1. Name and location of the property: The property known as the Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store is located at 331 Main Street, Pineville, North Carolina.

2. Name and address of the present owner of the property: The present owner of the property is:

W. A. Yandell Rental and Investment Co.
PO Box 386
Pineville, NC 28134

3. Representative photographs of the property: This report contains representative photographs of the property. Photographs are available at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission office.

4. Maps depicting the location of the property: This report contains a map depicting the location of the property.

5. Current deed book reference to the property: The most recent deed to this property is recorded in Mecklenburg County Deed Book 02036 on page 293. The tax parcel number of the property is 22106102.

6. A brief historical sketch of the property: This report contains a brief historical sketch of the property.

7. A brief architectural description of the property: This report contains a brief architectural description of the property.

8. Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets criteria for designation set forth in N. C. G. S. 160A-400.5:

a. Special significance in terms of its history, architecture, and/or cultural importance: The Commission judges that the property known as the Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store does possess special significance in terms of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The Commission bases its judgment on the following considerations:

1) Built in 1925 by W.A. “Willie” Yandell, the Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store holds an important and prominent position in the Town of Pineville’s commercial core.

2) The building has a close association with W.A. “Willie” Yandell, a business man who was instrumental in the non-textile commercial development of the town of Pineville during the twentieth century, building and owning much of the town’s commercial core.

3) The Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store is closely associated with W.A. “Willie” Yandell. The businessman maintained an office, operated a hotel, and ran several other businesses in the building.

b. Integrity of design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling and/or association: The Commission contends that the physical and architectural description which is included in this report demonstrates that the Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store meets this criterion.

9. Ad Valorem tax appraisal: The Commission is aware that designation would allow the owner to apply for an automatic deferral of 50% of the Ad Valorem taxes on all or any portion of the property which becomes a designated “historic landmark.” The current total appraised tax value of the land and improvements is $1,010,400. 331 Main Street occupies 9037 square feet of the 20,105 total square feet of improvements on the tax parcel.

10. Portion of property recommended for designation: The exterior of the building, the land on which it sits, and the sidewalk directly in front of the building are recommended for historic designation.

Date of preparation of this report: April 6, 2006

Prepared by: Stewart Gray and Hope Murphy

Historical Overview

Pineville

Pineville, North Carolina is located approximately eleven miles south of the city of Charlotte. The small town had its beginnings as a train stop when the Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad opened a depot in 1852. The town, incorporated in 1873, became a busy center for agricultural support and textiles in the next few decades.[1] In 1890 businessmen from Charlotte opened the Dover Yarn Mill in Pineville. By the time the Mill had added a weaving department in 1902 over two hundred people were employed at the Mill.

In 1903 the population of Pineville had reached 700, most of them involved in some way with the cotton industry. Those not employed by the mill labored as cotton farmers. Autumn would bring farmers to Main Street where they would form long lines in order to have their cotton ginned. Saturdays would also bring farmers to town shop, pay debts, or trade mules.[2]

For most of its history the south side of Main Street has been owned by the Yandell family. W.A. “Willie” Yandell began acquiring land on the south side of Main Street in 1919. In that year he purchased one half acre from C .H. Griffin and his wife Rana[3] During the next four years Yandell acquired additional Main Street frontage from the Wherry and Bailes families.[4] In a 1987 interview in the Charlotte Observer, Willeen Yandell, W. A.’s daughter, recounted that when her father arrived in Pineville in 1912, Main Street was only a wagon path. The elder Yandell, recognized that the growing town needed services like grocery stores and began to develop them. [5]

Main Street became more connected to the outside world beginning in 1927 when a bridge was built over the nearby Big Sugar Creek. With this bridge Main Street became part of the main route between Charlotte and Columbia, South Carolina. W. A. Yandell realized a boom in his burgeoning business when work crews arrived in Pineville to begin labor on the project. Yandell recounted to newspaper reporter Joe Flanders in the 1960s that he remembered the day shortly before Christmas of 1927 when the road contractor arrived in Pineville. The contractor had with him 50 teams of mules and enough men to run them. Faced with no place to house his men, never mind the mules, the contractor turned to Yandell. For the year that it took to build the bridge and attached road Yandell housed men at his hotel and found space to feed and keep the mules.[6]

In June 1929 the business owners along the street petitioned the Mayor of the town and Board of Alderman to “grade and pave” the street. The property owners, Mr. Yandell being the largest with 250 feet of frontage, agreed to pay one-quarter of the cost of the project.[7] Into the 1930s Main Street in Pineville remained only one of two paved streets in Pineville, the other being Polk Street.

By the 1930s Pineville housed along its two block business district: five general stores, a dime store, a drug store, a doctor’s office, hardware store, pool room, livery stable, blacksmith, post office, icehouse, movie theatre, and funeral home.[8] The south side of Main Street had a barbershop, a theater, and a post office. There was also a grocery store run by Yandell, over which there were hotel rooms. Yandell’s business office was next door. Joe Griffin recounts local residents “could get a loan, cash a check, pay rent, or seek legal advice” there[9] Such services would have been vital in the community that lost its only bank, Pineville Loan & Savings Company, in 1929 at the outset of the banking crisis that preceded the Depression.[10] Griffin recounts that as a young boy in Pineville, during the 1930s, most people who lived in or near Pineville, shopped on Main Street.[11] Trips to uptown Charlotte were rare and became more so during World War II when gas became rationed.[12] Griffin recounts that the sidewalk on either side of Main Street was about four feet wide. Trees and grass were planted between the sidewalk and the road. This grassy strip served as a place for the stores to display items on nice days.[13]

Main Street Pineville 1915

Tom Eubanks, who grew up in the residential section of Main Street, recounts that the character of the business district remained intact until the 1960s, and changed most radically in the 1980s. Eubanks recalls that cotton-laden mule-drawn carts still often lined Main Street after he returned from the Korean War in 1954. 15] As Charlotte grew from the north, some of Pineville’s small town character began to wane. In 1972 Pineville was home to 2000 people within its one square mile corporate limits. The erection of apartment complexes, malls, and the Carowinds amusement park three miles west of the city brought traffic congestion to the sleepy business center.[14]

A 1987 Charlotte Observer article posits that the shift in the type of retail stores located along Main Street began in 1983. In that year the W.A. Yandell Rental and Investment Co. rented 329 Main Street to Betty Hiltz. She opened the China Connection, an antique shop. Within five years every address on the South side of Main Street, except two, would be occupied by antique stores.

In 1987 Eubanks, in an act that signaled the end of Pineville’s rural character, helped a local farmer remove his cows from the land on which the Carolina Mall would be erected, and brought them to auction. The connection of Pineville to Charlotte and local towns by the completion of the I-485 connection with I-77, along with the widening of N.C. 51, the Main Street of Pineville, completed the transformation of Pineville from a rural cotton trading and production center to a thriving suburb.[15]

Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store

During the 1930s the south side of Main Street in the 300 block was owned by Yandell. The building at 331-333 Main contained Yandell’s Grocery Store and W. A. Yandell’s business office where Griffin recounts local residents “could get a loan, cash a check, pay rent, or seek legal advice.” Such services, as noted above, would have been vital in the community that lost its only bank.[16] The only two-story building on the block was the Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store. The second story was a hotel. The hotel served some long-term residents, among these was the Childers family, who operated the nearby State Theater.[17]

This building also held Yandell’s general store. The store supplied groceries, hardware, notions, and shoes. Eubanks recalls that his mother Lila Eubanks would telephone the store and have groceries delivered by truck to their house, located just outside the business district of Main Street.[18] Faced with gas shortages during the Second World War, the enterprising Yandell began to have groceries delivered by a specially built bicycle. The bicycle outfitted with a large basket at the front replaced the delivery truck during the war years.

From his office at 333 Main Street Mr. Yandell built a business that lasts until today. In its early days his businesses included the general store, hotel, and rental company. Yandell additionally conducted a hog butchering operation from his backyard. Though Yandell’s son Charles would serve on the Pineville Board of Alderman in the late 1940’s, Yandell seems to have had little patience for bureaucracy. He appeared before the Board of Aldermen in December 1937. At that meeting Yandell explained that he was refusing to pay his taxes. It appears that Pineville policeman, O.I. Furr, owed him. $145.00 for groceries and back rent, which Yandell felt should be deducted from the public coffer. The Board directed Yandell to pay his taxes and then collect the debt owed from Furr directly.

W.A. Yandell Rental and Investment Company remained at its location at 333 Main Street until 2002.[19] Though it is not clear when Yandell ceased to operate his general store at 331 Main, beginning in the late 1960’s the space was occupied by food establishments, including Marie’s Restaurant. [20] In 1984, as part of the shift in the types of stores on Main Street, George and Clarisse Morgan opened The Antique Cupboard[21] at 331 Main, where it remains until now.

Architectural Description

The Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store was built in 1925. The two-story solid-masonry building faces north on an angled lot formed by Main and Dover Streets. The building follows the obtuse angle of the lot. The rear elevation is wider than the façade. The east elevation of the Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store abuts 329 Main, a one-story brick building. A steel lintel from 329 Main rests in a pocked cut into the brickwork of the Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store.

The façade of the Yandell Hotel and Grocery Store is composed of two nearly equal bays that are separated by a single unadorned brick pier. Hidden steel lintels support the upper brickwork. All of the brickwork on the façade is laid in running bond. Above the openings is a single recessed brick panel that is bordered on all sides by a single row of headers. The panel is composed of soldier bricks laid in an offset pattern. The east storefront opening has been infilled with later brickwork, and the glass and trim appear to have been replaced over the years. The west opening features wooden door and transom frames that may be original. Panels above the west opening may hide some original woodwork. The second floor is pierced by six evenly space boarded-over window openings with angled brick sills. The wall is topped with a stepped parapet that rises to a low peak. Vents or scuppers are located below the parapet’s simple masonry cap. The angled brickwork on the building’s northwest corner is rough, with voids between each row of bricks.

The west side elevation presents a variety of wall openings. Like the façade, the west elevation features running-bond brickwork. Coming from the front, the first bay holds a large store window supported with an angled corbelled sill. A short version of the brick panel found on the façade is located above the window. To the south of the first bay, five window openings with replacement windows and a simple door opening pierce the elevation. A substantial storefront-bay is located in the rearmost bay of the west elevation. Recessed partial-height walls with brick sills border a door opening that has been narrowed with an infilling of plywood. Wood framing in this bay may be original. Plywood also covers woodwork above the doorway. Another recessed brick panel tops this bay. The second story is pierced by numerous single and double window openings. Two stepped and peaked raised parapet sections accent the large window and storefront openings.

In contrast to the running-bond brickwork, decorative panels, and parapets of the front and west elevation, the building’s rear elevation is strictly utilitarian. The brickwork is laid in common bond with seven rows of stretchers laid between the rows of headers. Conduit, rain gutters, and vent pipes run across the rear elevation. Several window openings on the first floor have been infilled with brick or covered with plywood, leaving just two unobstructed door openings. The second floor features six window openings, all of which have been covered with plywood. The east elevation is largely obscured by the adjoining building. However, the second story of the elevation is still exposed revealing eleven original metal-framed windows. Each window is composed of two six-light casements topped by a fixed eight-light sash. The parapet wall steps down three times toward the rear.

[1] Paul Archambault and Dan Morrill, “Pineville Survey, Final Report,” The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, November 2004.
[2] Joe Howard Griffin, Sr. “My Hometown Pineville, History, Hearsay, Memories and Scrapbook of Pineville,” Unpublished manuscript.
[3] Mecklenburg County Deed Book 412, p. 377.
[4] Mecklenburg County Deed Book 458, p. 445 and Deed Book 488, p.332.
[5] Pat Borden Gubbins, “The Changing Face of Downtown Pineville,” The Charlotte Observer, February 15, 1987, Mecklenburg Neighbors Section, p. 10.
[6] Joe Flanders, “Mr. Will Remembers that Bridge,” excerpted in “My Hometown”, p. 19.
[7] Town of Pineville, Board of Alderman Minutes, June 26, 1929.
[8] Joe Howard Griffin, Sr. “My Hometown,” p. 28.
[9] Ibid., p. 28.
[10] Ibid, pp. 23,28.
[11] Ibid., p. 28.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid., p. 29.
[14] Tommy Denton, “Pineville Braces for an Era of Rapid Growth,” Charlotte News, October 12, 1972.
[15] Paul Archambault and Dan L. Morrill, “Pineville Survey, Final Report.”
[16] Griffin, p. 23.
[17] Interview with Lillie Dial, March 9, 2006.
[18] Interview with Tom Eubanks April 5, 2006
[19]Cross Reference Directory, Greater Charlotte, 1964-2002. The Public Library of Charlotte Mecklenburg County, Carolina Room.
[20] Cross Reference Directory – Marie’s Restaurant is listed from 1969-1972, Vivien’s Diner has a 1979 listing.
[21] Gubbins, “The Changing Face of Pineville.”

This report was written on December 29, 1975

1, Name and location of the property: The property known as the Morrison House (we should probably refer to it as the Young-Morrison House, or the Young-Gamm House) is located at 224 or 226 W. Tenth Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202. (The number on the house is 226, the number given at the Tax Office is 224.)

2. Name, addresses, and telephone numbers of the present owners and occupants of the property: The present owner of the property is:

Mr Edward Howard Gamm
Glenis Sofley Gamm
226 W. Tenth Street
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202

3. Representative photographs of the property: Representative photographs of the property are included in this report.

4. A map depicting the location of the property: A map depicting the location of the property is included in this report.

5. Current Deed Book Reference of the property: The most recent reference to this property is found in Deed Book 1677, page 20, as filed in the Mecklenburg County Registry. The most recent Tax Book reference is in Book 78, page 46, lot 1.

6. A brief historical sketch of the property:

The property at 226 W. Tenth Street was bought by Mrs. Ida L. Young in January of 1885 from A. B. Springs and wife, Julia B. Springs,for $550.00. (Mecklenburg County Deed Book 40, page 580 ) The Beers Map of 1877 does not show a structure on the lot so probably the present structure is the only one to have ever stood there. Mrs. Young undoubtedly had the house built soon after buying the property since the 1889-90 City Directory gives that location for the Young’s residence. The City Directories give Mr. J. H. Young’s occupations as ticket agent, bookkeeper, mail agent, and transfer clerk, Post Office,from 1889 to 1906 when the Youngs sold the property to Mrs. Jennie D. Morrison, Miss Mary G. Morrison, Miss Anna J. Morrison, Alston D. Morrison, R. Hall Morrison, and J. Graham Morrison for $7,000.00. The house was mentioned in the deed (Mecklenburg County Deed Book 216, page 661.) Mrs. Jennie D. Morrison was the widow of Joseph Graham Morrison, second son of Dr. Robert Hall Morrison, founder of Davidson College. According to a story in Charlotte Remembers (Charlotte, 1972 ), Mrs. Morrison and her children apparently moved from Cottage Home, the Morrison ancestral home near Lincolnton, to 10th Street soon after Mr. J. G. Morrison’s death.

From 1911 to 1949 the Morrisons owned the property, dividing their original lot into two, but not harming the house, and transferring those two lots back and forth among the family members several times. (Mecklenburg County Deed Book 283, page by ; Book 283, page 59; Book 290, page 399; Book 322, page 302; Book 349, page 234; Book 378, page 450; Book 388, page 334; and Book 1236, page 277.) In April 1949 Robert H. Morrison and wife Portia O., who after many family transactions owned the property on which the house stood, sold the property to Christina Harris Knudler who leased the property to Honelite Corporation for a short period of time. (Mecklenburg County Deed Book 1354, page 174, and Book 1368, page 171 ) In April of 1954 Edward H. Gamm, the present owner bought the property from the Knudlers. (Mecklenburg County Deed Book 167, page 20.)

Participants of the Fourth Ward Survey sponsored by the Commission in March 1975 describe the structure at 226 W. Tenth Street as “Queen Anne style with Italianate ornamentation in excellent condition and of excellent quality”. They also considered this house as a potential National Register site.

7. A brief architectural description of the property: A brief architectural description of the property is included in this report.

8. Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets the criteria set forth in N. C. G. S. 160A-399.4:
a. Historical and cultural significance: As has been stated the property was owned and occupied by descendants of Dr. Robert Hall Morrison, founder and first president of Davidson College, and early pastor of the First Presbyterian and Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Churches. The property remained in the Morrison family for forty-three years.

b Suitability for preservation and restoration: The structure is very well kept and has been maintained through the years. Since it is located in an area that is being considered for an in-town residential neighborhood with a turn-of-the-century atmosphere it is well suited for preservation.

c. Educational value: Since this house has had little or no alteration it is a good example of the late Victorian eclectic styling prominent in turn-of-the-century Charlotte architecture.

d. Cost of acquisition, restoration, maintenance, or repair: The property is not for sale.

e. Possibilities for adaptive or alternative use of the property: The house is large enough for many possibilities, for example offices or a residence with a shop or office combined.

f. Appraised value: The 1974 assessed value is $11,590.00.

g. Thee administrative and financial responsibility of any person or organization willing to underwrite all or a portion of such costs: This cannot be determined since the house is not for sale. The owners, however, plan to maintain the house as their residence indefinitely.

9. Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets the criteria established for inclusion on the National Register:
a. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history: This house is associated with a family, the Morrisons, who figured prominently in the Civil War. Five of Dr. Robert Hall Morrison’s sons-in-law were Confederate officers and two sons served as aides to two of those officers.

b. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past: Descendants of Dr. Robert Hall Morrison, a man who figured prominently in Charlotte-Mecklenburg history, owned and lived in this house. The husband and father, Joseph Graham Morrison, of the family who lived there was the son of Dr. Morrison; he served on Gen. Stonewall Jackson’s staff during the Civil War and was with Jackson when the latter was fatally wounded. General Jackson was married to Joseph Graham Morrison’s sister Anna, the third Morrison daughter. The Morrison clan included either by birth or marriage Lieutenant General Daniel Harvey Hill, hero of the Civil War, and later President of the University of Arkansas; James P. Irwin, wealthy owner of much downtown Charlotte property; Civil War General Stonewall Jackson; Colonel Alphonso Avery, Colonel in the Civil War and Justice of the N. C. Supreme Court; Dr. Paul Brandon Barringer, founder of the Medical School of the University of Virginia; and D. H. Hill, Jr., president of N. C. State College. That is only a partial listing of the contribution of the Morrison family to the patterns of our history.

c. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction: As is the case in so many late Victorian houses, the style of this structure is in the eye of the beholder. It seems to be a blend of styles making it truly “eclectic”. It has been suggested as a potential National Register Site.

d. That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history: This house’s connection to the prominent Morrison family is significant. Undoubtedly Mrs. Stonewall Jackson who lived on Trade Street in the same area and who was known as the “arbiter of Charlotte society” visited in the house as probably did other cousins and kin who were prominent in their own right.

10. Documentation of why and in what ways the property is of historical importance to Charlotte and/or Mecklenburg County: Need we say more about the Morrison family and its contribution to Charlotte-Mecklenburg history? Emphasis on this family, however, is not intended to overshadow the importance of the Young family and others who have occupied or do occupy the house now. This researcher still believes the history of any place is the history of the average citizen and his contribution to the daily life of a community.

Researcher’s Note: It was made known to this researcher after the report was written that Mr. Jack Boyte, a well-known local architect who has been active in preservation and restoration in North Carolina, was born in the Young-Morrison House. Mr. Boyte stated that his grandparents were living in the house at the time and that he was born in the upstairs bedroom that had no fireplace.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Charlotte, Charlotte City Directory – 1889-1909.

Lore, Adelaide and Eugenia, and Lt. Col. Robert Hall Morrison. The Morrison Family of the Rocky River Settlement of North Carolina. Charlotte 1950.

Reynolds, D. R., ed, Charlotte Remembers. Charlotte, 1972.

Others

Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission Preliminary Survey of Fourth Ward, March 1975

Records, Wills, and Deeds on file at the Mecklenburg County Deeds Office and Court House.

Date of preparation of this report: December 29, 1975

Prepared by: Mrs. Patsy B. Kinsey
Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission
Telephone: 332-2726
Architectural Description

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Gamm is a delightful example of late nineteenth century ‘stick style’ architecture which was influenced by A. J. Downing’s cottage bracketed and Charles Eastlake’s heavily ornamented designs. This style is an indigenous American wooden architecture in which the frame construction is expressed in the character of the exterior without the use of historic precedents. Such freedom from past styles opened the way for wide experimentation and is present in the Gamm house in the irregular plan, picturesque brackets emphasizing window bay spacing under varying width roof overhangs, decorative gable frames with pendants, prominent front window bay, chamfered porch columns with intricate sub-brackets, molded porch rail with turned wooden balusters, and a covered side balcony with carefully crafted roof supports and platform railing which opens from the parlor.

In the 1880’s the Fourth Ward area was vigorously developed as the foremost residential neighborhood in Charlotte. Tenth Street with its wide, median divided road was a beautiful place to live. Consequently, the street was lined with this exciting new architectural style. Using millwork produced in the newly developed steam operated planing mills of Asbury & Finger,Newcomb Bros., and F. W. Adrens, local builders hastened to follow the popular trend.

The Gamm house was built for Joseph Young, the Airline Railroad Ticket Agent, in the mid 1880’s. Other citizens such as Dr. J. S. M. Davidson, Capt. V. O. Johnson, Eli S. Steele, P. O. Walker, W. Thomas Whisnant, and T. B. Wilson, built similar late Victorian wooden houses on tenth street during the 80’s and 90’s. There was one Architect in town at the time, Jonas Rusidill, whose office was at 302 North College Street. One must wonder how much of his work is represented in the remaining structures in First and Fourth Wards, and whether he visited the New England area to see first hand the work of Henry Richardson, Stanford White, William Mead and other leading architects of the period.

The house rests on a solid brick foundation wall and beginning with a wide sill board and wooden drip, the exterior is covered with white painted square edged narrow clap boards. All windows and the front and rear entrance doors are surrounded with wide carved wood trim terminating in shoulders at the head and sill and intermediate ‘quoin’ blocks at meeting rail heights. The exterior wood trim is especially noteworthy since it is typical of many of it’s contemporary houses in Charlotte (few of which remain). At 326 West Eighth Street there are windows trimmed with identical shoulders and ‘quoins’ and at 508 North Graham Street are overhang brackets of similar design. The unusually high double hung, weight balanced windows which start near the floor have two large vertical lights in each sash divided by a full length muntin.

This window style is typical of late nineteenth century construction and reflects improved American glass manufacturing techniques as well as the desire on the part of builders to simulate the lines of more sophisticated casement windows.

The front entrance features double nine foot high doors with elaborate wood frames. The jamb pilasters are reeded and terminate in carved plinths with stylized rose motifs, and elongated carved leaf elaboration in the lower faces.

Extending from first floor room of a two story gabled wing at the front is a precisely detailed bay with twin front windows and balancing side windows. This bay has a low tin covered roof with bracketed overhang. Recessed molded panels with veed vertical siding finish the exterior wall over and under the bay windows.

Across the long front is a high ceiling veranda or ‘front porch’ with a tin covered roof and a moderate bracketed overhang. The porch columns are solid square posts with intermediate chamfered edges. Post brackets are simplified ‘Eastlake’ style carved from heavy material.

The gable above the two story wing at the front has an attic window and ventilator featuring a unique diamond head set in a lower rectangular frame, creating a pointed architectural element. This detail is repeated at the center of the long horizontal roof above the elongated house wing, and in the side gable at the end of the long wing. This gable feature, which is one of the most pronounced architectural elements, contributes much to the charm of this fine old turn-of-the century house.

The roof surfaces are square edge slate laid in a regular straight line pattern with no ‘fish scale’ or diamond interruption as might be found in some houses of the period.

From the high double front doors, a large central hall extends to the rear. Prominent pilasters define the entrance foyer in the front of the hall with a delicate turned wood suspended open grille above.

A single run stair with massive dark stained balustrade rises some twelve feet to the second floor at the rear of the hall. Two large rooms open from each side of the hall on the first floor. In each room is an interior fireplace with tiled hearth, wide molded mantel shelf and massive bracketed pilasters. Connecting to the rear, east side dining room is a kitchen-pantry wing obviously designed for servants since a small bedroom is included at the rear of the kitchen.

In the parlor at the front of the dining room, the window bay extends to the front and is emphasized with a suspended delicate wooden grille arch set on turned half round pilasters.

On the second floor an ‘ell’ shape plan includes three bedrooms opening from the stair hall. Two of these rooms have fireplaces and the third is heated through a floor grille allowing warm air to rise from the first floor drawing room below.

During its history this house has had owners who cared, and it is remarkably well preserved with little or no alteration in the original work. The revitalization of Fourth Ward will be greatly enhanced with the continued preservation of this fine historic residence.

This report was written on October 7, 1986

1. Name and location of the property: The property known as the Harry Arthur Ziem House is located at 1812 E. Eighth Street, Charlotte, North Carolina.

2. Name, address and telephone number of the present owner of the property: The owner of the property is:

Mr. John William Burkhead, Jr.
1812 E. Eighth St.
Charlotte, N.C. 28204

3. Representative photographs of the property: This report contains representative photographs of the property.

4. A map depicting the location of the property: This report contains a map which depicts the location of the property.

5. Current Deed Book Reference to the property: The most recent deed to this property is recorded in Mecklenburg County Deed Book 5074, Page 808. The Tax Parcel Number of the property is: 127-032-10.

6. A brief historical sketch of the property: This report contains a brief historical sketch of the property prepared by Dr. William H. Huffman.

7. A brief architectural description of the property: This report contains a brief architectural description of the property prepared by Mr. Joseph Schuchman, edited by Dr. Dan L. Morrill.

8. Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets the criteria for designation set forth in N.C.G.S. 160A-399.4:
a. Special significance in terms of its history, architecture, and/or cultural importance: The Commission judges that the property known as the Harry Arthur Ziem House does possess special significance in terms of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The Commission bases its judgment on the following considerations: 1) the Harry Arthur Ziem House erected c.1910, is the best-preserved example in Charlotte of early cast concrete block residential architecture and, therefore, occupies a significant place in the architectural history of this community; and 2) the Harry Arthur Ziem House is the only structure of its type in Elizabeth Heights, one of Charlotte’s oldest streetcar suburbs..

b. Integrity of design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling, and/or association: The Commission contends that the architectural description included in this report demonstrates that the property known as the Harry Arthur Ziem House meets this criterion.

9. Ad Valorem Tax Appraisal: The Commission is aware that designation would allow the owner to apply for an automatic deferral of 50% of the Ad Valorem taxes on all or any portion of the property which becomes “historic property.” The current appraised value of the improvement is $39,430. The current appraised value of the .201 acres of land is $8,000. The total appraised value of the property is $47,430. The property is zoned R6.

Date of preparation of this report: October 7, 1986

Prepared by: Dr. Dan L. Morrill
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission
1225 S. Caldwell St.
Charlotte, N.C. 28203

Telephone: 704/376-9115
Historical Overview

Dr. William B. Huffman
October, 1983

Situated on a slowly rising street in a serene but eclectic area of the Elizabeth neighborhood is an unusual two-story house that is quite unlike those around it, but is nonetheless perfectly in harmony with its surroundings. It was built about 1910 by Harry Arthur Ziem (1865-1941) according to his own design.

Ziem was born in Chicago, Ill in 1865, the son of Charles Frederick Ziem, a brother of German artist Felix Ziem, and Countess Johanna Ziem, both of whom left Germany as a result of the revolutions there in 1848. When he was a boy of six, Ziem witnessed the great Chicago fire in 1871 (his family only lived four blocks from Mrs. O’Leary famous barn). 1 There is no record to show when Harry Ziem came to Charlotte, since he does not appear in the city directories until 1912, but he purchased a building lot from the Highland Park Company on East Eight Street in July, 1909, for $550. 2

The Highland Park Company, headed by banker-developer Peter Marshall Brown (1859-1913), with Walter S. Alexander (1858-1924) serving as secretary developed the Elizabeth section of Charlotte. It was originally organized in 1891 by Edward Dilworth Latta, W. S. Alexander, Walter Brem, Heriot Clarkson, P. M. Brown, E. M. Andrews and others, and went out of business in 1915 when development was basically completed. 3 Brown and Alexander were also the founders of the Southern Real Estate, Loan and Trust Company (1899) and the Southern Loan and Savings Bank (1901), which made loans to the purchasers of Highland Park property. 4 Although originally laid out as Highland Park, the area became known as Elizabeth Heights after the establishment of Elizabeth College, a Lutheran affiliated college for women, on the site where Presbyterian Hospital now stands in 1897. The name derives from Anne Elizabeth Watts, the wife of Gerard Snowden Watts, a tobacco magnate from Durham who was the principal benefactor of the institution, and whose son-in-law, Dr. Charles B. King, was the school’s first president. To help the development of their property, Highland Park gave the new school $3600 as an inducement to locate on the hilltop site just south of the city.

In the first phase of development, Highland Park, later Elizabeth Heights was built up along Elizabeth Avenue and along its side streets. A number of substantial houses, including that of William Henry Belk, one of the founding partners of Belk Brothers Department Stores, were built in the section. 5

When the trolley line was completed to Elizabeth College in 1902, and extended along Hawthorne to the entrance of Independence Park in 1907, development could be pushed further out. Indeed, it was in 1907 that Elizabeth Heights became part of the city, and the section bounded roughly by Hawthorne, Fifth, Caswell and halfway between Eighth and Ninth Streets wan platted for development. 6 By the time Harry Ziem bought his property in 1909, the streetcar line would have passed Independence Park (which was designed by John Nolen, the designer of much of Myers Park) and turned south on Seventh, then back east on Clement, only a half block from his house.

In November, 1909, Ziem was given a water connection permit, and therefore it must have been about 1910 that he built his house. 8 Although there are no extant records or surviving relatives to confirm the information, folklore from present and former neighbors has it that Ziem, whose second wife was Nancy Dilling Ziem (1877-1962) of Gastonia, built the house according to his own design, and had the principal materials, including the block and interior decoration, shipped from Chicago, his original home. 9

In the early Teens, both Harry and Nancy Ziem worked for the Hamilton Millinery Company at 223-233 S. Tryon Street, he as a traveling salesman, and she as a milliner. From 1914, on, however, he spent most of his working years as a decorative painter of signs, automobiles and ornamental designs, while Mrs. Ziem remained a milliner for many years. 10 Harry Ziem apparently always retained an interest in art as part of his heritage, and in the home on Eighth Street is held many works of art, including painting and sculpture, some executed by Mr. Ziem himself. 11 After Harry Ziem’s death in 1941, Nancy Ziem lived in the house until she herself passed away in 1962. Thereafter it was owned for the next thirteen years by a neighbor who did some renovation, and thereafter by six different proprietors, but it was not until 1979 that the present owner undertook extensive restoration efforts, which will do much to preserve this unusual house as part of Charlotte’s unique turn-of-the-century streetcar suburb heritage. 12
NOTES

1 Charlotte Observer, Oct. 2, 1941, p. 2.

2 Deed Book 246, p. 534, 12 July 1909.

3 Record of Corporations, Book A, p. 235; Ibid., Book 4,

4 William R. Huffman, “Historical Sketch of the Southern Real Estate Building”, February, 1983, Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission; Deed Book 250, p. 678; Ibid., Book 255, p. 616.

5 “New South Neighborhoods: Elizabeth”, Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, May, 1981.

6 Map Book 224, pp. 202-3.

7 Ibid.

8 Water Connection Permit No. 2785, 4 November 1909.

9 Interview with George B. Johnston, Charlotte, N.C. 14 October 1983; Interview with Fred L. Thompson, Charlotte, N.C., 14 October 1983; Interview with Mary Voorheen, Charlotte, N. C , 14 October 1983; Certificate of Death, Reg. No. 875.

10 Charlotte City Directories, 1913-1940.

11 See note 1.

12 Interview with Mary Voorhees; interview with George B. Johnston.
Architectural Description

Joseph Schuchman
Edited by Dr. Dan L. Morrill

The Harry Ziem House is one of Charlotte’s most interesting residences. It occupies a narrow lot in Elizabeth, a turn of the century streetcar suburb. The two story house was built about 1910. Esthetically, the Ziem House is a typical early twentieth century residence. The double pile main block is square shaped with no ells or projections. The exterior is largely devoid of ornamentation, possibly a reaction against the fussiness of late nineteenth century Victorian and Queen Anne architecture.

The house’s significance derives largely from its building material. The Ziem House is of cast concrete construction; it is one of the oldest examples of cast concrete residential architecture in Charlotte. According to local tradition, Harry Ziem was long interested in fireproof construction and undoubtedly utilized his beliefs in the planning of this house. Concrete block is one of the most important building materials developed in the nineteenth century. It was perfected in the century’s closing years and achieved its greatest popularity between 1900 and 1910, as it was both fireproof and inexpensive to produce. Molds gave the block a variety of surfaces resembling cut stone; three variations are present in the Ziem House.

The Ziem House is faced in a rough faced block. Quoins and a string course are of a smooth finished block; the string course is level with the first story window sills and runs across the side and rear elevations. Openings are also formed by alternating bands of the finished block. Plain concrete block is utilized for the foundation and belt course. According to local tradition, the blocks were manufactured in Chicago, Ziem’s childhood hometown.

One/one sash is the primary glazing format; several single light casements and single pane windows are also present. Exterior openings are set in molded surrounds and placed between a cast concrete lintel and projecting sill. Fenestration on the front, rear and side elevations is asymmetrically arranged; the symmetrical side is two bays wide. The steeply pitched hip roof is sheathed in pressed tin and displays exposed rafters. A central chimney is laid in stretcher bond; its top is corbeled.

The Ionic porch columns and oval glass entrance door allude to the Neoclassical style; the remainder of the exterior is devoid of any historical detail. Three centrally placed cut and dressed stone steps lead to the hip roof porch, which covers the first story. Pressed tin covers the porch roof. End piers are of finished block. Rectangular finished block bases support the Ionic columns which flank the porch entrance; each column has an egg and dart molded capital. A plain entablature encircles the porch; the underside of the porch roof is sheathed in tongue and groove ceiling. A plain rectangular balustrade is set between the porch supports on the front and side. The balustrade was installed by the present owner, George Johnston, who purchased the house in 1979. It replaced a similarly designed existing balustrade. The side leads to concrete steps which run off the driveway; an existing balustrade may have been removed when the driveway stairs were installed. The porch foundation is of finished concrete block.

The off center entrance door displays a single paneled door; the oval glass is set within a floral border and placed within a rectangular molded panel. As was typical with turn of the century entrance doors, fine oval glass was beveled. The present straight edge glass was installed by the present owner. Single pane lights, typical Neoclassical motifs, flank the entrance. The shutters which frame the second story sash were added by the present owners.

Single pane casements are rhythmically placed along the foundation on the side elevations. At the rear, a shed porch, with exposed rafters, shelters the entrance and an adjacent window opening. A straight run open string stairway leads to an off center kitchen door. Plain rectangular banisters support a simple rail. The face of the stairwell is covered in weatherboard, which may be a later addition. As the house occupies a sloping lot, a raised basement is present on the rear elevation. A vertical paneled entrance door at the rear is the only means of access to the basement and adjacent crawl space.

The interior is handsomely detailed and largely intact. But typical of the period, ornamentation is kept to a minimum. The first story follows a Four Square plan, with rooms flowing into each other, eliminating the need for a center hall. The Four Square plan came into widespread use during the late nineteenth century.

Interior detail is simply executed. Rooms are encircled by a molded baseboard and a rounded cornice. Though a variation exists, the majority of interior openings are set in plain surrounds with a crown molding. Window openings have a molded sill. The double hung sash are set in plain frames with a beaded edge.

Each first story room is encircled by a pressed tin floral and garland frieze; the frieze in each room is identical. First story pressed tin ceilings were removed by the present owner; pressed tin light panels, each a variation on a floral and garland theme, are centrally placed in three first story rooms. Each panel is square and framed by a molded surround.

The living room is the house’s most elaborate interior space. Paired doors provide access to the room from the entrance hall, at the side, and the dining room at the rear. On each door, rectangular beveled glass is placed above a recessed panel. A two pane transom is set above each entrance. The mantle is typically Neoclassical. Ionic columns rest on a rectangular base and support a molded shelf. The overmantle was removed by the present owner. At the time of the house’s completion, each room had a coal burning fireplace. All other mantles have been removed by previous owners.

A quarter turn stairway rises from the entrance hall. The lower portion of the stairway is open string; the remainder rises enclosed. Rectangular newel posts and banisters support a molded handrail. On the main newel post, floral and garland plaster decorations are set in a recessed panel framed by a beaded surround. The capital of the post has an egg and dart molded cornice. The inner wall of the enclosed stair is sheathed in a tongue and groove wainscot. The second story landing is delineated by a balustrade. Plain banisters are set between chamfered piers, which support a molded rail. A wooden globe surmounts the piers.

Three bedrooms and a front bathroom, the latter believed to be a later addition, open off the irregularly shaped center hall. Ceilings are of pressed tin. The six panel doors appear original. Molded baseboard encircles the hall and bedrooms. Each of these rooms has a molded cornice, although a slight variation exists from room to room. Openings are set in plain surrounds. Crown molding and molded sills are present in what appears to be, by virtue of its size, the former master bedroom and are also randomly placed on other openings, indicating perhaps some alterations. It is possible that the room size of one or both of the adjacent bedrooms has been altered, perhaps to allow for the installation of closets. The appearance of a pressed tin frieze in the two closets may indicate the one-time existence of a frieze throughout the second floor. A single pane transom is located above the entrance to the largest bedroom. The attic is unfinished.

The house lot is well landscaped; a sunken birdbath is located in the
rear yard.

THE CHARLES AND LAURA ALEXANDER HOUSE

Charles and Laura House

This report was written on 29 June 1990

1. Name and location of the property: The property known as the Charles and Laura Alexander House is located at 203 Church Street in Huntersville, North Carolina.

2. Name, address and telephone number of the present owner of the property: The owners of the property are:

Marion C. and Mary Jane Sparrow
203 Church Street
Huntersville, North Carolina 28078

Telephone: (704) 875-2610

Tax Parcel Number: 019-061-05

3. Representative photographs of the property: This report contains representative photographs of the property by Ms. Nora M. Black.

4. A map depicting the location of the property: This report contains maps which depict the location of the property.

5. Current Deed Book Reference to the property: The most recent deed to this property is listed in Mecklenburg County Deed Book 3268 at page 179. The Tax Parcel Number of the property is 019-061-05.

6. A brief historical sketch of the property: This report contains a brief historical sketch of the property prepared by Ms. Paula Stathakis and Dr. Dan L. Morrill.

7. A brief architectural description of the property: This report contains a brief architectural description of the property prepared by Ms. Nora M. Black.

8. Documentation of how and in what ways the property meets criteria for designation set forth in N.C.G.S. 160A-400.5:

a. Special significance in terms of its history, architecture, and/or cultural importance: The Commission judges that the property known as the Charles and Laura Alexander House does possess special significance in terms of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The Commission bases its judgment on the following considerations:
1) the Charles and Laura Alexander House was constructed ca. 1880, during a period of factory growth in Huntersville;
2) J. N. Hunter, an early owner of the property, served as Postmaster ca. 1880;
3) C.S. and S.W. Davis, 1930’s owners of the property, were important merchants and operated a cotton gin in the Huntersville community;
4) the Charles and Laura Alexander house is an excellent example of an in-town house in a largely farming community;
5) the Charles and Laura Alexander House is architecturally significant as an outstanding example of the two-story, extended I-house of the National Folk House period;
6) the interior of the Charles and Laura Alexander House retains much of the early woodwork including mantels, flooring and some board ceilings;
7) the exterior of the house is enriched with Folk Victorian details; and
8) the location of the Charles and Laura Alexander House on an historic rail corridor in Huntersville helps document the economic growth of the town.

b. Integrity of design, setting, workmanship), materials, feeling, and/or association: The Commission contends that the architectural description by Ms. Nora M. Black, which is included in this report, demonstrates that the Charles and Laura Alexander House meets this criterion.

 

9. Ad Valorem Tax Appraisal: The Commission is aware that designation would allow the owner to apply for an automatic deferral of 50% of the Ad Valorem taxes on all or any portion of the property which becomes a designated “historic landmark.” The current appraised value of the improvements is $43,320. The current appraised value of the 0.848 of an acre is $10,170. The total appraised value of the property is $53,490. The property is zoned RL.

Date of Preparation of this Report: 29 June 1990

Prepared by:

Dr. Dan L. Morrill
in conjunction with
Ms. Nora M. Black
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission
1225 South Caldwell Street, Box D
Charlotte, North Carolina 28203

Telephone: 704/376-9115

by
Paula Stathakis
Dr. Dan L. Morrill
June 28, 1990

The Charles and Laura Alexander House is situated in Huntersville, a cotton mill and farm support community which emerged in post-bellum Mecklenburg County beside the A.T. & O. Railroad (now Norfolk Southern) line from Charlotte to Statesville. The earliest record of the property on which the Charles and Laura Alexander House is located shows that it originally belonged to the Hunter family. J. N. Hunter and J. H. Hunter sold the property to J. F. Grady for $300 in 1884.¹ Grady held the property for six years and sold it to Charles Alexander.² Charles and his wife, Laura, were long-time residents of the house, and passed the property on to Margaret L. Patterson.³ The property was returned to the children of Charles Alexander after Margaret Patterson’s death in 1925. According to her will, Miss Patterson left the house, furniture and lot in Huntersville, which adjoined the manse of Huntersville Presbyterian Church, to her nieces, Mrs. Bessie Alexander Grier, and Miss Mary Alexander.⁴ By this time, the former Alexander children were adults who chose not to keep the property. Bessie Alexander Grier had married Reverend Grier, minister at Ramah Presbyterian Church and Huntersville Presbyterian Church, and probably had no need for an additional household.⁵

Bessie and Mary sold the house in 1925 to W. W. and Minnie Lee Brown. ⁶ The Browns kept the property until 1932, when they sold it to C. S. Davis, S. W. Davis, and Nannie J. Davis.⁷ The Davis brothers held an important position in the Huntersville community and its environs. The C. S. and S. W. Davis General Store, situated in nearby Croft, supplied area farmers with dry goods and other supplies. The Davis family sold the house to I. I Earnhardt and Annabelle Earnhardt.⁸ The Earnhardts, in turn, sold the property to Howard L. and Ellen Rodgers in 1944.⁹ The Sparrows, the current owners, purchased the property from the Rodgers in 1971.¹⁰

The Charles and Laura Alexander House was built during a period of substantial growth in Huntersville. The town expanded in the late nineteenth century because of its strategic location on the railroad. Also, Huntersville participated in the cotton mill campaign which gripped the Piedmont section of the two Carolinas in the late 1800’s. Accordingly, the Anchor Mills, a large enterprise, opened in Huntersville in the 1890’s.¹¹. The mainstay of Huntersville’s economy, however, were the owners of the modest farms that surrounded the town. The census agriculture schedule in 1880 for J. N. Hunter indicates that he was a typical small farmer in the Huntersville community. He owned thirty tilled acres and two unimproved acres. He employed no tenant farmers or sharecroppers. His harvest for 1879 was one acre of Indian corn yielding twenty bushels, two acres of wheat yielding nine bushels, and fifteen acres of cotton yielding six bales. Hunter also produced ten bushels each of Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes. Most noteworthy in his agricultural pursuits was the dedication of the majority of his land to cotton, a common practice for small farmers in the South during this period. It is interesting that Hunter did not employ tenant farmers or sharecroppers to assist with cotton, a labor intensive crop. Few of Hunter’s neighbors in the Deweese township, which encompasses Huntersville and its environs, employed tenant farmers or sharecroppers in 1880.¹²

Of all the early owners of the property, the most is known about J. N. Hunter, whose commercial activities were at least episodically detailed in census records. In addition to farming, Hunter also served as postmaster according to the 1880 manuscript census of the population. Charles Alexander, a later resident of the property, was described in the 1890 census as a farmer; however, his agricultural record is unavailable. The Record of Settlements from his estate suggests that tenants worked for him, but since Alexander owned other properties, it is not clear where these tenants lived and labored.¹³

¹ Register of Deeds, Mecklenburg County Courthouse, Deed Book 42, Page 103, November 21, 1884.

² Deed Book 70, Page 15, January 4, 1890.

³ Deed Book 605, Page 90, August 22, 1900.

⁴ Will Book R, Page 392, Item 5. Mecklenburg County Courthouse, office of the Clerk of Estates.

⁵ Mary Boolean Bradford, “Huntersville Sparrow Echoes a By-Gone Era” Mecklenburg Gazette n.d.

⁶ Deed Book 605, Page 119, October 29, 1925. W. W. Brown briefly had joint ownership of the property with J. H. and Edith Brown who sold their share in 1929, see Deed Book 794, Page 490, February 8, 1929.

⁷ Deed Book 817, Page 57, February 17, 1932.

⁸ Deed Book 973, Page 264, March 9, 1934.

⁹ Deed Book 1125, Page 215, July 12, 1944.

¹⁰ Deed Book 3268, Page 179, February 25, 1971.

¹¹ The Anchor Mill building still stands.

¹² 1880 Census Agriculture Schedule. Mecklenburg County.

¹³ Record of Settlements, Book 11, Page 234, Mecklenburg County Courthouse, Office of Clerk of Estates.

by
Ms. Nora M. Black

The Charles and Laura Alexander House is located on the east side of Church Street, north of the intersection with Cemetery Street and south of the intersection with Gibson Park, in the Town of Huntersville in northern Mecklenburg County. The entry facade of the house faces west. One house and one outbuilding are still standing. The house is currently owned by Marion C. and Mary Jane Sparrow.

The house is an excellent example of the “in-town” version of the two-story, extended I-house with center hall that was fairly common in the post-railroad years between approximately 1850 to 1890. This period, often referred to as the National Folk House period, coincided with the spread of the railroad throughout the United States. The Charles and Laura Alexander House is enriched with Folk Victorian decoration on the front porch. On a street of simpler houses, it stands out to all passersby as a town home for cultured, relatively well-to-do people.

Construction of the Charles and Laura Alexander House was probably begun in the early 1880’s. Over the years, the house evolved to meet the needs of the owners. Most of the structure has been covered with blue vinyl siding to reduce the owners’ heating bill; however, the original material was not removed and remains in place under the new siding and trim. The original siding was painted, lapped horizontal boards – The original foundation consisted of brick piers; the piers have been infilled with brick.

The Alexander House has a compound, U-plan. The ground plan of the section of the house nearest the street is that of a side-gabled structure three units wide. Two gable-roofed, one story wings at the rear (east) of the house form the rest of the U-shape. The gable-roofed wings have small shed-roofed additions on the extreme east end; additionally, a rear porch (on the east facade) has a shed roof. The shed-roof porch fills in the interior of the U-shape.

The side-gabled (west or Church Street) section of the house is one unit deep by three units wide. The front (West) elevation of the house is divided into two units having symmetrical single windows and one unit with a door on each floor. The two upstairs 6/6 windows and door are original. On the first floor, the main entry and one 6/6 window are original; one window was replaced with a smaller, 2/2 window unit during remodeling. The gable ends each have two windows, a single, 6/6 window centered on each story; one window on the first floor of the north gable end has been replaced with a smaller, 2/2 window unit. The side-gabled section of the house has two masonry chimneys on the east facade exiting the house at the peak of each gable wing. This unusual arrangement allows each of the two chimneys to serve three rooms, one room upstairs and one downstairs in the side-gabled front section and one room in each gable wing.

The two one-story wings to the rear of the side-gabled section are two rooms deep by one room wide. The north wing has an exterior masonry chimney located on the east gable wall; the windows of this wing are 2/2 replacement units; one is a double window over the kitchen sink and the other is a single window. The south wing has a pair of original 6/6 windows and one 2/2 replacement unit. Each of the small, symmetrical shed additions (on the east facade of each wing) has a 4-pane square window centered on the east wall.

One unit of the width in the interior of the house is devoted entirely to a hallway and enclosed stair from the front entry to the rear entry. A small half-bathroom has been added in the hallway near the rear of the house, The entrance appears to have changed little over the years with the exception of the addition of a white storm door. The entrance consists of a wooden enframement with full transom light and abbreviated side lights surrounding the four panel door. Beneath the sidelights are white wooden panels. The door itself is original with two glass panels and two raised wooden panels with moldings. The full transom light has been covered for energy conservation.

The two-tiered entry porch on the street (west) facade of the gable section of the house is its most distinctive feature. The porch has wooden flooring; it is lit by an unshielded bulb in a ceramic fixture. The first floor section has square white fluted aluminum columns resting on brick piers. The original second floor columns are made of wood with chamfered corners. The second floor balustrade is composed of fluted pieces of wood assembled in an asterisk pattern. Jig-saw cut detailing on the second floor porch, done in a floral pattern, adds to the Folk Victorian look of the basic I-house.

A shed-roofed porch runs along the east (rear) facade of the house; it is enclosed at the back but open at the ends. This rear porch shelters an unusual back door with decorative enframement and abbreviated sidelights (very similar to the front entry) .

The western half of the gable roof of the I-house section is covered with black shingles. All other roofs are metal with the exception of the back porch which has brown shingles. The roofs have a low pitch which causes the wall to dominate the view of the facades. The boxed eaves have a moderate overhang but there are no moldings or decoration. There is a wide overhang on the gable ends.

The interior of the house has many original features; however, some remodeling has occurred. The ceilings in the south side of the first floor and the entire upstairs are of beaded board. The ceilings in the north side of the first floor have been lowered; the original board is above the suspended ceiling. There are six original fire surrounds in the Alexander House. Each surround exhibits a different look with various examples of raised, jig-saw cut panels. Early cabinets includes a large corner cupboard and a three-quarter height, two-door closet. The original wood floors have in some rooms been covered with carpet or hard flooring.

The year of construction of the only surviving outbuilding is unknown. It is possible that it was once used as a stable and later was converted to a garage/storage area.

The Charles and Laura Alexander House can provide important information about small town life in the early days of Mecklenburg County. Its presence on Church Street in Huntersville enriches the streetscape and reminds those who pause to admire the decorative “gingerbread” of a more peaceful, slower-paced era.