Acknowledgements

I never imagined we would learn so much from so many people as we have since we started this project. Roxboro town residents stopped by during construction to talk about how they used to play in the house, or in the huge magnolia tree in the front yard, or memories they had of the Long family. Everyone had a story to tell.

The Person County Museum of History was an invaluable source of information, history, and stories. Jean Newell introduced us to the museum and we spent hours with her there, struggling to write quickly enough as she talked about Roxboro history and the Long family's influence. Karen King and the museum staff sponsored the open house (March 12, 2006) at which we had over 200 guests: they organized the historical tour, which included two other sites, brought a portrait of J. A. Long and other display items, and volunteer docents helped guide and inform visitors. .

Ken Koepplinger (KPK Construction) stuck with us through the whole project). His energy, integrity, down-to-earth attitude and sense of humor have been the only constants in this project. ..through rain damage, extra expenses, sinking floors, stuck windows, peeling plaster and more. When his "guys" don't or can't do the job right, he does it himself. I now agree with the former customer we went to for a reference before starting: I called him out of the blue and asked him about his experience with Ken, and he responded, "I can't recommend him highly enough."

The Roxboro Savings Bank made the whole crazy venture possible by giving us a construction loan when no one else would. It was our last attempt: we had been turned down by 3 other financial institutions, the most common excuse being "there are no comps." Well, the house is absolutely unique, so of course there''s no comparable real estate to use as a standard! But Art Krueger had the vision to see what it could become.

Sara Woodard, of Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc., prepared the 30+-page application to the National Register of Historic Places, which resulted in acceptance of the J. A. Long House on April 6, 2005. Her application is detailed and exhaustive, and provided new information for us about the house's history and construction.