North Carolina – Page 2 – Piedmont Historic Homes

The Five Most Interesting historic Homes sold in March in the Triad

April 3, 2024

February’s most interesting houses date from 1850 to 1919. Four represent some of the finer homes in the Triad’s smaller communities of Coleridge, Mount Airy, Mount Gilead and Mocksville. Their earliest known owners include a dentist, a mechanical engineer, a physician-turned-mill-owner and a register of deeds, Two of the houses were listed in February; their sales closed in less than a month. Two were listed last summer, and one wasn’t listed publicly.

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.

Think Small: The 12 Most Intriguing Bungalows and Cottages Sold in 2023

January 2, 2024

Historic mansions and other big houses tend to draw out-sized attention, overshadowing smaller but still remarkable bungalows and cottages. Here are 12 smaller, and sometimes even affordable, historic homes sold in the Piedmont Triad this year.

Their histories are often less well documented than the typical historic mansion; so, too, are the lives of their owners. But they are long on charm and elegant design. Details on each house are below; click on the address links for more information.

221 Spring Street, Thomasville, $259,000

More of the Best of 2023: 12 Remarkable 20th-Century Houses Sold in 2023

January 1, 2024

The most notable 20th-century historic homes sold in the Piedmont Triad this year are a diverse lot. They range from a 1905 Queen Anne in Troy to Mid-Century classics in Graham, Winston-Salem and, again, Troy. Oddly, the newest of the group is in Old Salem, a masterful 2010 reproduction of a lost house from the 1840s. The year’s only other historic house sale in Old Salem that I found was another reconstruction.

Other standouts include one of the oldest houses in Sedgefield, the party house of one of Gibsonville’s most colorful families and a monumental Neoclassical mansion no longer used as a residence in Winston-Salem. Details on each house are below; click on the address links for more information.

Demolition Permit Issued for the 1883 Joseph Bason Whitsett House

May 31, 2023

Update, June 12, 2023: Demolition is under way.

Correction, June 13, 2023: The house wasn’t designated as a landmark by Guilford County. That reference has been removed.

The City of Gibsonville has issued a demolition permit for the Joseph Bason Whitsett House, an 1883 mansion built by the patriarch of the nearby town that bears the family’s name. The Whitsett House is on the north side of U.S. 70 just east of N.C. 61; the address is 7241 Burlington Road. It’s easily recognizable by the cellar built into a hill at the front of the property.

The property was bought in January by Ardmore Gibsonville LLC, a unit of Ardmore Residential of Greensboro. The Business Journal (paywall) reports the company plans to build 335 apartments on the site. A Gibsonville city official confirmed today that a demolition permit has been issued for the house.

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 1964 House in Sedgefield Designed by Edward Lowenstein and 22 UNCG Undergraduates, $765,000

April 26, 2022

3307 Gaston Road is one of Edward Lowenstein’s “Commencement Houses,” the three homes designed by Lowenstein and his students when he taught at the Women’s College (which had become UNCG by the time this one, the third, was built). Two of the houses still stand, and this one in Sedgefield is now for sale at $765,000.

The house is a Mid-Century Modern classic. The entrance hall has a 17-foot high wall of windows. There are large windows throughout the house, an open staircase and minimal ornamentation. At the back, a second-floor deck provides a view of the Sedgefield Country Club golf course. The house sits well back from the street in a forested landscape. The kitchen is modern but maintains its strikingly 1950s look.

Four Classic Homes for Sale in Lexington’s Most Historic Neighborhoods

August 12, 2021

Lexington’s first residential neighborhoods were built out beginning in the the late 1800s, and they’re relatively intact today. Those neighborhoods — Courtenay, Hillcrest, Oak Crest, Park Place, Robbins Heights, Rosemary Park and Westover Heights — now constitute the Lexington Residential Historic District on the National Register. It’s a sprawling area running from Business 85 and Grimes School to the north down to West 9th Street to the south. It contains the much smaller Park Place local historic district.

The district contains a variety of interesting historic homes, and four of them are on the market now. They include a gorgeous Mediterranean Revival, a judge’s austere Colonial Revival, a Craftsman bungalow and a Craftsman Foursquare, all built between 1915 and 1926.

A 1955 Mid-Century Masterpiece in Greensboro, $1.099 Million

October 1, 2019

3905 henderson road.jpg

Update: The listing was withdrawn December 5, 2019.

Mid-Century Modern never generated any great mass appeal among mainstream home buyers. It’s too out-there for the typical family. And you won’t find a Mid-Century home much further out there than 3905 Henderson Road in Greensboro’s remarkable Hamilton Lakes neighborhood. The house is for sale at $1.099 million. The price has been reduced a bit since it was listed (originally $1.195 million), but it’s still $384 per square foot, a rather breath-taking price for any type of house in Greensboro.

Continue reading “A 1955 Mid-Century Masterpiece in Greensboro, $1.099 Million”

Restoration Project of the Week: Dongola House in Yanceyville, “the Most Pretentious Farmhouse of the Piedmont”

September 14, 2019

dongola yanceyville.jpg

dongola stairs.jpg The number of grand old houses in Caswell County is amazing, and Dongola House is one of the real gems. “The home is considered the most monumental house in Caswell County and one of the grandest in the Piedmont,” the N.C. State University Library says (Rare and Unique Digital Collections). “Dongola is a two-story, L-shaped brick home, with a tall portico of four Doric columns composed of stuccoed brick.” Multiple internet sources report that some envious person also called it “the most pretentious farmhouse of the Piedmont.”

Dongola stands at 336 W. Main Street in Yanceyville. It’s for sale at an unpretentious $109,000. “Many people believe it will take a fortune to refurbish this palatial home – we have quotes for everything and it will take less than $100K,” Preservation North Carolina says. The organization holds protective covenants on the house. Sadly, there are no current photos of the interior available. There’s a large collection of undated photos on Flickr.

Continue reading “Restoration Project of the Week: Dongola House in Yanceyville, “the Most Pretentious Farmhouse of the Piedmont””

Piedmont Historic Homes

Historic homes for sale in the Piedmont Triad

Tag: North Carolina