The final "Available for Restoration" sign has come down in Edenton Mill Village. The single-story house purchased by Joe and Debbie Sliva on August 31 was the last to enter private ownership since Preservation NC first acquired the mill and 57 houses in 1995.

Joe & Debbie Sliva at their new home

The village, constructed between 1899 and 1923, represents a lifestyle common to many hardworking North Carolinians in the early 20th century. The homes were owned by the mill company and rented to workers. When the mill closed in 1995, Unifi, the mill's owners, donated the entire complex to Preservation NC.

"A textile mill and mill village is as strong a representation of how people in North Carolina lived and worked in the early 20th century as anything you could find, and they've disappeared," Preservation NC President Myrick Howard said at the time.

Residents who had been renting the mill houses were allowed to remain as long as they wished. The last such resident was Elizabeth "Sissy" Rogerson Wright, who was born in the village and worked at the mill for 34 years. She died in 2008 at age 92 after living for 40 years in the house at 412 E. Queen St. Her home became the last one sold when the Slivas bought it late last month, nearly 13 years after the first sale in the village, October 24, 1996.

Meanwhile, the century-old Edenton Cotton Mill has been given new life upscale condominiums overlooking Queen Anne's Creek.

See Edenton Mill Village before and after slideshow from Flickr

Learn More

Edenton Cotton Mill Village

Historic Properties for Sale

The original village design has been maintained, with large common areas that create a pastoral-like setting. The layout initially was intended to appeal to workers exchanging farm life for jobs at the mill; however, those same attributes are just as appealing to modern families.

"We like the location - you have a rural feeling although you're still in town," said Sliva, who works in information technology. "My wife and I can walk to work. Plus it's close to Queen Anne Creek, where we like to canoe."

The couple raised three children in a larger historic home in Edenton before moving away for several years. They sought a house in the mill village upon their return.

The home is in near-original condition, with original doors, porch, and windows. The Slivas will be adding modern amenities, such as heating and cooling systems, new kitchen cabinets, better insulation and updated appliances.

"There's quite a bit of work to do, and we expect to put quite a bit of money into it," he added. "But we are happy because the actual construction of the house is solid. Things like the underpinnings and the joists, they're a lot bigger than they make them today. It's just a well-built house."

There can be little doubt that PNC's Edenton Mill Village project has been a true success story, resulting in economic benefits for the Edenton area, preservation of an important slice of North Carolina history, and the strengthening of a community for generations to come.