Wealth Of History Gives Richness To County
with camera clicking, (
examines another old Warre
its historical significance
included in the National Reg
By HELEN HOLT
News Editor
It is generally thought by
most local historians, both
amateur and semi-professional,
that Warren County
is a historical treasure. In
terms of its architectural
heritage, the county has a
richness few other counties
in North Carolina can rival.
Equally well-known and
supported by this same
group of history buffs are
the efforts to further
preserve what is uniquely
old, here. Restorations,
though not yet commonplace,
are on the upswing as
more and more people
realize the importance of
keeping the county's heritage
intact for future
generations.
Contributions of time and
effort have been made by
numerous persons. Research
has been done on old
homes; appeals have been
made not to destroy but to
rebuild for a new life;
money has been spent to
save what will never be built
again.
A familiar figure on the
periphery of these activities
is Catherine Bishir, better
known to most before her
recent marriage as CatherneCockshutt,
the lady from
Raleigh who had the
tnow-how and state con:acts
to push this county's
historical beginnings into
something permanent and
acknowledged.
Employed by the N. C.
Department of Archives and
History, Bishir has been a
iirect link between Warren
Catherine Cockshutt Eishir
b County home to determine
and whether it should be
ister of Historic Homes. She
County and the state
cultural sources which likewise
value the treasures
here.
Through her work and the
work of the Warren County
Historical Association, a
number of advances have
been made to bring Warren
County's history to the forefront.
Work has progressed
steadily at the restoration
site of Buck Spring, Nathanial
Macon's homeplace. A
complete listing of 200 to 300
old homes in Warren Count}
has been made and filed in
the archives department. At
least 11 homes in the county
have been put on the
National Register of Historic
Homes. Restorations
are under way already at
Green-Duke House - one of
the National Register
Homes - in Soul City, and
will be forthcoming at the
Jacob Holt House in
Warrenton.
Most of the town of
Warrenton has been designated
a historic district,
thereby assuring the continued
preservation of existing
old structures within
that district.
Although most of the old
homes in the county have
been screened, given the
once-over several times and
put on record in Raleigh, a
few still exist that somehow
escaped Bishir's careful
examination.
She was in town again not
too long ago to investigate
three such homes: the Haley
House on Franklinton
Street; the John White
is pictured above with
daughter of Dr. Thomas
mid-1800's house on W. Fn
Cottage on Hall Street; anc
the Palmer House ir
Oakville.
The homes may or ma>
not end up on the National
Register. That is a decisior
of the archives department
for whom Bishir perform:
research.
But their structural and
historical data will be per
manently recorded for gen
erations to come, and
hopefully, this detail will be
one of many reasons for the
owners to preserve the
homes as they are.
Historical Features
What makes a home
historical? What are the
features the experts seek to
put down in their records?
Some of these answers
and more were sought
during Bishir's most recent
tour. First on the day's
agenda was the Haley
bouse, a large, handsome
but weather-worn structure
located atop the last hil]
within Warrenton's city
limits on W. Franklin Street.
Formerly the residence of
Dr Thomas Haywood, the
home - also known as the
Sledge House — is now in the
hands of his children, Mrs.
Jauncey McDougle of Oxford,
and her four brothers,
all of whom live distantly.
The family wants to
restore the home and plans
to apply for a 50-50 matching
grant from the National
Park Service. Before grant
money can be obtained,
however, the home has to be
listed on the National
Register, according to Bishir.
After her visit and
Mrs. Jauncey McDougle,
Haywood, who owns the
inklin Street in Warrenton.
thorough examination of
several weeks ago, she will
do the determining research.
Because she has seen so
many Warren County
homes, many of which
belonged to the same era,
Bishir was able to make a
fairly rapid assessment of
the Hall Haley House.
"This is a vernacular
Greek Revival House," she
declared confidently while
the shutter of her camera
clicked in an emphatic
aside. "It is very typical of
Warren County houses during
prosperous times."
"Prosperous times,"
clearly reflects upon preCivil
War days, giving the
home a construction date of
about 1840-50.
In explaining the terminology
familiar to architectural
historians but unknown
to others,' BfsHir '
described vernacular as
"the local rendition of a
popular style."
Greek Revival was the
popular style throughout the
country during the 1840's.
Local architects - most
notably Jacob Holt in
Warrenton - took that
style, added their own interpretations
and created a
structure unique to the area
in which they worked.
"All over Warrenton are
these boxy, classical houses,"
Bishir said. "I can't say
Jacob Holt built them all but
I would say their features
are similar.
"Other counties have
Greek Revival houses," she
continued. "But the neat
thing about Warrenton and
Warren County is that you
have Greek Revival houses
with original personality."
The result is that there is a
unified architectural concept
prevailing. And the
main thing, as Bishir stated,
is that "you still have it."
Yet, with a practiced eye,
subtle differences can be
detected. With the Haley
House, for example, the
front porch columns are not
"fluted," the term used to
describe the rippled effect in
circular columns.
The home's floor plan,
evident from the outside by
the placement of a central
chimney, is likewise unusual,
Bishir noted. She also
pointed to the molding
around all the front and side
windows as another uncommon
feature although the
front door treatment is
"fairly typical."
As she circled the house,
accompanied by Mrs. McDougle
and several members
of the historical
association, Bishir let her
camera do as much of the
data recording as her pen.
Her notes were not
extensive but were supplemented
by sketches of the
various architectural designs
and structural components.
Once inside, the sketching
resumed. The researcher
took note of such things as:
the door frames, typical of
the period; the marblized
baseboard; the "curious"
little room, thought to be a
nursery set off to the side of
a larger room; the mantles
over the fireplace; the
number of rooms, their
placement, their possible
uses.
Bishir even poked her
head into closets, one of
which had the following
message scrawled on the
back wall; "I have no power
to fight the Lord's Battles
but his arm is mighty."
The inscription was dated
March 14, 1871.
In commenting about the
closets, Bishir, said the
Warrenton area has "more
glosefe for the period than
any other area" she has
visited.
The upstairs bedroom
mantle she described as
"your standard $1.98 mantle
that they cranked out like
cookies" back in that era.
As a whole, Bishir
classified the house as
tucnara Hunter, left, mem
Bishir chat about both the t
Haley. House, also known a:
"most interesting, very
workable," being similar to
Elgin, DelKeith, Shady
Grove and other homes with
Uke floor plans and features.
"It may or may not be a
Jacob Holt house," she
added. "Other builders were
here then and this may
represent a cross-fertilization
of ideas. Who knows?
We just don't know."
The only sur? way of eveknowing
is to somehow
locate the original contract
Dr bill of sale signed by the
architect or builder. Chanc-,
bs of doing that are so slim
that historical researchers
isually discount that factor
altogether
But knowing the architect
is not always as important
)h
t>er of the Warren County Histo;
r-pical and unusual architectui
the old Sledge Home.
as having a building that
represents something
unique, irreplaceable
Whether the home receives
■National P5ht Service funding
is not assured. Mrs.
McDougle and her brothers
however, may be interested
enough in restoration to
carry on independently.
"The family has been here
for so lany years, we just
hate to see anything happen
to it," said Mrs. McDougle
whose grandmother, Nancy
Skinner Christmas Haley,
bought the home in 1901
from A. D. Harris.
"We have wanted to do
things to the house before
but I am so glad now that we
didn't so it can be done
right," she added, referring
icai Association, and Mrs.
al features evident in the
to an authentic restoration.
For the time being, until
the grant application is
submitted next year, the
owners plan to protect the
building by repairing windows,
and roof leaks and
getting it inspected for
termites.
Bishir advises this course
of action for anyone with an
old home, even if restoration
isn't intended immediately.
Many homes in Warren
County have been here for
100 years or more. With
their external wounds protected
and their foundations
secured, a little attention is
all that is needed to keep
them here for centennial
celebrations to come.