Holly Springs will demolish one of the oldest homes on Bass Lake, a major town park, within a month. Town staff are considering building a nature center on the site of the 70-year-old home that belonged to Harry Cornell, the lake's late long-time owner.

Cornell built the cinderblock-walled, hardwood floored and ceilinged building in 1952. Its huge back windows overlook a scenic point above the lake, one of the few usable spots owned by the town, staff say.

"Back in the '50s, this was a pretty nice house," said Sabrina Thompson, manager of Bass Lake Park. But it was not well maintained in recent years, she said, and was vacant for much of 2011. A review by town inspectors showed a need for repairs and upgrades, including extensive plumbing and wiring work, that town staff estimate would cost more than a new building.

"It just would not be feasible," Thompson said.

The town has not yet determined the cost or method of the demolition. "We're going to try to salvage some of the significant historical materials out of it, like the hardwood floors, knotty pine tongue and groove ceilings, knotty pine beams," she said, expressing regret for the loss of the building.

Holly Springs has no firm plans for the nature center and wouldn't build it for at least two years, Thompson said. The project is part of a larger park expansion that includes trails, sidewalk and a new shelter.

The town most recently bought land for Bass Lake Park last April, when it paid $225,000 for Cornell's house and two acres that once anchored an estate of more than 100 acres.

"We were just delighted to get the property, to protect the area," she said. "That's what Harry wanted."

Dozens of houses' property lines run close to the lake, but the town owns the vast majority of the shore itself. Sandra Simpson, who owns the oldest house on the water, keeps a box of historical files on Bass Lake.

The lake once was the site of a grist mill and 50-cent-a-day fishing, all documented in Simpson's archive of newspaper photographs, catalogs and correspondence. It was dry for years, too, before the town repaired a dam.

Simpson is sad to see another chunk of the lake's history change.

"Every time you tear something down and start all over, you lose something. Even though it's a cinderblock building, it had character," said Simpson, who lives next door to Cornell's old home. " ... I just don't think they should tear down the man's house."