YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1978 w w w. j a m e s t o w n n e w s . c o m
weekly edition
January 7-13, 2026 Vol 48 No 2 | 1 Section | 6 Pages
Planning Board to continue rezoning hearing The Jamestown Planning Board will revisit their Nov. 10 decision to deny rezoning along West Main Street at their Jan. 12 meeting. The request from Burkely Communities is for rezoning from 207, 209, 301 and 305 W. Main St., a total of 6.53 +/– acres, for multi-family development. It requires a change from Main Street and Commercial/Main Street
Transitional zoning to Conditional Zoning-Residential/ Main Street Transitional. The property is across the street from Jamestown Elementary School and the site of the former Potter House. The majority of the property falls within the Jamestown Historic District. The project of “mansionstyle” apartments will have limited access to Main Street and will fit in with the surrounding landscape. Jamestown Planning Director José Colón said the
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toric small-town character, environmental concerns, lack of elevators for those who need them, increased traffic, increased noise level from trains once vegetation is removed and the need for more commercial development. Only one audience member spoke in favor of the rezoning. Although Town staff recommended approval of the request, Planning Board members listened to the presentation and voted a tie
By CAROL BROOKS freelance writer cab1hp@gmail.com
Board meeting, see the Nov. 19, 2025, Jamestown News. Minutes of that meeting are available at https:// www.jamestown-nc.gov/ government/council_and_ boards/agendas_minutes. php#outer-1074sub-1097. The Planning Board will meet Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall, 301 E. Main St. The public is invited to attend. It will be live streamed at www.youtube.com/c/ TownofJamestownNC. Click on “live.”
Photo used with permissions © Castle McCulloch Inc.
(At left) Castle McCulloch after renovation.
After years of legal cases, as of Dec. 31, 2025, Richard Harris now retains ownership of Castle McCulloch. Last January, the Jamestown News reported that entertainment and wedding venue Castle McCulloch was scheduled to be auctioned off the end of that month. On Dec. 19, 2024, Chief Business Court Judge Louis Bledsoe III ordered the foreclosure sale for the property at 3925 Kivett Dr. in Jamestown to settle a financial dispute after years of lawsuits and countersuits were filed against the former Southeastern Eye Center of Greensboro. Southeastern was sold to Carolina Eye Associates earlier in 2025. Southeastern became a 25 percent owner of Castle McCulloch after paying owner Richard Harris $2.1 million in 2004. Southeastern principals were to use the castle for a loan for medical equipment. Harris’ brother, Douglas, was the attorney involved in the transaction. However, Southeastern defaulted on the loan. Nivison Family Investments, a real estate investment company in Raleigh, believed it had the right to seize the castle to pay off Southeastern’s debt to the company. Historic Castle McCulloch LLC, (HCM), the official owner of the Castle McCulloch
Photo courtesy Library of Congress
(Below) McCulloch Gold Mill as it looked for the National Register application in 1978.
Property, opposed the foreclosure and argued that the 2012 payment to the bank on behalf of JDPW paid off, rather than purchased, the note. JDPW was a trust created for the Southeastern Eye Center-Castle McCulloch arrangement. HCM also argued the 10-year statute of limitations for collection had run out. The court disagreed. Apparently, the transactions were done by Douglas Harris (the initial trustee for JDPW) for the benefit of himself and his brother Richard, rather than for JDPW’s benefit. The court deter-
Mendenhall receives National Register status By CAROL BROOKS freelance writer cab1hp@gmail.com High Point’s Mendenhall-Blair house recently received listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In January, the High Point Preservation Commission began the process to place the Elihu, Ann and Abigail Mendenhall House on the National Register. The State Historic Preservation Office proposed the nomination. The house is located at 1106 Skeet Club Road in High Point near the intersection with Johnson Street. It is the second Mendenhall family house on the National Register, following the Richard Mendenhall Homeplace on West Main Street in Jamestown. Several steps were involved for the house to gain National Register sta-
of 2-2. Hope Inge, chair, cast the deciding negative vote, denying the rezoning request. Those voting “aye” were Darlene Fete and John Capes. “Nay” votes were from Robert Garland, Brant Gomez and Inge. Garland then made a motion, which passed unanimously, to continue the Public Hearing to the December Planning Board meeting. However, that meeting was canceled. For a complete recap of the November Planning
Harris can keep ownership of Castle McCulloch
Compiled By Norma B. Dennis Cold weather fun Participants at the Jan. 20 A Moment In Time meeting will be able to greet the new year and winter with snowman games and a snowflake craft. While the theme is “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” everyone will get a warm welcome from volunteers and others who come to relax and join the fun with activities such as games, music, snacks, crafts and engaging conversation. The meetings are geared especially for people with dementia and their care partners. The sponsor for January is WellSpring Solutions. A Moment In Time is held on the third Tuesday of each month in the church fellowship hall at Jamestown United Methodist Church, 403 East Main St. Look for the purple signs in the back of the church. To make entry easier, all guests are asked to enter the church from the back under the portico. Someone will be there to direct you to the fellowship hall. Reservations are requested but not required. To register or ask questions, contact Laura Gulledge at 336-9060430 or lauragulledge@gmail.com. Pictures of past events may be found at https://www.facebook .com/jumcmemorycafe. (Regular sponsors for A Moment In Time include JUMC, HealthTeam Advantage and Senior Resources of Guilford.)
N.C. Department of Transportation will coordinate with the Town to conduct a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) study at Potter Road and Forestdale Drive to learn the impact that could result from a proposed 138 new multi-family units. Public comment concerns included stormwater responsibilities, the need to update the town’s Land Development Ordinance to reflect the 2020 Randleman Reservoir watershed rules, a threat to Jamestown’s his-
Photo by Carol Brooks
Mendenhall-Blair House is now on the National Register of Historic Places. tus. It first was approved by the High Point Historic Preservation Commission, then by the High Point City Council. From there it was presented to the North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee, then submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior for final review before the listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Different criteria items were considered in the nomination, including the manumission and migration of over 1,000 freedmen by the Quakers; the transportation of Black freedom-seekers through the Underground Railroad; and the education of Black students by the Quakers. The application contains several pages of history on
the manumission of slaves and the Underground Railroad in Guilford County. Although there is no documentation, tradition holds that the Mendenhall House was a stop on the Underground Railroad. After the Civil War, Abigail Mendenhall taught Black students in the yard at the property or possibly in another structure. “Her decision to educate Black neighbors is notable as it came at a great threat to her family’s welfare and lends credence to potential earlier abolitionist and antislavery actions in a time where there is limited documentation,” reads the application. At the time the house was constructed it was considered to be located in Jamestown, since High Point did not exist until 1859. see national, page 2
mined Douglas Harris had breached his fiduciary duty as trustee of JDPW. On March 5, 2025, Historic Castle McCulloch LLC, Castle McCulloch Inc. and Richard Harris filed an application in the N.C. Business Court for a stay and also requested an expedited ruling relating to see castle, page 2
New state laws went into effect Jan. 1 By CAROL BROOKS freelance writer cab1hp@gmail.com Have you been a lawabiding citizen in these early days of 2026? That is, did you follow the new laws that took effect Jan 1? Here are a few highlights of some of the new laws: House Bill 805: This law officially defines biological sex as male or female in state statutes and administrative policies. It includes provisions meant to prevent the sexual exploitation of women and minors through online age verification and consent requirements for pornography. Now, public schools in the state can excuse students from classroom activities that do not agree with their or their parents’ religious beliefs. Public school boards are now required to ban students of opposite genders
Everyone likes good news and the Jamestown News wants to print a column focused on sharing good things seen happening in the community. To make the column work, you need to participate. Email ndworddesign@gmail.com with your observations of a person or group being helpful to others. Norma Dennis will print them on the fourth Wednesday of each month.
50¢
By CAROL BROOKS freelance writer cab1hp@gmail.com
to share sleeping quarters at a school-organized event, with the exception of immediate family members. Some parts of this bill took effect in 2025, but the official recognition of just two genders in state laws and policies did not begin until Jan. 1, 2026. N.C. Gov. Josh Stein vetoed this bill but a motion passed to override the veto. Senate Bill 248: This law changes how adoptive birth certificates are accessed and issued by North Carolina. It requires the State Registrar to create new birth certificates for adoptees that will look like those of nonadopted persons. It will not reference the fact of adoption and will only list the adoptive parents. The bill is meant to make obtaining updated birth certificates more convenient. House Bill 926 deals with see laws, page 2