Tag: Burlington

A Digression: The Heritage Brothers Big Three-Ring Trained Animal Circus, April-September 1926

August 16, 2024

This is a digression — there’s an interesting historic house that’s marginally involved — but who knew that two guys from Burlington started a big-time circus? Here’s a brief history, necessarily brief as there’s not a lot of information about it online (or probably anywhere else). I’ll post this to Wikipedia if I can figure out the coding on the footnotes.

The Heritage Brothers Circus had the distinction of being the only circus ever organized in Burlington. Circus veterans and brothers Albert and Arthur Heritage put the show together in the winter of 1925-26. It began operations by April 6, 1926, when it visited Raleigh. It closed on September 1, 1926, in Stafford, Kansas. The Greensboro Record reported that “it is thought that the show closed because it was not making good financially, as there were many misfortunes at different points in the itinerary.”

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4 Historic Former Neighborhood Stores For Sale as Homes or Outbuildings

January 19, 2023

Some historic neighborhoods and rural communities are fortunate enough to still have buildings that once housed corner grocery stores or other retail businesses. The buildings come up for sale occasionally, and there are now four historic properties for sale in the Triad that feature former stores as homes or outbuildings. For the most part, there are relatively few available details about the structures themselves and the businesses they housed. But there are at least a few facts known about all but one.

2401 Urban Street in Winston-Salem was built to be a neighborhood grocery store with an apartment upstairs. 400 W. Main Street in Reidsville may not have been designed with a residence in mind, but it has provided a location for a business and a home for its owner as far back as 1959. The Robert G. Mitchell Store in Wentworth was built in 1900 and is barely standing, an unsound building with no heat or electricity. At 3405 Maple Avenue in Burlington, the tiny old store behind the house is a mystery.

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Today’s Special: Historic Homes Under $200,000

May 14, 2022

I’m not sure what the cutoff is for “affordable” these days when it comes to buying a home. What I do know is that older homes are becoming more unaffordable every day, like every other sort of home. So it caught my eye when a little group of at least relatively affordable homes popped up this week. They’ll probably sell quickly — one already has, in a single day — but their appearance on the market does confirm that such houses exist.

None of these appear to require major restoration work. They’re all essentially move-in ready, as far as one can judge from the listings. They’re mostly smaller places in smaller towns. For the moment, at least, these look like the best opportunities for buyers looking for affordable historic homes in the Piedmont Triad.

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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.

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