Flooding nearly wipes out 1st floor of school along Eno River in Hillsborough

The Town of Hillsborough was hit hard by Tropical
Depression Chantal Sunday night, and many areas are still feeling the impact.

The Town remains under a boil water advisory, and
Gold Park and the Riverwalk are closed.

The historic Eno River Mill building also
sustained significant flooding damage.

The record-breaking crest of the Eno River flowed
into the Expedition School, a public charter school on the property.

“The river was filling the entire elementary
wing, and that’s a lot of river. The water was very strong; some of these items
that we’re seeing here have come all the way from the front of the school at
the kindergarten,” Director of Education and Curriculum Tammy Finch told WRAL. “The
water pushed everything this way and then sucked everything back as it receded.”

As cleanup began, Finch found a fish in the
exceptional children’s classroom, relocating it back to the river. She and her staff are working to stay positive. 

“Coming in light of other things that are
happening in the country right now, and knowing what other people are dealing
with, just trying to stay positive. This is stuff, and a lot of this stuff was
important to us, but it’s stuff and it can be replaced,” Julie McCauley, the EC
Director, said. “It is devastating, but we know that it could be worse. A
lot more grows in the valleys. So, when you’re in a valley and things are
difficult, you grow more together.”

India Little arrived at the school on Monday for
her first day of work as the Director of Business and Operations.

“I was completely blown away. I have dealt
with small things, like a burst pipe, water leakage, but I’ve never taken on a
project this big,” Little said. “I just really appreciate the community.
So many people showed up yesterday, so many people showed up today just to help
out.”

The School expects 381 students in the upcoming
school year, with 212 on the first floor where the flooding occurred.

“It’s probably 98% loss of all the contents in the
whole school. We’ll need a complete refresh,” Finch said. “We’re going to be
relocating the elementary wing and all of those adults.”

Finch said the landlord of the building will open
the Cloth Mill Event Space next door for the elementary students to temporarily
use.

The school plans to invite community members to
upcoming work days to assist with cleanup and building new furniture.

They are
also collecting donations to replace school supplies, technology, and furniture
here.

Around the corner from The Expedition School, the
Eno Arts Mill also saw significant damage.

Katie Murray is the Director of the Orange County
Arts Commission and the Executive Director of the nonprofit Orange County Arts
Alliance.

She arrived at the Eno River Arts Mill to find
floodwaters still receding from the loading dock.

“Everything was just totally destroyed. The water
was up so high, it lifted up a refrigerator and pushed it over,” Murray said.

The mill is home to 15 artist studios, and a show
with 60 artists opened there last Friday night. Offices and a classroom for
summer camp are uninhabitable.

Some artists had ten, or even twenty years worth
of work ruined, and while they had to have insurance for their studios, flooding
damage isn’t covered for most.

“It does not cover flood. No one knew that.
No one added it on. This 150-year-old building has never experienced a flood
like this in its history,” Murray said. “That means they’re most likely
not going to be able to get any kind of insurance benefits from this, and that
is what’s really upsetting.”

The Eno Arts Mill also hosts the Teen and Tween
Arts Collectives.

Natalia Torres del Valle is a teaching artist, an
expressive arts therapist, and a licensed clinical mental health counselor who
created the safe haven for teens and tweens.

The groups each meet once every other week in an open
studio format.

Some of the teenagers lost their work in the
flood, but Torres del Valle said that did not stop them from helping.

“Their immediate response was, ‘How can we help?’
They’re coming today with their gear to help clean because this space means so
much to them,” Torres del Valle said. “Some of the kids who come here have
been really lonely and haven’t had friends at school, and they’ve found a home
here.”

Murray told WRAL when the space opened four years
ago, the goal was to provide a physical space for the arts that could welcome
everyone.

“We have such a diverse group of people here, and
diversity in every way. We have all these youth programs, where like these are
the kids who don’t fit in in school – this is their safe space,” Murray said. “That
is the greatest loss right now, that this community that we have built is the
home for so many people is no longer.”

The Eno Arts Mill does not have a timeline for
reopening, but you can donate to help artists and the space here.