Rescue Mission Destroys Three More Historic Houses

On Tuesday, October 18, 2011, the Durham Rescue Mission destroyed three more historic houses in the Golden Belt National Register Historic District. Last week, the Rescue Mission had allowed the Durham Fire Department to conduct training exercises which involved cutting up parts of the roofs and sides of the houses. The final destruction came today.  Two of the houses were on Worth St., and one was on Franklin St.

All of these houses were already designated as contributing structures to the Golden Belt National Register Historic District when Ernie Mills bought the properties. Obviously he doesn’t care.

At various public meetings and in private conversations with Preservation Durham, Ernie Mills promised that he would let people move the houses. That didn’t happen. He didn’t even allow people to salvage the historically valuable materials in the house. It’s all just a pile of rubble now that goes to the landfill.

But one question remains: how can anyone believe his future promises when he hasn’t kept the ones he’s already made?