The Town of Dillsboro received a grant to help stabilize the historic Monteith Farmstead.

The Monteith Farmstead in Dillsboro sits on sixteen acres, with ten outbuildings and a main house. The Craftsman-style home is representative of many that were built in Appalachia in the early 20th century. It is a modest and practical structure, with low, broad proportions and a lack of ornamentation. The structure blends well into its natural setting.

The home was built in 1908 by Elias Brendel Monteith and his wife, Mary Magdalene Carson Monteith. They had two daughters, Edna Corine, born in 1908, and Edith Irene, born in 1915, who lived their entire lives on the farmstead. Growing up, the girls' lives were focused on education, religion, farming, pets, canning and needlework. As adults, Edna worked at the post office for 45 years, while Edith managed the farmstead. After the passing of both sisters --Edna in 1988 and Edith in 2001 - the property went up for sale.

In 2003, with assistance from a North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grant, the Town of Dillsboro purchased the property. Through a collaboration of town officials and the Monteith Farmstead Restoration Committee, the idea emerged to turn the site into an educational facility, to be known as the Appalachian Women's Museum. Now under development, the museum will pay tribute to the women of Appalachia. The Restoration Committee has worked with student interns from Western Carolina University to catalog artifacts, collect oral histories, and - with support from the Mountain Heritage Center - produce a written history of the farmstead and the Monteith family. In 2006, the Dillsboro Merchants Association donated funds for a preservation consultant to complete an application for the farmstead to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Community members have donated countless volunteer hours to clean and secure the site, and several fundraising projects have helped generate financial support and increase community awareness of the property. In 2007, the Town of Dillsboro received a $15,000 grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area to produce a restoration plan for the property, including steps for the adaptive reuse of the site as the Appalachian Women's Museum.

Mathews Architecture of Asheville is overseeing the project and suggested that the Stedman Incentive Grant be sought as a way to help pay for stabilization of the building while additional funding is sought to complete the project. The Stedman Grant will be used specifically to reinforce weakened structural members on the wraparound porch, install a temporary chimney cap to keep rainwater from entering the building, and replace window panes and install protective shutters on the first floor windows.

Preservation North Carolina is pleased to present the Stedman award for this worthwhile project. The award was accepted by Emma Wertenberger of the Monteith Farmstead Restoration Committee on behalf of the Town of Dillsboro.