August 31, 2024
Hillside, the Renowned Julian Price House in Greensboro, $5.25 Million
301 Fisher Park Circle, Greensboro
Hillside, the Julian Price House
- 8 bedrooms, 6 full bathrooms, 2 half-bathrooms, 6,767 square feet (per county), 1.61 acres
- Price/square foot: $776
- Built in 1929
- Last sale: $415,000, September 2016
- Neighborhood: Fisher Park Historic District (local and NR)
Sitting on an prominent acre and a half overlooking Fisher Park, the mansion was designed by one of the city’s premier architects, Charles C. Hartmann, for one of Greensboro’s most celebrated CEOs, Julian Price of Jefferson Standard Insurance. By the turn of the century it had fallen into a precarious state of disrepair. In 2017 it became nationally famous through an especially fraught episode of the TV show “Hoarders.”
New owners staged a spectacular renovation and partnered with Preservation Greensboro to host a designer showhouse in April 2018 that drew thousands of people, some traveling from distant states. Since then, its owners have lived at Hillside and offered the house as an event space with five rooms for short-term rentals.
August 27, 2024
An 1882 Farmhouse in Guilford County That Needs a Lot of Work, $199,000
6037 McLeansville Road, McLeansville, Guilford County
- 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,498 square feet, 0.92 acre
- Price/square foot: $80
- Listed August 27, 2024
- Last sale: $184,500, January 2011
Listing: “The home does require some work inside,” which is an understatement.
August 25, 2024
A Condo in a Converted Mill in Saxapahaw, $515,000
1880 Sissipahaw Way, No. 104C, Saxapahaw, Alamance County
- 1 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, 2 half-bathrooms, 1,272 square feet
- Price/square foot: $405
- Built in 1955 (per county) or 1848 (per listing)
- Last sales: $450,000, August 2022; 295,000, June 2019
- HOA: $400/month
- Note: For sale by owner
A 29-unit development on the Haw River in the Saxapahaw Cotton Mill and Dye House, founded in 1844. The mill closed in 1994; condos were being sold by 2013. The high prices reflect Saxapahaw’s proximity to Chapel Hill (16 miles).
August 23, 2024
An 1848 Greek Revival House on the National register Near Lenoir, $899,900
3110 Indian Grave Road, Caldwell County
Clover Hill, the Col. Edmund W. Jones House
- 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3,800 square feet, 69.24 acres
- Price/square foot: $237
- Listed August 23, 2024
- Last sale: $450,000, January 1990
- Neighborhood: Happy Valley; the property has a Lenoir mailing address but is 7 miles north of the town.
The property includes a round brick barn, two individual guest quarters, a carriage house, a 6,000 square-foot library building with additional bathroom and bedroom, a red barn and two additional outbuildings. “Clover Hill was cited by Thomas Waterman in The Early Architecture of North Carolina and by Talbot Hamlin in Greek Revival Architecture in America as being among the state’s best examples of Greek Revival domestic architecture.”
August 22, 2024
A circa 1922 Germanic Revival in Greensboro, $325,000
1123 Virginia Street, Greensboro
- 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,808 square feet, 0.23 acre
- Price/square foot: $116
- Listed August 22, 2024
- Last sale: $225,000, December 2020
- Neighborhood: Fisher Park Historic District (local and NR)
District NR nomination: “H-shaped cottage w/Germanic or Swiss Chalet influences; recessed central front & back bays; 2 projecting bays at front to either side of entry have pronounced flairs to their gables, notched rakeboards & rafter ends, and front chimney stacks; narrow windows feature diamond or triangular lights.” The relatively low price is attributable to its location at the corner of Virginia Street and Wendover Avenue, a major east-west, six-lane divided thoroughfare.
August 21, 2024
An 1807 Brick House in Wilkes County, $89,500
14600 W. N.C. Highway 268, Ferguson, Wilkes County
- 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,816 square feet, 2.20 acres
- Price/square foot: $49
- Listed August 14, 2024
- Last sales: $89,500, April 19, 2024 (foreclosure); 1979, price not recorded on deed
- Neighborhood: About 2.3 miles southwest of Ferguson, near Rider’s Roost Motorcycle Resort.
The exterior looks to be in far batter shape than the interior. Although the lot is more than 2 acres (No. 4039 on the GIS map above), there’s a house immediately behind this one on a lot that may have been carved out of this one (No. 4189).
August 21, 2024
A 1904 ‘Vernacular Colonial Revival’ in Vass, $499,000
118 Union Church Road, Vass, Moore County
- 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3,440 square feet, 1.10 acres
- Price/square foot: $145
- Built in 1904 (per county, possibly a bit later; see note)
- Listed August 16, 2024
- Last sale: $78,000, February 2000
Online listings show the address as being in Carthage. It’s actually in Vass. The State Historic Preservation Office: “c. 1912-1914 2-story hip roof vernacular Colonial Revival house w/ wraparound porch, pedimented entry & pedimented gable bays.”
August 20, 2024
A 1922 House on 9 Acres in Troy, $289,500
517 W. Spring Street, Troy, Montgomery County
- 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 3,190 square feet, 9.1 acres
- Price/square foot: $91
- Listed August 19, 2024
- Last sale: $20,000, May 1968
The property includes a circular drive and a two-car garage, a storage building and a barn. The house needs some work inside. The most conspicuous feature of the property is its close proximity to the City of Troy water tower on a 0.7-acre plot that had been part of this lot. The tower sits just across the driveway from the house. The water-tower lot was broken off from the rest of the property at the time of the last sale in 1968.
August 18, 2024
A 1968 Mid-Century Modern in Greensboro’s Hamilton forest, $495,000
- 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2,750 square feet, 0.35 acre
- Price/square foot: $180
- Listed August 15, 2024
- Last sale: $8,800, January 1967
The owners have made some bold color choices. This would be the first sale of the house.
August 17, 2024
A 1976 MCM Mansion on 2 Wooded Acres in Winston-Salem, $1.475 Million
4300 Cold Springs Road, Winston-Salem
- 5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 bathrooms, 5,050 square feet, 2.11 acres
- Price/square foot: $292
- Listed August 9, 2024
- Last sale: $18,000, November 1974
- Neighborhood: Mount Tabor
The house was designed by architect Robert F. Arey (1920-1996), who designed a number of modernist homes in Winston-Salem. The property adjoins a small lake and includes an in-ground pool and pool house and a three-car garage.
August 16, 2024
The 1970 MCM Home of an Amazing High Point Couple, $389,900
908 N. Hamilton Street, High Point
The Richard and Emily Riemer House
- 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,681 square feet, 0.39 acre
- Price/square foot: $232
- Listed August 16, 2024
- Last sales: $299,000 on July 22, 2022; $112,500, August 2018
Designed and built by one of High Point’s most remarkable residents, painter and stained-glass artist Richard Riemer. Richard George Riemer (1902-1998) and Emily (or Emilie) Gerty Klein Riemer (1905-1999), a piano teacher, had an astounding life together. They survived all of World War II in Nazi Germany. Richard was Catholic, poor and paralyzed from polio. Emily was Jewish.
From the website “Richard Riemer: Elevate Your Imagination”: “Emily was Mr. Riemer’s guiding light; helping him, paralyzed, through the war and until his death. Richard designed and oversaw the construction of their final home in High Point, North Carolina. The house was built around a piano studio where Emily taught piano with the expertise of a concert pianist, her love of music and unique personality, on her Farny baby grand. On the other side of their collection of artbooks, Mr. Reimer painted in his art studio.”
August 15, 2024
A 1910 Fortress-Like Mansion Associated with Burlington’s Only Big-Time Circus, $575,000
728 W. Davis Street, Burlington, Alamance County
The Pollard-Neese House
- 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 4,004 square feet, 0.31 acre
- Price/square foot: $144
- Listed August 15, 2024
- Last sale: $288,000, November 2006
- Neighborhood: Fountain Place-West Davis Street Historic District (local and NR)
“On its corner lot next to the stone gates leading to Fountain Place, this highly unusual stone structure with classical elements is a key property in the West Davis Street area. … [I]t was acquired in the mid-1920s by C. Freeman (‘Diamond Pete’) Neese, son of C.F. Neese who in the early 1880s opened the first jewelry store in Company Shops/Burlington. In 1926, ‘Diamond Pete’ joined with his brother-in-law [actually, two of his brothers-in-law] to organize the Heritage Brothers Circus, the only such operation ever to emanate from Burlington.”
Another restoration project being abandoned. What’s unusual about this one is that the seller has owned the property for 18 years.
August 15, 2024
A 1905 House in a Reidsville Historic District, $375,000
704 S. Main Street, Reidsville, Rockingham County
- 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3,114 square feet, 0.63 acre
- Price/square foot: $120
- Built in 1905
- Listed August 16, 2024
- Last sales: $155,000, September 2018; $81,500, August 1991
- Neighborhood: Old Post Road Historic District (local), Reidsville Historic District (NR)
“Although moderately altered by the application of asbestos siding and the enclosure of a portion of the front porch, this early 20th century Colonial Revival frame house retains much of the original character which makes it a contributing element in the district.”
August 11, 2024
A 1907 House in High Point’s Sherrod Park, $330,000
213 Woodrow Avenue, High Point
- 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 3,092 square feet, 0.23 acre
- Price/square foot: $107
- Listed August 11, 2024
- Last sales: $250,000, February 2022; $119,500, July 2000
- Neighborhood: Sherrod Park Historic District (local and NR)
It’s the the oldest house in Sherrod Park, but there are houses that have been there longer. Its original address was 700 N. Main Street, built for Sidney H. Tomlinson, owner of the Tomlinson Chair Factory. In 1924 he moved to a bigger house in Emerywood. This house was moved to its current location by 1931.
August 7, 2024
A 1928 Spanish Revival Cottage in Greensboro, $325,000
1905 Walker Avenue, Greensboro
- 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,410 square feet, 0.17 acre
- Price/square foot: $230
- Listed August 7, 2024
- Last sales: $200,000, October 2018; $175,000, July 2013
- Neighborhood: Brice Street
The listing says the house is “in the sought-after Sunset Hills and College Park area.” Note the weasel-word “area,” which means is that it’s near but not actually in either of those more attractive (and expensive) neighborhoods. The neighborhood it’s in is called Brice Street, and it has largely been taken over by apartment houses and landlords renting to students at nearby UNCG.
August 7, 2024
An 1860 (or Possibly 1900) Bungalow in Southern Chatham County, $449,000
323 Coral Avenue, Goldston, Chatham County
- 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,463 square feet, 2.4 acres
- Price/square foot: $181
- Built in 1860 (per listing)
- Listed July 17, 2024
- Last sale: $70,000, June 2006
- Location: Just off South Church Street near the city limits
County records give the date as 1900.
August 6, 2024
An 1884 National Register Farmhouse on 20 acres in Ashe County, $649,000
630 Spencer Branch Road, Lansing, Ashe County
The Cicero Pennington Farm
- 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,453 square feet, 20.80 acres
- Price/square foot: $265
- Listed August 4, 2024
- Last sale: $322,000, September 2016
- Neighborhood: Located between the communities of Sturgills and Helton, about 1 mile south of the Virginia state line. It has a Lansing mailing address but is six miles north of the town.
- Listing: A creek runs through the property, which includes a fenced-in pasture, a historic springhouse/laundry room, garden shed, carriage house, woodshed, workshop, root cellar and barn.
- The house is being sold furnished.
“This common house form has a high degree of sawn-wood, ornamental detail applied, primarily to the porches, in keeping with the vernacular interpretation of popular architectural trends of the mid- to late-nineteenth century. Both the exterior and interior of the house display an unusually high level of decoration in comparison to similar I-houses in Ashe County, reflecting the skilled workmanship of its builder. Family oral history attributes the design, construction, and finish carpentry of the house to Cicero Pennington, who was also the original owner.”
August 6, 2024
A Drag Racer’s 1976 Mid-Century Modern in Burlington, $560,000
308 Engleman Avenue, Burlington, Alamance County
The Jack and Shirley Ashley House
Listing withdrawn August 2, 2024
Relisted August 5, 2024
- 5 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 3,781 square feet, 1.26 acres
- Price/square foot: $148
- Listed July 19, 2024
- Last sale: $340,000, March 2020
- Neighborhood: Westerwood
Robert Penn “Jack” Ashley (1933-2021) and Shirley Mae Gusler Ashley (b. 1934) bought the lot in 1975 and built the house. Jack was a salesman in the Greensboro office of Pilot Life. He also was a successful drag racer in the 1950s and ’60s, teaming with the renowned Ronnie Sox, who was also from Burlington. Jack and Shirley were inducted into the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame in 2011. They sold the house in 2002.
August 6, 2024
An Unusual bungalow in Winston-Salem’s West End, $365,000
618 West End Boulevard, Winston-Salem
- 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,650 square feet, 0.15 acre
- Price/square foot: $221
- Built in 1925
- Listed August 9, 2024
- Last sale: $320,000, June 2, 2023
- Neighborhood: West End Historic District (local and NR)
- Note: Across the street from Hanes Park
District NR nomination: “The Crichton-Atkinson House is an unusual bungalow with simple Classical detailing. It is a one-story stuccoed house with a hip roof, six-over-one sash windows, and a symmetrical facade whose central bay is emphasized by a pedimented entrance porch with slender Tuscan columns and a vaulted ceiling.”
August 4, 2024
A Relatively Affordable 1930 Log Cabin in Greensboro, $250,000
2506 Pinecroft Road, Greensboro
- 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,886 square feet, 0.37 acre
- Price/square foot: $133
- Listed August 4, 2024
- Last sales: $225,000, May 2024; $89,000, November 1999
- Neighborhood: Lamrocton
One of at least four log cabins in the 2500 block of Pinecroft Road. All date from 1928 to 1930.
August 3, 2024
A Curious 1903 Restoration Project in Wilkesboro, $127,101
406 Highland Street, Wilkesboro, Wilkes County
- 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 2 half-bathrooms, 2,584 square feet, 1.22 acres
- Price/square foot: $49
- Listed July 31, 2024
- Last sale: $149,000, April 2008
This one is intriguing. It’s a rare house being offered at a loss (and after 16 years of ownership). The pictures don’t suggest that its condition is nearly as awful as the price would suggest, so what’s that about? The back of the house faces the street. The old photo above shows a rather grand wrap-around porch that is no longer present.
August 2, 2024
A circa 1840 National Register House on 9 Acres near Mebane, $2.3 Million
3542 Bason Road, Mebane, Alamance County
The Griffis-Patton House
- 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 4,847 square feet, 9.49 acres (per county)
- Price/square foot: $475
- Listed August 1, 2024
- Last sale: $709,000, August 2009
- Neighborhood: On Graham-Mebane Lake/Quaker Creek Reservoir, about 4 miles northwest of Mebane and 3 miles northeast of Haw River.
National Register nomination: “[A] handsome two-story, five-bay brick plantation house of commanding presence. … In addition to its local historical significance the house possesses local (county) architectural significance as one of the county’s few antebellum brick plantation seats and the most intact member of that group. The wide five-bay front elevation of the house and the two-story rear ell raise the house to a status above the more usual three-bay brick house of the North Carolina Piedmont. Its exterior trim and interior finish, particularly the door and window surrounds, their paneled reveals, and mantels executed in a transitional Federal/Greek Revival manner are the work of a fine vernacular craftsman, possibly William P. Griffis himself.”
Piedmont Historic Homes 