Piedmont Historic Homes

New Listing: A Striking 1923 International-Style Mansion in Burlington, $735,000

April 15, 2021

The W.T. Cheatham House is as impressive as it is rare, an International-style mansion built in 1923 in Burlington. There are relatively few International houses in the Triad, and this one in the West Davis Street-Fountain Place Historic District is brilliant inside and out.

“Its elegant design, which might best be described as ‘Classical-Mediterranean,’ renders the structure one of the most unusual houses in Burlington,” the historic district’s NRHP nomination states. “Salient features of the house are its flat roofs, stuccoed elevations, and two-story core bracketed by one-story wings with turned balustrades. Tuscan columns support the porch recessed between the wings.”

The William Lindsey House: A Grand 1870 Mansion Built by One of Reidsville’s Early Business Leaders, $434,900

April 6, 2021

“Because of both its historical associations and its architectural distinction, the William Lindsey House is a pivotal building in the Reidsville Historic District.”

— National Register nomination for the Reidsville Historic District

The Lindsey House is as impressive inside as it is from the street. And, being in one of the Triad’s smaller cities, the $434,900 price ($83 per square foot) is probably, say, a third of what it might be in Greensboro or Winston-Salem.

Interestingly, the towering columns out front weren’t an original feature. “Early in the 20th century, a new porch was constructed across this facade, in the Neo-Classical Revival style,” the NRHP nomination says. “It consists of a one-story, full-facade porch supported by corinthian columns which are repeated in monumental fashion in the central projecting two-story pedimented portico.” The original porch was apparently wide enough only to span the entrance.

2450 and 2456 Glencoe Street: Two Restored Houses in Alamance County’s Historic Mill Village

April 4, 2021

Glencoe Mill Village is a beautifully isolated, surprisingly intact little community north of Burlington on N.C. 62 at the Haw River. “It is a typical but remarkably well-preserved example of nineteenth century industrial villages that once flourished in North Carolina’s Piedmont region,” Glencoe’s National Register nomination states.

It’s not as remote as it was when it was established in 1880, but if you’re looking for a neighborhood that’s quiet, out-of-the way and a historic treasure, Glencoe is it. There are two beautifully restored homes for sale in the village (another is under contract). One is priced at $250,000; the other, $159,000.

Sold: ‘A Sophisticated Late Victorian’ on the National Register in Carthage, $460,000

March 31, 2021

106 N. McNeil Street, Carthage, Moore County
The J.C. Black House

Sold for $460,000 on March 31, 2021 (listed at $475,000)
4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 3,594 square feet, 0.65 acre
Price/square foot: $128
Built in 1893
Listed January 19, 2021
Last sale: $349,000, March 2011
NRHP nomination: “Its irregular massing, variety of surface materials, and rich ornamentation create a sophisticated late Victorian house of the Queen Anne style. Located at the south comer of McNeill and Barrett streets only two blocks from the county courthouse, the J.C. Black House is set back from McNeill Street on an L-shaped, flat lot. The facade of the house is sheltered from the street by a row of trees composed of hollys, pines, oaks, and one large magnolia. Other trees and shrubs are scattered around the property, but in no formal pattern. A low stone wall dating from 1937 borders the yard on the front and northeast sides.”
- “While the interior of the house has seen modest alterations through the years, the exterior remains largely intact with only a few minor changes. As a whole, the J.C. Black House retains a high degree of integrity in terms of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.”
- “J. C. Black (1850-1902), who had broad political and commercial commitments in Moore County, was one of the most prominent men of his day in Carthage. A lawyer by profession, he served for years as Moore County attorney. Black was a strong promoter of economic growth in Carthage. Not only was he the leading spirit in the building of the Carthage Railroad in the mid 1880s, serving as its first president, but he was also one of the organizers and first stockholders of the Bank of Carthage.”
- “Having been built during the pinnacle of Black’s career, his house survives as the consummate physical expression of his productive life and, in particular, his significance in the areas of commerce and politics/government. During the decade between the ca. 1893 construction of the house and Black’s death in 1902, J. C. Black represented Moore and Randolph counties in the state senate, served as mayor of Carthage, and was president of the Bank of Carthage. No other property attesting to his local importance survives.”
- “After Black’s death, the house remained in family ownership and occupancy for nearly a century.”

New Listing: A Gorgeous 1925 Four-Square in Winston-Salem, $849,000

March 22, 2021

464 Carolina Circle, Winston-Salem
The Henry and Vera Sherrill House

$849,000
5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 3,281 square feet, 0.72 acre
Price/square foot: $259
Built in 1925
Listed March 22, 2021
Last sale: $575,000, February 2002
Note: Henry H. Sherrill (1886-1973) was president of Sherrill Paving Company. He bought the property in 1922. He and his wife, Vera (1892-1976) sold the house to their daughter, Annie Louise, in 1957 but continued to live there at least into the early 1960s.
- The 1940 Census showed Henry and Vera at the address with their seven children: Frank, 27 years old; George, 25, Annie Louise, 22; Ralph, 20; Henry Jr., 18; James, 15; and Leon, 13. Two lodgers also were listed at the house.
- Son James Nelson Sherrill (1926-2012) graduated from the NCSU School of Design and became a noted architect. He lived his adult life in Hickory and outlived his sister and all five brothers.

Sold: A Classic 1940 Cottage in Winston-Salem Designed by William Roy Wallace, $710,000

March 18, 2021

The Emil and Anna Shaffner House sold this week for $710,000, and it was a bargain. The price for the 4,200 square-foot mansion was just $168 per square foot. That’s a lot of money, but many relatively mundane homes in upscale neighborhoods sell for far more. The Shaffner House is an extraordinary gem. An elegant stone cottage with steep gables and a tile roof, it sits on two-thirds of a beautifully wooded acre in Buena Vista.

The Walters House: An 1869 Italianate Classic in Reidsville, Being Sold For Only the Second Time, $227,000

March 11, 2021

719 S. Main Street in Reidsville is for sale for the first time in 84 years. Reflecting the often immense difference between home values in larger cities and smaller ones, its price of $227,000 ($77 per square foot) appears to be a bargain. Some cosmetic work is needed inside (the kitchen and bathrooms aren’t fabulous), but the house appears to be livable as it is. It has been owned by only two families in its 152 years, and it has some serious Reidsville history behind it.

Extreme Makeover: Emerywood Edition — At 642 Colonial Drive, Only the Address Is the Same

February 27, 2021

The first clue that something is up at 642 Colonial Drive in High Point is the description in the neighborhood’s National Register nomination:

“The house has a brick veneer, brick chimney on the facade [where did the chimney go?] with a blind, stuccoed arch [no arch, either], and eight-over-eight, wood-sash windows with blind arches over the windows and door on the first story [still no blind arches]. The three-light-over-four-panel door is recessed slightly on the left end of the facade [no] and flanked by four-light sidelights [not]. A one-story, hip-roofed porch extends from the right elevation [no porch], supported by full-height brick piers [no piers]. A one-story wing on the left elevation [no wing] has paired, eight-light, metal casement windows [no casement windows].”

The Walter Thomas House: An 1850 Restoration Project in Caswell County, $149,000

December 24, 2020

Update: The house sold for $130,000 on March 8, 2021.

One of the happier developments among historic houses recently is that the Walter Thomas House in Leasburg has gone under contract. It’s a great restoration opportunity, and it’s been for sale for a year and a half. Leasburg is somewhat out of the way, 10 miles from Yanceyville or Roxboro.

Some of the work has been done — a restored staircase, new septic system, plumbing, electrical upgrades, new insulation and reinforced chimneys. The metal roof is less than 15 years old. Add in five chandeliers, seven fireplaces (one with a Thomas Day mantel — this is all according to the listing), the columns out front and the upstairs balcony, and you’ve really got something special.

Feature of the Day: A Tudor Front Door

October 19, 2020

Doors can be such interesting features. This is the front door of 245 N. Hawthorne Road in Winston-Salem. Very distinctive shape and construction (wide, too). Just the kind of front door a Tudor Revival should have. The whole house is gorgeous, as its $525,000 price suggests. It went on the market last week, and the owners accepted an offer four days later.

Continue reading “Feature of the Day: A Tudor Front Door”

Historic homes for sale in the Piedmont Triad