Preservation NC 2026 Annual Conference

PNC’s Annual Conference isn’t all slideshows and business cards, but an experience in all things preservation. Expect receptions, rambling home tours, field sessions, live music and much more! From Quaker meeting houses to streetcar neighborhoods, Brutalist landmarks and Black history, this year offers a chance to experience High Point’s remarkable history while exploring how historic places can shape the future. With thought-provoking speakers, the Annual Honor Awards, and plenty of opportunities for connection, this isn’t one to miss.

2026 Conference Highlights

The Kick-off Reception at Cohab.Space

Join us at Cohab.Space (one of this year’s Carraway Award winners!), a vibrant creative campus located within the thoughtfully restored Melrose Hosiery Mill, a former textile factory that today is a hub for artists, makers, and entrepreneurs. It’s an example of how preservation can breathe new life into historic places while fostering creativity and community. Enjoy live music by jazz trio Lullaby Walsh, Angel McCray, and Brandon Cole while savoring a selection of dishes by Cuisine Kathleen. Enjoy beer and wine throughout the evening all the while soaking up this unique adaptive-reuse campus, meeting artists working on-site, and connecting with members of the Cohab.Space community Special thanks to Downtown High Point for sponsoring this event.

A Range of You-Pick Field Sessions

Pick between wide range of field sessions that will take you out exploring various facets of High Point’s architectural heritage.

Field Session Examples:

Quaker Architecture in the Carolina Piedmont

Local historians Dan Warren and Brenda Haworth will lead a tour of three sites important to NC’s Quaker community. The 1858 Third Springfield Meeting House was saved from demolition by historian John J. Blair when he established the Museum for Old Domestic Life in 1927. Learn about the museum, the historic meeting house, the Allen Jay House, and the Model Farm.

Johnson Place: A 1908 Streetcar Suburb

Coralle Cowan with High Point Preservation Society and historian Dr. Tom Hanchett will guide us around High Point’s first streetcar suburb. Hanchett first completed the inventory on this special early twentieth century neighborhood 40 years ago! Explore the architecture and history of sites like the Ferd-Ecker House (pictured above), protected by PNC covenants.

Emerywood: Architectural Textbook Tour of Revival & Eclectic Styles

Perhaps one of High Point’s most significant contributions to North Carolina’s architectural history is found in the city’s Emerywood neighborhood whose streets are lined with Period Revival and Eclectic Style homes. Starting with Brantley Circle in 1912, the neighborhood expanded to Emerywood in 1923. This expansion added grand homes in an array of styles including Colonial Revival, Tudor, Mission, Italian Renaissance and Spanish eclectic. Architectural historian Heather Slane will lead conference goers on a tour of this neighborhood for the Architectural Textbook Tour of Revival and eclectic Styles field session.

Written in Stone

High Point has a rich history of stone construction. Stonemason Harris Ogburn, who graduated from the American College of Building Arts architectural stone program, will lead a special walking tour to ‘read’ different stone buildings, including the First Presbyterian Church built of Crab Orchard Stone.

Click to view the full list of field sessions

Dinner at Pandora’s Manor and a High Street Ramble

Monday evening starts at Pandora’s Manor, a beautifully restored 1905 home built by furniture manufacturer Henry Fraser and named in honor of his wife, Pandora. Now a boutique inn and event venue, the manor is a wonderful example of High Point’s rich architectural heritage. Enjoy beer and wine with a variety of sliders and savory sides, before setting out on a High Street Ramble with exclusive access to a unique collection of historic homes and hidden architectural gems in a charming corner of High Point not typically open to the public.

Conference attendees receive 15% off any of the manor’s six unique rooms. Call and mention “Preservation North Carolina” to receive this special rate.

Talented and Passionate Speakers Throughout

This year’s speakers and session leaders offer a range of perspectives and talent in the field. High Point’s conference will bring together more than 40 professionals from architects to historians to city planners to builders to craftsmen, all of whom bring a fresh voice to preservation. Get to know them here or click on the block below.