Piedmont Historic Homes

Mebane has been discovered. The small Alamance County town has become one of the hottest real-estate markets in the region as the Triangle’s sprawl pushes homebuyers west. A good indication of Mebane’s popularity is the number of million-dollar historic properties for sale. That number is currently three, which may not seem like a lot, but Mebane is still a pretty small place. And not too long ago, it wasn’t a very promising place to sell a million-dollar house.

Here are Mebane’s current million-dollar listings. Two are in the Old South Mebane Historic District; the other is outlying a bit from town and comes with 52 acres. As it happens, all were owned by notable figures in Mebane’s industrial and government history. And if what you’re looking for is a $3 million mansion on 29 acres with marble floors and intricate wall moldings that “set the stage for opulence,” keep going for one more listing that was withdrawn earlier this year after just four months. They shouldn’t have given up so quickly. Opulence is becoming a hot item in Mebane.

301 S. 5th Street, Mebane, Alamance County
The Benjamin Franklin Warren House

• $1 million
• 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 2,799 square feet (per county; see note), 0.69 acre
• Price/square foot: $357
• Built in 1922
• Listed April 2, 2024
• Last sales: $257,000, August 2008; $80,000, May 1986
• Neighborhood: Old South Mebane Historic District (NR)
• Note: The listing gives the square footage as 3,626. County records are often wrong about the size of houses, but a discrepancy of almost 30 percent is unusually large.
  • The property includes a detached four-car garage, divided into two parts. One section is heated and cooled and has an attic with pull-down stairs.
• District NR nomination: “This is a 1½-story Colonial Revival-style house finished in square-butt wood shingles, with a side-gable roof which shields an engaged front porch supported by oversized Doric columns.
  • “A broad shed dormer is centered on the façade and a one-story shingled gabled wing on the north side features 6/6 sash and French doors; windows elsewhere are 1/1 sash.
  • “The first story is finished in stone and an exterior gable-end rock-faced stone chimney is on the north elevation. The foundation is of stone and stone steps access the front porch.”
  • The original owner was Benjamin Franklin Warren (1895 or 1896-1970), who bought the property in 1920. His family owned it until 1986, when it was sold by Benjamin Franklin Warren III. Benjamin Sr. was a Mebane town commissioner for 44 years, 1917 to 1961. He founded the Mebane Company, formerly Kingsdown, and was a member of the board of trustees of the National Association of Bedding Manufacturers. He left the house to his grandchildren, Benjamin III and Catherine, who were his only survivors.

2258 U.S. 70, Mebane, Alamance County
Sale pending May 13, 2024

• $1.2 million
• 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,400 square feet, 52 acres
• Price/square foot: $500
• Built in 1936
• Listed May 3, 2024
• Last sale: Three tracts bought in separate transactions between 1936 and 1958.
• Neighborhood: Between Mebane and Haw River on U.S. 70
• Note: The property extends from U.S. 70 to Graham Mebane Lake. It’s located across the street from Fifth Street Books and other businesses.
  • The house was built by Marcel W. Breitmeier (1903-1960) and Audrey B. Breitmeier (1903-1980). Marcel was a project engineer for Lorillard in Greensboro. They left the property to their sons, John Baker Breitmeier (1939-2022) and James Breitmeier, who is now selling it. John worked at Western Electric before becoming Alamance County’s first EMS director. He worked for over 50 years with Alamance County Rescue.

607 S. 5th Street, $1.325 Million

607 S. 5th Street, Mebane, Alamance County

• $1.325 million
• 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3,666 square feet, 4.49 acres
• Price/square foot: $361
• Built in 1950
• Listed February 22, 2024
• Last sale: $875,000, April 2022
• Neighborhood: Old South Mebane Historic District (NR)
• Note: The property includes a 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom guest house with a kitchen and living room, and a large outbuilding with a covered parking area
• District NR nomination: “This is a 2-story Colonial Revival-style residence finished in painted brick, with a main 3-bay block flanked by gable-roofed one-story side wings finished in brick and beaded weatherboard; one of these incorporates a hyphen connecting to a front-gabled brick wing with an interior chimney. An exterior gable-end brick chimney is present.
  • “The main entrance is centered on the façade with a transom and a pedimented frontispiece. Windows are 12/12 sash on the first story and 8/8 on the second story, with exterior shutters. An open gabled porch is on the north elevation.”
  • The original owners were Stephen Alexander White V (1911-1995) and Mary McPheeters Landis White (1911-1986), who bought the property in 1944. Stephen worked for White Furniture Company, the family business, for 51 years. He retired as president. He served as chairman of the Mebane School Board, an elder emeritus of Mebane Presbyterian Church, chairman of the board of the Presbyterian Journal, and a longtime scoutmaster. He had been the first Eagle Scout of the Boy Scouts’ Cherokee Council. He served as a trustee of the Reformed Theological Seminary, Flora McDonald College in Red Springs and what is now St. Andrews College. Stephen was still living in the house when he died. It was sold by his widow, Margaret Holmes White, in 2005.

4672 Forest Lake Drive, $3.1 million

4672 Forest Lake Drive, Mebane, Alamance County
Listing withdrawn February 15, 2024

• $3.1 million
• 5 bedrooms, 5 full bathrooms, 2 half-bathrooms, 7,455 square feet, 29.01 acres
• Price/square foot: $416
• Built in 1952
• Listed October 18, 2023
• Last sales: $1.89 million, October 2023; $400,000, September 1998
• Note: The property includes a lake, a long, tree-lined, stone circular driveway and a three-car garage.
  • Property taxes: $11,699/year
  • The property was put up for sale at $3.1 million eight days after it was sold for $1.89 million. The house apparently hadn’t been listed publicly before that sale.
• Listing: “Inside, a grand marble-floored entrance and intricate wall molding set the stage for opulence. A succession of formal rooms ensures a seamless flow throughout the home.”
  • The house apparently was built by Lucius Pender Best Jr. (1910-1998) and Evelyn Cooper Best (1910-1997). They bought the property in 1949 or 1950; it was sold by Lucius’s estate in 1998. He was born in Duplin County, the son of a prominent lawyer. After graduating from Woodberry Forest prep school and UNC-Chapel Hill, he became vice president of the Mebane-Royall Company, which later became Kingsdown, and served in the Army in World War II. Lucius was active in business and politics, serving as chairman of Kingsdown, mayor of Mebane, chairman of the Alamance Board of Commissioners and chairman of the county Democratic Party.
  • Thomas E. Stephens (1940-2024) and Vera J. Stephens bought the property in 1998. The son of a tobacco farmer in Person County, Thomas spent his career in the grocery business, owning Tommy’s Mini Mart stores in Burlington, Durham, Mebane and Yanceyville for more than 50 years. They sold the property last fall.