BY ANA RISANO
Staff Writer
Pristine forests of longleaf pines, the winding path of Drowning Creek and a deteriorating family home grace the hundreds of acres west of Jackson Springs now under permanent protection.
Recently, Three Rivers Land Trust announced the conservation of 467 acres along Drowning Creek — land owned by the notable Auman family.
“This land has been in our family for 150 years,” said Graham Auman Pitts in a statement. “The North Carolina Land and Water Fund and Three Rivers Land Trust have enabled us to protect it for future generations. It is a special honor to help conserve Moore County’s precious water supply.”
The Aumans are most known in Moore County for their peaches, but the family has also raised cattle and chickens, leased property to other farmers and managed timber forests. T. Clyde Auman purchased the land from fellow heirs in the early 1980s. The land was first bought by John Graham, who participated in the turpentine and naval stores industries. Graham was Auman’s maternal grandfather.
“Our father didn’t want to see it divided among his 19 siblings and cousins,” said Nancy Cunningham. “Of course he had a strong emotional attachment to that place. He loved to go over there. So he bought it from the other heirs, and it’s just been managed as a forest and cut pines every now and then and baled pine needles since the early ’80s.”
The land was occupied until the 1960s, with two great-aunts of Cunningham’s living in the now deteriorating house. Cunningham and her sister, Laura Pitts, have memories of going to visit family on the property, saying the house was full of antiques. They are sisters to the late Clyde Watts Auman.
One moment that stands out for Cunningham was a covered dish meal.
“I would have been about 7 or 8,” she said. “Good food. An old big kitchen. I think there was a wood stove. I remember in the dining room there was a wall safe, which really impressed me.”
Other remembrances of the land are in a pack of handwritten and typed stories from late family members, complete with references to the feather beds they slept in, long country roads and buggies stored in the old barns.
“There was a huge oak tree out back. It would take three of us to reach around,” Cunningham said.
Graham Pitts, Laura’s son, came up with the idea to place a conservation easement on the property in 2017. After years of work, the outcome is twofold: a conservation easement and a riparian buffer easement to protect the waterway.
“Not only has this project protected critical riparian buffers along Drowning Creek, but it has also ensured important wildlife habitat in the Sandhills of North Carolina,” said Kyle Shores, senior land protection specialist at Three Rivers. “The Auman family actively manages this property as a longleaf community, which is a key habitat for wildlife species in the Sandhills of North Carolina.”
Part of Three Rivers’ mission is protecting local waters. Drowning Creek is the headwaters for the Lumber River and is classified as a high-quality watershed. It is also the primary drinking water source for Southern Pines.
“The forethought of the Auman family permanently conserving their land with TRLT will
directly benefit the water quality of Drowning Creek, and by extension, the residents of Moore
County,” said Executive Director Travis Morehead. “We are so grateful for families who, like the Aumans, have chosen to conserve North Carolina’s important natural resources and rural character over maximum profits and development.”
Cunningham said their father always told them to “leave the land better than you found it.”
“And the important thing for all of us concerned about development in Moore County is it will not be developed,” Cunningham said. “And those trees will continue to clean the area and provide a home for wildlife.”
Contact Ana Risano at (910) 585-6396 or ana@thepilot.com.
