Photo: Aerial view of the Endor tract - indicated by the line overlay - in Lee County, looking to the northeast. The Deep River runs along the top left corner of the property in this view. The Endor property surrounds the Sanford water treatment plant.

Endor Purchase Completed in 2001

Endor Iron Furnace, the most significant historic site in Lee County, is now permanently protected, fulfilling a 30-year vision of county historians. And not just the furnace, but an expanse of forest, riverbank, floodplain, creekside and wetlands larger than any TLC has ever protected!

TLC completed the purchase of the 426 acres on the banks of the Deep River on October 24. Earlier, Chris Hudson, one of the leaders of the group that sold the property, took several TLC staff up in his private plane to survey this newest conservation acquisition.

Purchased with funds raised by TLC volunteers in the Deep River Campaign and two state conservation funds—the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the NC Natural Heritage Trust Fund—TLC will turn ownership of the property over to the state in January, as required when Natural Heritage Trust Fund money is involved.

TLC will manage the property for the state; in turn, the Lee County Parks and Recreation Department will manage the area around the Endor Furnace. The Railroad House Association—Lee County's historical society—is raising money to restore the furnace, which has suffered from the effects of time.