Mansions: 2026 Sales

1609st.andrews

1609 St. Andrews Road, Greensboro
The Rossell-Watson House

  • Sold for $1.55 million on February 2, 2026
  • 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 4,156 square feet, 0.34 acre
  • Price/square foot: $373
  • Built in 1929 (per county, but probably several years earlier; see note)
  • Not listed publicly for sale
  • Last sale: $865,000, November 2016
  • Neighborhood: Irving Park
  • Note: The pictures above appear to be from the 2016 listing.
  • District NR nomination: “J.E. Rossell was the first known owner of this two-story frame gambrel-roofed house which is very similar to his earlier house at 1607 Carlisle Rd. Though it has been sheathed with aluminum siding, it retains is essential stylistic features. In addition to its gambrel roof, the house features a gambrel end chimney, a shed dormer across the front, and a three-bay facade with a classical central entrance. The one-story porch on the north side is an addition.”
    • John Ellis Rossell Sr. (1894-1939) and Cora Galloway Mebane Rossell (1893-1976) bought the property in 1927, although they had been listed on St. Andrews Road since 1923 and in Irving Park (with no specific address) since 1920. John was vice president and treasurer of Mebane-Rossell-Cress, the local dealer for Dodge cars and Graham trucks.
    • He graduated from West Point and served as a major with the expeditionary force that searched for Pancho Villa in Mexico. After leaving Greensboro, John Sr. died of a heart attack at age 45 at their home in New Brighton, N.Y. He’s buried at West Point.
    • John was a son of a brigadier general. Their son, John Jr. (1918-1984), also graduated from West Point. He served in the field artillery in World War II and retired after a career in the Army as a lieutenant colonel.
    • The Rossells sold the house in 1930. It changed hands four times before it was bought in 1944 by Dr. Hugh Alfred Watson (1904-1974) and Almeria Russ Watson (1914-1993). They owned the house for 34 years. Hugh was a surgeon who practiced in Greensboro from 1941 until he died. Almeria was a pianist and organist who taught music as a volunteer in the Greensboro public schools.