<=HH-8--300 (11-78)

instructions in How to aJI Pntrlf::>"--r:nrnnlele

historic The Hermi

and/or common

street number E side NC SR 1

Hill

state North Carolina

__ district ~ building(s) ___ structure __ site

__ public X

__ both

__ In process

sections,

code 37

__ occupk::d X

__ wod< in progress

__ being considered __ no

number Route l

Bertie

agriculture __ commercial __ educational

entertainment __ government __ Industrial

military

__ not for

code Ol

__ museum __ park

residence __ religious __ scientific

state North Carolina

cow1house, .. ,F,_, •.• ;.,.·:-.-" of deeds, etc. ----------~--.:::_ ___ :____ ___________ b/_!J-cJ-.~,~,;;.___..I.LL!j.ij_LL'/--I.lL!J.U .. Ll.liJUL:!,C. ________ --------------- ------------------------------------

street & number

title no

date __ federal __ state __ local

record-S

state

__ dctoriomtod unoltered site __ ruins ~ aftered moved

__ fair

The Hermitage sits-in a small yard near the east shoulder of unpaved North Carolina state roa~ 1357. A fen~ed-pasture and a cultivated garden plot surround the house on three sides. The north -facade of the house is obscured by two large magnolias. The house and yard form the,center of a fanm of several hundred acres bisected by state road 1357; the house stands a fewhundred yards from the west bank of the Chowan River Near the east side of the house are two old outbuildings. The large gable roof smokehouse retains much beaded siding and a batten doo1~ v:rith large wrought iron hinges; a two-room structure dating from the Greek Revival peL.Lod features a central chimney and an unfinished Interior.

The oldest section of the Hermitage is the story-and-a-half side-hall plan Georgian coastal cottage which nmv forms the rear \ving of the house. The exterior features beaded siding, one-part architrave surrounds around the n:Lne-over-six sash and a double--shoulder chimney with a free-standing stack of 3:1 common bond brickwork, At the base of the chimney is the brick entrance to the cellar beneath the house. The east front of the house has a shed porch supported by turned columns of urtcletermined date The V>Test side features a small pedimented porch supported by two tapered square posts with molded capitals; apparently the original supports, these represent a ra.r:e survival. The trim of the interior is intact except for the retrirrnned rear shed room; the hall and front room feature a fielded wainscot with molded baseboard and chair rail and one-part architrave trim. The stair rises in one run against the north \-Tall of the hall and is trimmed with a square newel with a molded cap, a molded handrail, and square balusters. The mantel of the front room has a plain surround beneath a two-panel frieze supporting a heavily molded shelf The second floor room has a small fireplace opening but no mantel

The two-and-a-half story Federal period addition is attached to the north wall of the Georgian house at a right angle. The as:y1nmetrical five-bay exterior features molded siding, paneled cornerposts, and three--part architrave trim around the windows; nine-over-nine sash appears on the first floor and six···over-six on the second. The east end of the house features an interior end chimney while an exterior double-shoulder chimney \¥ith tumbled shoulders and a free-standing stack, appears at the west end. The north facade originally featured a double portico vlith ~:~;quare box columns; tall iron poles nm·l support the porch roof. A shed porch with turned columns runs across the rear and joins the porch of the coastal cottage.

The plan of the ne\ver section of the house consists of a wide center hall flanked by a single large room on each side. The plan :La repeated on the second floor with the addttion of a small room partitioned into the hall The hall and west room on both floors feature Federal period woodwork, while the rooms on east, which open into the Georgian coastal cottage, are trimmed with Greek Revival vJoodvlork. It appears that the Greek Revival ,,;rood-work \vas applied on of older \•Joodivork :Ln the first floor east room, a Federal-pE!r:Lod

cot t 1 :Ln :ln. room. The hall and \vest rooms retain molded baseboards, chair rails, and two-part architrave trim~ The handsome pilaster-type Federal mantel of the second floor west room is in place wh:lle the first floor vJest room has a Victorian­penlod white marble mantel. The other m;..int:els are typical Greek Revival pilaster-type mantels of bold proportions. The stair rises against the east wall of the hall and turns to the t.ves t ovrer the rear door; it features a square ne~vel ,_;,Jith molded cap a molded hand­rail~ and handsomely scrolled stair brackets Ar1 enclosed stair rises from the second floor hall to the attic over the main stair. The house retains its original floor:i.ng~

FHR-8-300 (11-7!l)

sheet Description

plaster, and raised-panel doors. Some fragments of wallpaper of considerable

Item number 7 1

remains on the second floor woodwork remain on the second floor,

__ 1400-1 __ archeology-historic

_ _JL_ architecture __ art

__ cons .• ervation __ economics __ education

Jusca~Jc architecture __ law __ science

__ literature

__ music

1500-1599 -- 1600-1699 _lL 1700.-1799 _x_ 1800-1899 _1900-

__ commerce __ exploration/settlement __ philosophy

social/ humanitarian

__ theater __ communications __ poliUcs/government

__ inver1tion __ other (specify)

The Hermitage was bui1t i.n the late eighteonth-century as a small coastal cottage, a regional ~ouse for~ found in the' Car~linas. Later owners expanded the house in the ~ederal and Greek' Revival periods- to form large plantation residence. The house and its woodwork of each respective period is :intact. The Hermitage Plantation not only in­cluded the house ana farm~ but also a whm:~f and fishery on the Chowan River. The house has had many owners the most prominent Dr. Alexander Wood Hebane and Augustus Holley. Dr. Mebane represented Bertie in the state legislature from 1829 to J 8J5; Augustus Holley was one of the weal thi.est citizens and largest landowners of . Bertie County.

Criteria:

A. Associated with.the large agricultural plantation unit of antebellum eastern North Carolina, as well as with a fishery on the nearby Chowan River.

·B. Associated w·ith the lives of Dr. Alexander ~A]ood Hebane (1800-1847), state legislator from Bertie County and Augustus Holley (1820-1882) one of the county's largest landowners.

·C.· Embodies the dis tincti.ve characteristi.c.s of the home of a prosperous antebellum family,·as well as ·exemplifies the practice of expanding a house to suit changing tenants and their~needs; con~~quently, the house reflects the characteristics of Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival vernacular architecture. The oldest section is an 'eighteenth·-:-century example of an important regional house type, the coastal cottage.

D. Is likely to yield information' in the h~L.s household activities.

of large antebellum plantation

FHA-3-lOO (11-76)

sheet Significance 8 number

1

The firy t known owner of the Hermitage proy1 ty was Thomas Brownrigg, a merchant of Chowan County. In 1777 Brmvnrigg deeded to his ter Sarah Brown 925 acres on the.,~vest bank of the Cho~an River with all "houses, outhouses edifices buildings yards, gardens, orchards." Possibly the Georgian coas cot forming the rear wing of the present house was one of the buildings on the Sarah Brown received from her brother-The house and land remained in until 1802; in that year Joseph A. Brown sold 764 acres on the west side of the Cho'Vvn11 River to George Reed, a planter of Perquimans County for 3,890 silver dollars.3 Reed a prosperous planter who appears to have first established the Hermitage f:Lshery on the Chc,;,JanRiver. At his death in 1809, Reed left his wife l1ary the "plantation \vhereon I live and one~third interest in the fishery;" a fishery was connected with the Plantation until the 1930s.4 Household goods mentioned in Reed's will included three a buffet with china and crockeryp a set of china with a large bowl, a sideboard two tables a looking glass one dozen setting chairs, a loom, and two pairs of aDdirons;. the will also mentioned a plantation on Durants Neck, a house and lot in the · County village of Colerain, and ten slaves. 5

Reed's son James lived on the property and possibly built the Federal section of the house before he sold the property. In 183 James Reed sold "all the land whereon I now live comprising the dwelling house tract . , . on Chowan River . , . containing 1,050 acres . . . with all mgnners of improvemenr::u unto the said land and fishery'~ to Dr. Alexander Hood Mebane,

Dr. Mebane (1900-1847) \vas a native of County North Carolina, who \vas educated in Philadelphia. Mebane apparently settled 11 Bertie gounty after his marriage to Mary Howe, "a lady of fine estate " and a local -~~esident. Dr. l1ebane represented Bertie County in the House of Commons from 1829 to 1831, and served in the state Senate from 1833 until 1835.9 According to one source~ Dr Mebane "settled in Bertie County on the Chowan River, where he became one of the ccessful and enterprising men of that section. He was a man of unblemished reputation, ithful to every duty, active and energetic in every good work and enterprise, 11 10 Pas Dr. l1ebane 1;.;as responsible for the Greek Revival changes to the house. At the doctrJI:'s death in 1847, the Hermitage was inherited by his wife Mary; after her marriage to Raynor, the couple resided at the Hermitage until Hrs Raynor's death in 1855.11 The Il~:rmitage was inherited by l1rs •. Raynor's daughter Mary Mebane with the instructions that at twenty-first birthday the property wo~ld revert to her brotherR William A. Alexander W, Mebane, and John T. Mebane. 12 Mary Mebane may have resided at the Hermitage a minor and after her marriage to John Pool. In 1867 she deeded the Hermitage property her brother Dr. Alexander Wood Hebane of nearby Edenton.13 Three years later Dr. ane sold the property to Augustus Holley (1820-1882) one of the wealthiest men in tie County.l4 At the time of the 1860 census, Holley owned 7,338 acres of land valued 50,2~0 on which his 172 slaves raised 7,000 bushels of corn and 176 bales of ton. According to local tradition, Holley used the Hermitage as his sunnner spending the winters at one of his several neighboring plantations. At his 382, Holley left his wife Salley Jernigan Holley the Hermitage Plantation and along with his Mt. Gould Plantation, Askew Plantation, Mills Landing Plantation, Place, Bandon Plantati.on in Chowan County~ and two fisheries on the Chowan River. Mrs. Holley's death in 1894, the Her~mitage was inherited by her son J. H. Jernigan Hermitage property then exchanged hy9ds several times until it ~vas purchased in by the family of the present owners.

FHR-!hlOO (11-73)

Continuation sheet Significance Item number 8 2

The Hermitage provides a good example of once-colllrnon practice of expanding a house to suit the changing needs of its tenants. The Georgian, Federal and Greek Revival periods are well represented in the simple but substantial woodvwrk of the house. The side-hall plan Georgian coastal cottage and the center-hall plan Federal and Greek Revival addition also represent two common ccegional house types, although the handsomely detailed and spacious staircase of the addition is a relatively rare feature in Bertie County architecture of the Federal period.

The structure is, of course~ closely relat to the surrounding environment. Archeological remains, such as trash pits, wells, and structural remains, which may be presentt can provide information valuable to the unders i:::rnding and interpretation of the structure. Information concerning use patterns, soc.al tanding and mobility, as well as structural details are often only evident in the arch ical record, Therefore, archeological remains may well be an important compone,·.t· <'Jf the significance of the structure. At this time no investigation has been don to discover these remains, but it is probable that they exist, and this should be considered in any development of the property.

Notes:

1 Thos, Brownrigg to Sarah Brmvn, 14 NcnJr~mber 1777, Bertie County Deeds, Office of the Register of Deeds, Bertie County Courthouse, Windsor, Book R, 421, hereinafter cited as Bertie County Deeds.

2 Thos. Brmv-nrigg to Sarah Brown, 14 November 1777, Bertie County Deeds, Book R, 421,

3Joseph A. Brown to George Reed, 9

4 Will of George Reed, 22 May 1809,

of the Clerk of Court, Bertie as Bertie County Wills.

5 Will of George Reed, Bertie County Wi

6James Reed to Alex. ~~. Hebane, Augus

1802, Bertie County Deeds, Book S, 523.

ed November 1809, Bertie County Wills, Office ouse, Windsor, Book F, 122, hereinafter cited

~ Book F, 122.

833, Bertie County Deeds, Book DD, 70.

7John H. Wheeler, Reminiscences and of North Carolina and Eminent North Carolinians (Columbus ,--Ohf-;~: Colurnb~Prirt·;:ing Work~884), 331.-- ----- ----

8 Wheeler Reminiscences, 331.

9 John L. Cheney, ed, , North Carolina Go·•,rernment, 1585-19 74 (Raleigh: North Carolina Department of the Secretary of -Stat;-19i5}-- 293 ;J00-;303; 305.

10Wheeler, Reminiscence~, 331.

11Wil.1 of Alexandet" vJood He bane, r\0 .ober 1846, probated February 1847, Bertie

FHA-!1-JOO (11-76)

Continuation Signif:Lcance 8

number

County Wills, Book G, 413

12 Will of Hary Raynor 20 October 1853 probated 10 October 1855, Bertie County Wills, Book H, 20

13 Mary Mebane Pool to Dr. A. W. Mebane) l June 1867, Bertie County Deeds, Book NN, 468

1 It Dr. A. W. Mebane to Augustus Hol 28 July 1870, Bertie County Deeds~ Book NN, 508.

15Eighth Census of the United States, Bertie County, North Carolina, Agricultural Schedule, 13; Slave Schedule, 128, microf:U ',l of National Archives manuscript copy, Joyner Library~ East Carolina University, Greenvill .

16will of Augustus Holley, 23 May 1882 probated June 1882, Bertie County Wills, Book I, 147.

17 vJill of Salley J. Holley, 15 March 1 2, probated January 189L•, Bertie County

Wills, Book I, 395; Land Division of J. H. Jernigan, W. E. Daniels et al to Lizzie B~ Jernigan, 23 November 1920, Bertie County eds Book 215 14; Lizzie B. Jernigan to L. B. Evans, 1 January 1921, Bertie County Deeds, Book 215, 193; L B. Evans to W. R. La-v1rence and L. E. Farless, 2 January 1930:: Bertie County Deeds. Book 264, 316.

FHR-8-300 (1 ,-78)

Continuation sheet Major Bibliographical Ref~; 1

Cheney, John L., ed. 1585-1974. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of the

Eighth Census of the United States, 1860t B13rtie County, North Carolina, microfilm of National Archives manuscript copy, Joy:n<::r Library, East Carolina University, Greenville.

Wheeler, John H. Reminiscences and Memoirs North Carolina and Eminent North Car~linians. Columbus, Ohio-:--Columb~c Printing Works, 1884,

Bertie County Deed Books Office of the t of Deeds Bertie County Courtho~~e~·Wihdsor

Bertie County Will Books Office of the Cl of Court Bertie County Courthouse, Windsor.

LLJ cW w

approx. 2 acres

scale 1_:_ ___ 62500

Zone 18 Long 76° 46' 00"

sw L, I, j,_u Zone Northing

F

HW The nroperty included in the on the southwest by state road and represents

the original house tract with outbuildings .still immediately associated with the house.

code code

county code

name/title Marshall Bullock, Consultant to r~hc~ Mid-East Commission

919-733-6545

North Carolina 27611

The

__ national __ state

Historic Preservation Officer io:· National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89--nominate this for inclusion in the t.latlonal and certify that it has been evaluated

to the criteria set forth by and Recreation Service.

Historic Preservation Ofiicer

title ~ate Historic Preservation Officer date 16 October 1980

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