The historic district
We researched and wrote the nomination that placed nearly 160 acres and 316 contributing structures on the National Register in August 2022.
About us
About Preservation Zebulon
A volunteer-run 501(c)(3) organization working to keep the buildings, landscapes, and stories of Zebulon, North Carolina in the public record.
Preservation Zebulon receives no funding from the Town of Zebulon. Everything on this site, the National Register nomination, the Memory Project films, the building plaques, the awards, was produced by volunteers and paid for by members, sponsors, and people who bought a ticket to Zebulation.
Our mission
Preservation Zebulon advocates for the preservation and appreciation of historic districts, buildings, and landscapes that embody important elements of the history and culture of the Town of Zebulon, North Carolina and promotes their use and conservation for the education, pleasure, and enrichment of current and future generations of local, county, and state-wide residents and businesses.
What we do
The Memory Project
We record oral histories and produce a documentary film each year, premiered at Zebulation and archived for the town.
Tours and events
Walking tours, the annual Zebulation celebration, and community events like the 2026 Time Capsule burial with Little River Historical Society.
The awards program
Each year we recognize owners, builders, and neighbors whose work has kept a Zebulon building or landscape standing and in use.
The preservation awards
How a project qualifies
- The building, landscape, or object is located in or associated with Zebulon.
- Work respects the original materials, proportions, and detailing.
- The result is in active use, not merely preserved as a facade.
- Nominations may be submitted by anyone, including neighbors and contractors.
Recent recipients
- Arendell Avenue storefront rehabilitation, 2025
- Walter Perry Homeplace porch restoration, 2024
- Zebulon Fire Department engine bay documentation, 2024
- Horton Street bungalow window repair, 2023
Award winners are announced each November at Zebulation.
Board of Directors 2026
MC
MaryBeth Carpenter
Chair
JP
Jeff Price
Vice Chair
MH
Marvin Howell
Treasurer
DL
Denise Loucks
Recording Secretary
LS
Linda Shrake
Correspondence Secretary
SR
Sandra Richardson
Volunteer Coordinator
DH
Deb Hanlon
Sponsorship Co-Chair
DB
Debbie Beavers
Sponsorship Co-Chair
TG
Taylor Gray
Historic Plaque Program Chair
AH
Austin Hicks
Director
VH
Vicky Chamblee Hartrich
Director
The logo story
Our mark is a stained-glass lunette window: a golden sun rising over panels of blue, green, red, and purple. It is the kind of window that sits above a front door on a house built here a century ago, and the kind that is thrown away first when a porch is replaced.
The thin band of five colors that runs beneath every page heading on this site is drawn from the same window. It stands in for the mullions that hold the glass together.
Sponsors 2026
Gold
- North Carolina Humanities
Silver
- George Sprite Barbee
- JRB Builders
- Scott and MaryBeth Carpenter
- David Hicks Foundation
- Stephenson Millworks
- Victory Lane Quick Oil Change
- Walter Perry Homeplace - Jim and Becky Perry
Corporate Partners
- Ashbrook Builders
- Chamblee Properties
- County Line Grocery & Grill
- The Fall Line
- Marvin Howell & Dwain Driver
- Glen Lewis Insurance Agency
- Ruth Moss
- Jeff Price & Lisa Tillis
- R.F. Timberlake & Company Inc
- Jeffrey Upchurch Farms
- Queen Productions, Monica Cooper
- Zebulon Lions Club Foundation
Preservation Zebulon is supported in part by North Carolina Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, www.nchumanities.org.
SUPPORT THE WORK
Zebulon's history stays here because people keep it here.
Membership and gifts fund the films, the tours, the plaques, and the archive. None of it comes from the Town.