject as simple as a historic home, how do they

communicate about much larger issues affecting our lives?

Denise Fair

Fayetteville