A lot of folks have been inquiring as to when SHP's first book is ever coming out? Well, the good news is that the photography for the volume is completed. It consists of medium format b&w photographs illustrating 200 of North Carolina's most endangered early farmhouses. The ancient farmsteads are thoroughly recorded in rural settings across the state, reminiscent of Francis Johnston's haunting photographs of vacant plantation homes in her celebrated book, The Early Architecture of North Carolina published in 1948.

But despite the obvious similarities between these two bodies of work, photographer Gaston Callum's proposed book has run into palpable opposition from two unlikely sources. For reasons that have still never been explained, Preservation North Carolina and the NC Dept. of Archives and History have elected to disassociate their organizations from this project completely, stating to Callum that their preservation agencies will not be providing any degree of financial support or participation with SHP for its proposed book illustrating North Carolinas most endangered architecture.

For the past several years, this devastating fact has proven to be the major impediment in SHP's attempts to attract other vital participants to this time-sensitive book project. During all this unfortunate drama, it's been well known that the executive directors of the aforementioned organizations are the principal opponents of SHP's endangered NC book project. Principally, J. Myrick Howard of Preservation North Carolina, who seems to take pleasure in publicly thwarting and impugning the efforts of this photographer. But how do these derisive actions against Southland Historic Preservation in any way benefit preservation in North Carolina? To this observer no one benefits under this arrangement, especially not the endangered properties.

Despite these apparent efforts to foil this project, SHP still seeks to pursue the final production of its proposed book of North Carolina's most endangered historic plantation houses, (before the buildings are gone). If you would like to participate on this volume or help fund its publication, please feel free to contact Gaston Callum to discuss your welcome involvement.