For Sale – Piedmont Historic Homes

Mebane on a Million-Dollar Budget

June 18, 2024

*301 S. 5th Street, for sale at $1 million*

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marble floors and intricate wall moldings that “set the stage for opulence,” keep going for one more listing that was withdrawn earlier this year after just four months.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.

A Prominent Millwright’s 1880’s Home in Gibsonville, $400,000

January 12, 2024

Berry Davidson had a remarkable career as a 19th-century millwright and mill owner, and we know all about it because he had the rare impulse to write it all down. Davidson’s house in Gibsonville is for sale for $400,000. It’s an impressive structure with a wrap-around porch and widow’s walk, built in 1881 or 1887 (accounts differ). The house stayed in the Davison family until 1975, when the current owner bought it from Berry’s descendants.

Someone Really Needs to Save the O. Max Gardner House in Shelby

January 5, 2024

(The first photo above is by Mike Hensdill of The Gastonia Gazette via The Shelby Star.)

The home of one of North Carolina’s most prominent governors is in sad shape. Although it’s listed on the National Register, the mansion has fallen into disrepair. It’s for sale at $396,700, a lot of money but a reasonable $58 per square foot. It’s a landmark worth saving.

Oliver Max Gardner was one of the most significant governors of North Carolina in the 20th century, and the house “is one of the most distinguished residences in the town of Shelby,” its National Register nomination says. Built around 1850, it has 6 bedrooms, 8 full bathrooms and 1 half-bathroom in 6,813 square feet (per county records). It sits well back from the street on a large 2.43-acre lot. In addition to being on the National Register in its own right, it’s in the Central Shelby Historic District on the National Register.

“The house is an early twentieth century overbuilding of a mid-nineteenth century Italianate dwelling, and though remnants of the earlier structure can be seen in places, the house is of thoroughgoing Colonial Revival character … here fully developed in one of the most striking examples of the style in western North Carolina,” its National Register nomination says.

A Mayor’s Monumental 1894 Queen Anne in Mount Airy, $675,000

June 22, 2023

Update: The house sold for $615,000 on September 14, 2023.

You never saw anything like this in Mayberry. Andy and Barney didn’t seem to have much to do with the fancier side of town, if there was one. In Mount Airy, though, there definitely is one, and when you see the James A. Hadley House, you know you’re there. The Hadley house is not only one of the most impressive in town, it’s one of the grandest Queen Annes in the region.

“A large two-story structure, the house displays a wealth of Queen Anne characteristics,” the National Register nomination for the Mount Airy Historic District says. “It is composed of a rich variety of materials, details and forms. The foundation, first story, and window sills and lintels are of granite, the second story and three-story bell-cast roof central tower are brick, the gables are sheathed in decorative wood shingles, and fancy wood brackets support the eaves.”

An Eye-Catching 1940 Cottage in Winston-Salem’s Ardmore Historic District, $250,000

May 26, 2023

The Long-Robbins House at 626 Knollwood Street in Winston-Salem is an almost-perfect-looking little 1940 cottage. Get rid of that aluminum screen door, and the exterior is about as charming as any you’ll find.

Among listings in the Ardmore Historic District these days, the $250,000 price is a real attention-getter. It reflects the relatively small size, 1,426 square feet. That comes out to $175 per square foot, which puts it in line with other bungalows and cottages for sale in the neighborhood.

‘A Rare Survivor’: A Circa 1800 Log House In Rockingham County, $69,000

May 20, 2023

From Preservation North Carolina, here’s the King House, an “early and important” property that’s been on their list for a while. It’s a great opportunity to give a historic structure a total restoration. Here’s how PNC describes it:

“Early log house with large stone chimneys, exposed beaded ceiling joists, wide wall planks, hand-forged door hardware, and a rear wing, once an early separate kitchen. All situated on a scenic ridge between Wentworth and Reidsville.

A 1907 Greensboro Landmark: The George Grimsley House

April 5, 2023

Update: The house sold for $805,000 on December 13, 2023.

One sure way for your name live on is to have a high school named for you. Today, there may not be many people who could tell you who George Grimsley was (or even what his first name was), but most everyone in the area knows his name is on Greensboro’s oldest high school. Few people associated with the city have had a greater impact on Greensboro and North Carolina than he did as an innovative school superintendent, promoter of public libraries and an early president of Jefferson-Standard Life Insurance.

Grimsley’s suitably impressive house is now on the market for $1.295 million. One of the most prominent homes in the Fisher Park Historic District, it has 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. It’s a spacious 3,568 square feet, sitting on just over a half-acre. The price works out to $363 per square foot, which is in the range of what the most high-end historic homes are going for in elite neighborhoods.

7 Historic, Small-Town Bungalows That Are at Least Relatively Affordable

February 24, 2023

Update: By March 1, three of these houses were under contract.

The best place in the Triad to find an affordable starter or smaller home these days may be in the area’s smaller towns (actually, this may always be true). Here are five move-in ready bungalows and cottages priced under $200,000 and two more priced just a bit more.

The houses are spread out from Mount Airy to Ramseur. All but one were listed since January 1. They were built between 1900 and 1948. One is a stone cottage, one has remarkable brickwork. One is now an Airbnb short-term rental, none are restoration projects. Several have pretty substantial lots, up to just under an acre.

Here Are 9 Historic Homes Listed in the Past 10 Days That Are Already Under Contract

February 8, 2023

Update: Eight of the houses had sold by March 30, 2023. The other owner had accepted three offers but all had fallen through by the end of March. Two of the houses were put on sale again at higher prices within three weeks of their closings.

Is something going on? The real estate market slowed to a crawl late last year, but it looks like spring might be quite a bit busier. Nine historic homes listed since January 30 are already under contract. The properties include a stately $950,000 home in Winston-Salem’s Buena Vista neighborhood and a $50,000 restoration project in Thomasville, a 1918 bungalow in Greensboro’s Fisher Park Historic District and a 1972 Mid-Century Modern home at the Bermuda Run Country Club.

Twenty-two homes have been added to the site in the last 10 days, so it’s not like everything out there is being grabbed up in just a few days. But the pace does seem to be picking up, right in the middle of winter. Here, in no particular order, are the nine new listings suddenly spoken for:

National Register Property For Sale: Gibsonville’s ‘Most Stylish and Impressive’ Turn-of-the Century Home, $425,000

January 25, 2023

Update: The home was sold for $350,000 on February 28, 2023.

The number of historic homes for sale has contracted sharply in recent months, along with the rest of the market, but one still robust category is National Register properties in Guilford County. There are three for sale, and 204 E. Railroad Avenue in Gibsonville is by far the most affordable. At $425,000, the price comes out to a modest $120 per square foot.

“The Francis Marion Smith House, erected in 1898, is the most stylish and impressive residence in Gibsonville surviving from the 1890-1910 period that witnessed the town’s major growth,” its National Register nomination says. “The two-and-a-half-story frame house combines elements of the Colonial Revival and Queen Anne styles, including an elaborate program of classical trim and turned ornament.”

Not surprisingly, given its location and date, it’s associated with the Whitsett Institute and family, arguably the most prominent family of its day in eastern Guilford County. “It is one of three notable late nineteenth and early twentieth residences associated with the Whitsett Institute, a boarding secondary school and junior college in the Whitsett community near Gibsonville. The three houses (one of which has already been listed in the National Register) are among the finest houses combining Colonial Revival and Queen Anne style elements in eastern Guilford County.”

Piedmont Historic Homes

Historic homes for sale in the Piedmont Triad

Tag: For Sale