20201828 Ver 1_ProjectSHPOEnvReviewRequestPacket_20210227

Request for Environmental Review
Project Name (if previously reviewed, provide SHPO tracking number)
•Project Name:Rosedale Subdivision
Project Location
•Address:1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, NC 27587
•City:Wake Forest
•County:Wake
Project Contact Information
•Contact Name:Deborah E. Shirley
•Company:Soil & Environmental Consultants, PA (S&EC)
•Address:8412 Falls of Neuse Rd., Suite 104 Raleigh, NC 27615
•Phone:[phone]
•Fax:[phone]
•E-mail:[e-mail]
Project Description
•Project acreage:
o +/- 268.57 acres
•Proposed Project Activities:
o The proposed project is a residential development.
•Required licenses, permits, approvals, grants, federal/state funds:
o This request is submitted concurrent with the preparation of Section 404 and 401 Pre-
Construction Notification Application for proposed impacts to waters and/or wetlands on-site.
•Historic Properties Description:
o The structures on the property are not identified on the NCHPO website. However, some are
greater than 50 years old and have been reviewed by the Town of Wake Forest. Please see
attached documents for reference.
Rosedale Subdivision Environmental Review Request Soil & Environmental Consultants, PA
Project No. 13414.W5 December 18, 2020
2
•Proposed Plan for Existing Structures:
•
o The proposed project would require the existing structures to be demolished
•Proposed sale, transfer, or lease of historic properties within the project area
o The project does not propose sale, transfer, or lease of historic properties within the project
area.
•Past usage of the project area, including any ground disturbance that has taken place:
o The project sites have been used primarily for a residential single-family home and
agriculture.
•Proposed ground-disturbing activities within the project area (nature, dimensions (length, width, and
depth), and locations):
o Proposed ground-disturbing activities within the project area would include grading (cut and
fill) for the construction of a residential development. Please find a proposed Impact Exhibit
attached for reference.
Attachments
1)USGS Map
2)Proposed Impact Exhibit
3)Pearce Farm Historical Research Report
4)Averette Houses Historical Research Report
*See email attachment about previous review
NC Center for Geographic Information & Analysis
Project Number:
SBProject Manager:
1" = 1000'Scale:
12/14/2020Date:
Map Title:
Source:
USGS Map
Rosedale: Averette
Road Property
Wake County, NC
NC USGS
Rolesville Quadrangle
¯0 1,000 2,000
Feet
13414.W12
YIELDYIELDYIELD YIELDYIELDYIELDYIELD YIELDYIELDYIELDYIELD
YIELD YIELDYIELDYIELDYIELD YIELDYIELD<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<OPLOPLOPL OPLOPLOPLOPLOPLOPLOPL OPLOPL
OPL OPLOPLOPLOPLOPLOPLOPLOPLOPLOPLPROJECT:
SCALE:
DATE:
2018-010.001
NOVEMBER 16, 2020
WETLAND AND BUFFER LOCATION:
CLIENT:
WAKE FOREST, NC
TRYON PARTNERS II, LLCIASSOCIATES,RAVENRIEST,C &P
LAND USE CONSULTANTS PLANNERS / LANDSCAPE DESIGNERS / SURVEYORS / ENGINEERS
3803 - B Computer Drive, Suite 104 Raleigh, N.C. 27609 . Phone 919 / 781-0300 . Fax 919 / 782-1288 . Email [e-mail] / Firm #: C-0488
NC.IMPACT EXHIBIT FOR
ROSEDALE SUBDIVISION SHEET NUMBER:
F:\LAND PROJECTS\2016-002.004 AVERETTE - WAKE FOREST\DRAWINGS\SHEET\IMPACTS\SUBDIVISION\ XR-16002-IMPACTS.DWG , Nov 24, 2020 - 7:36 PM , BWILL IMPACT #1SHEET 2IMPACT #2SHEET 3IMPACTSHEET 4#3 & #4IMPACTSHEET 5#5, #6 & #7IMPACT #8SHEET X#9 AND #10SHEET XIMPACT #10SHEET 11LEGENDJURISDICTIONAL CHANNEL TEMPORARY IMPACTPERMANENT CHANNEL IMPACT AREAPERMANENT - NO LOSS CHANNEL IMPACT AREARIPARIAN BUFFER ZONE 2 IMPACT AREARIPARIAN BUFFER ZONE 1 IMPACT AREAJURISDICTIONAL CHANNEL PERMANENT IMPACTDISSIPATOR PADDISTURBED LIMITSDLTEMPORARY CHANNEL IMPACT AREATEMP RIPARIAN BUFFER ZONE 2 IMPACT AREATEMP RIPARIAN BUFFER ZONE 1 IMPACT AREAJURISDICTIONAL CHANNEL TEMPORARY IMPACTGRAPHIC SCALE8002004001" = 400'01200400NORTHWETLANDSIMPACTED WETLANDSIMPACTS

Preliminary Historical Research Report

Pearce Heirs Farm, LLC Property
1916 Averette Road & 0 Averette Road,
Wake Forest, NC (1860092629 &
1860093411)

Lori Townsend, HP Intern and
Michelle A. Michael, MHP
Planning Department, Town of Wake Forest
July 29, 2019
1
Preliminary Historic Research Report
Pearce Heirs Farm, LLC Property, 1916 & 0 Averette Road, Wake Forest
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary 1
Description of Property 2
Building Inventory and Description 3
a. Pearce Farm House 3
b. Shed 4
c. Tobacco Barn 4-5
d. Tobacco Barn 5
e. Barn 5-6
f. Small Ruin(s) 6
g. Two small cribs 7
h. Shed 7-8
i. Barn 8
j. Barn 9
Historical Background and Research 10
National Register Criteria Assessment 11
Bibliography 12
Site Map 13

2
Summary: Plans for a new housing development on Averette Road were submitted to the Town
of Wake Forest for review and approval. During staff review, the developer was notified that all
structures over fifty years of age require review under the Demolition of Historic Structures
Ordinance. The developer hired consulting firm MdM Associates to complete a determination
of eligibility report on part of the property including 1716 and 1720 Averette Road which was
determined ineligible. However, during subsequent staff review a second property at 1916
Averette Road was identified as needing evaluation. Historic Preservation staff with the Town
of Wake Forest completed the review.

Under the Town of Wake Forest UDO 15.11.4 “Certificate of Appropriateness – Demolition of
Historic Structures”, a certificate of appropriateness for demolition of a property is required if
the property appears on the historic survey map of the town. Therefore, staff began
researching and assessing the potential significance of this property as a historic property
within the Town of Wake Forest. The Senior Planner (Historic Preservation) implemented the
requirements for listing in the National Register of Historic Places to determine potential
significance and eligibility. While staff can determine if a property appears to or does not
appear to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places only the State Historic
Preservation Office and National Park Service and confirm that finding. Further, staff provides
the information to the Wake Forest Historic Preservation Commission. The Historic
Preservation Commission is charged with determining if a property is eligible for listing as a
locally designated historic landmark under 15.11.1 “Designation of Historic Landmarks/Historic
Districts.”

This preliminary report does not contain exhaustive research. Typical research for a National
Register nomination takes months. Rather this report is meant to provide a snapshot into the
history of the place and provide a preliminary determination as to a property’s eligibility in the
National Register of Historic Places. It is important to note that even if a property is not eligible
for listing in the National Register of Historic Places it can still be eligible as a local historic
landmark with significance to the Town of Wake Forest. The Historic Preservation Commission
is the only body that can recommend a property to the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners
for designation as a local historic landmark or district.
3
Description of Property:
The Pearce Family Property is located at 1916 Averette Road on the east side of Averette Road just
south of Mill Dam Rd and state road 1942. It is comprised of approximately 1.5 acres of open
residential and woodland area. Other buildings, structures, and objects include a circa 1956 house, two
20th-century tobacco barns, two mid-20th century sheds, two early-mid 19th-century barns, and three
ruins are also located on the property. Aerial imagery shows the buildings are in the same location in
relationship to the house from at least 1981 to the present. A larger parcel or “parent tract”,
containing 62.83 acres is located to the east, north, west, and south. This parcel originally included the
1.5 acres but was divided during the settlement of the Pearce estate. Across Averette Road to the west
from the 1956 house are two additional barns that were once associated with an earlier house that is
no longer extant (WA 1740).

Building Inventory and Descriptions: The following building inventory includes the name or type
of building and estimated date of construction as well as a general architectural description,
based on observations during the site visit. The site visit did not include access to the interior of
the house. Any additional information will be added to the file in the Town of Wake Forest
Planning Department as well as the North Carolina Historic Preservation Office survey file.

A. Pearce Farm House, Circa 1956

West elevation of the Pearce House

The Pearce House is a one-story, single-pile, gable-and-wing brick Ranch-style house. The front façade
is five bays wide with replacement windows and shutters. A large brick chimney is centered on the
forward-facing gable, a four-panel door with engaged transom, and a second internal chimney is
centered on the ridge of the gable just north of the door. The attached porch has a shed-roof with
decorative metal posts and balustrade. The north side has a pent roof, with triangular pediment
centered above the side door, and the side gables have decorative lattice vents in the peaks. There is
an attached rear gable carport that projects to the east, perpendicular to the house.
4

B. Shed, Circa 1970

Gable-front frame shed, West Elevation

One-story, one-bay gable-front frame shed with a concrete block foundation. The shed consists of
masonite siding, corrugated metal roof with exposed rafters, and a simple plank door centered on the
front façade with older hardware and no knob. The building has no windows, one small concrete step
in the front, and several vents along the north foundation and one on the east.

C. Tobacco Barn, Circa. 1950s

Tobacco Barn (1 of 2) North Elevation

Two-and-one-half story, side-gable barn, with a stone foundation. The barn was previously attached to
5
a second barn with similar characteristics by a standing seam metal roof that connected the two barns
as a type of breezeway. This feature has recently been destroyed by a fallen tree. The barn is wood-
framed, covered with asphalt sheathing that is patterned to mimic brick and cream in color. The
structure has one, low door close to the foundation.

D. Tobacco Barn, Circa. 1950s

Tobacco Barn (2 of 2) North Elevation with door

Two-and-a-half story, side-gable barn, with a stone foundation. The barn was previously attached to a
second barn with similar characteristics by a standing seam metal roof that connected the two barns as
a type of breezeway. This feature has recently been destroyed by a fallen tree. The barn is wood-
framed and sheathed, covered with asphalt sheathing that is patterned to mimic brick and cream in
color. The asphalt is weathered and falling off in several places. Underneath the sheathing, there are
round head nails and mechanical sawn horizontal boards. The structure has low doors (one on the
front and back) that are close to the foundation. There are remnants of old boards attached to the
outside of the building where a possible side roof was once connected.

E. Small Barn, Circa 1940

Small Barn, South Elevation
6

One-and-one-half-story, one-bay, side-gable barn with flanking shed wings. The barn has a low door on
the front facade, no widows, and a stone foundation on three sides. The building is sheathed with
vertical wood boards along the south and west elevations, the east side flanking shed has horizontal
boards. The roof is standing seam metal.

Detail view of the low door and vents on the front elevation of the barn

F. Small Ruins, 1940s

Ruin

Small ruin with shed roof appears to be a crib of some sort.

7

G. Two small Cribs, Circa 1940s

Two Small Cribs, directly behind barn E

Two crib-like structures are behind the small barn (E) which consists of two small one-bay sheds with
plain clapboard siding. A stone foundation was also spotted but is mostly concealed with overgrowth
from the surrounding wooded area.

H. Shed, Circa 1950-70s

Shed, West Elevation
One story, one-bay, gable with shed lean-to, with a concrete block foundation, masonite siding, and
corrugated metal roof with exposed rafters. The front facade consists of a two-panel door with metal
8
awning centered on the door and stone and cinderblock steps. The northern elevation has a three-part
window and concrete block chimney.

Shed Window Detail, North Elevation

I. Large Barn, 1910s-20s

Large Barn. South Elevation

Large, gabled roof, wood-framed barn is across Averette Road to the west from the brick Ranch-style
house. Much of this barn is covered with metal siding. Plain clapboard is evident in the front gable
peak. There are four wooden personal doors along the front façade and one hay door. The ea stern
elevation is supported on stone piers. The back and sides were not accessible due to the overgrowth.
This building is likely associated with WA 1740 which is no longer extant.

9

J. Large Barn, 1910s-20s
This is a large, gable-front, wood-framed barn also across Averette Road to the west from the brick
Ranch-style house. The barn is located in an overgrown area associated with property 1860093411.
The front façade has one hay door north of center, a double door opening, on the ground concrete
floor, and standing seam metal roof. The parent tract property consisting of barn I and J are associated
with a mid-to-late 19th century house that was demolished sometime between 1993 and 1999 per the
Wake County GIS records. This building is likely associated with WA 1740 which is no longer extant.

Large Barn Detail Shot of Double Door and Loft door
Large Barn. East Elevation

Historical Background and Research:

The properties at 1916 & 0 Averette Road are currently owned by the children of Lattie Thelma Keith
Pearce. The house on the property is currently rented. The house track and the parent tract were
moved into an LLC in 2010. Tax records indicate the Pearce family has continued to operate the land
under agricultural use as evidenced by the present -use applications in the notes on the Wake County
records. Mrs. Pearce's will (Wake County Estate Records 09-E-2003) indicated the family grew tobacco
on the land. A land deed could not be found before 1955 when Walter Pearce purchased the land
from Sidney W. Lancaster who could not be identified.

Lattie Pearce was born in Franklin County. She was a Sunday school teacher, member of the Oak Grove
Baptist Church, and choir member. She was the daughter of late John Alfred Keith and Maude Myrtle
Woodlief Keith and preceded in death by her husband, Walter Melton Pearce and one son, Malcolm
David Pearce.

10
2. Criteria Assessment: A property is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic
Places if it is significant under at least one of the following four criteria and maintains integrity
of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association :

A. Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the
broad patterns of our history.
B. Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
C. A property 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.
D. A property that has yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in
prehistory or history.

Criterion A requires that a property must be associated with events that have made a
significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. That can be a specific event such
as a battle or it can be significant for the broad patterns of events such as the consolidation
era of public schools or the civil rights movement.

Under criterion A, the Pearce property demonstrates land use and activities that reflect
tobacco farming in the mid-late 20th century. This could add to the understanding and
knowledge of the region’s more recent agricultural history. The Pearce family bought the land
in 1955, from Sidney W. Lancaster, and the farmhouse was built in 1956. The deed cannot be
traced passed Lancaster at this time because no book and page are listed on the deed and
Sidney Lancaster cannot be identified. The farm was used for tobacco, and there are tobacco
barns present on the property which could contribute to the understanding of early -mid-20th-
century agriculture planning and the influence of the tobacco industry of the south in both
periods of growth and decline. All the outbuildings still standing are clustered together and in
their original positions. The loss of the earlier house (WA1740) on the west side of Averette
Road is unfortunate. If it were still standing, we would have a better understanding of the
evolution of the farm and its context within the county. The farm loses context, significance,
and integrity without the historic primary structure. As a result, the farm does not appear to
embody the distinct characteristic of events and is therefore not recommended eligible under
Criterion A.

Criterion B requires that a property is associated with a significant person, someone who
made a significant contribution to history.

The Pearce family owns large tracts of land and were undoubtedly involved in the local
economy and agricultural community, but we have found little to represent that they were
involved in activities that had a significant impact or reach in history; therefore, the property
11
does not appear eligible under Criterion B.

Criterion C requires that an eligible property 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.

Under Criterion C, the Pearce property has one mid-century brick Ranch-style house and
several mid-20th-century tobacco barns that are indicative of construction methods at the
time. The house does not possess the requisite significance required for Criterion C eligibility.
As the primary structure that also means that the barns would ha ve to be exceptional in their
representation to be eligible without the primary structure. The physical qualities of the barns
are extant, but they lack the significance required for Criterion B eligibility. In addition, many of
the barns show exterior alterations which sacrifice the required integrity. The barns on the
west side of Averette Road on the parent tract are also without an extant primary structure
(WA1740). The loss of the Mid-late nineteenth century house has undermined the eligibility of
these two barns. While interesting markers on the landscape they do not appear to be eligible
for listing in the National Register under Criterion C.

Criterion D requires that a property has yielded or may be likely to yield information
important in prehistory or history.

Under Criterion D, the potential information yielded from the site must provide the basis for
research that will answer questions about our past. The agricultural history of the county has
been studied. It is unlikely that the archaeological study of the Pearce farm will add
substantively to that body of knowledge.

Preliminary research does not indicate that the Pearce Family Farm property is eligible for
listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A, B, C , or D.

12
Bibliography
Primary sources
North Carolina Historic Preservation Office, Wake County Files, Survey File WA 1740

North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, File 09-E-2003. Accessed at Wake Forest Estates
Office.

North Carolina, Register of Deeds. Viewed online at
http://services.wakegov.com/booksweb/genextsearch.aspx.

United State Census, 1940. Viewed online at Ancestry.com.

United State Department of Agriculture. Wake County Aerial Photographs, 1981-2017. North
Carolina Geological Survey. Accessed June 24, 2019,
https://maps.raleighnc.gov/iMAPS/?pin=1851908235.

Wake County GIS Department. Viewed online at https://maps.raleighnc.gov/iMAPS/.

Secondary Sources

Kelly, Susan. “The Story of Tabaco Barns in North Carolina.” Our State, 2013. Accessed on June 24, 2019.
https://www.ourstate.com/tobacco-barns-in-north-carolina/.

Larry, Kelly. The Historic Architecture of Wake County, North Carolina. Raleigh, Wake County Government,
1994.

Rubel, Annie. “Standing Tall: The Endangered North Carolina Flue-cured Tobacco Barn.” UNCG
Department of Interior Architecture, 2012. Accessed on June 24, 2019.
http://pahistoricbarns.org/pdfs/Tobacco%20Barn%20Brief%20Final1.pdf.

Preliminary Historical Research Report

Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House, Tenant House, and Farm
1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County

Cynthia de Miranda
MdM Historical Consultants
PO Box 1399
Durham, NC 27702

Prepared on behalf of
Tryon Investment Partners II, LLC
8311 Bandford Way, Suite 1
Raleigh, NC 27615
for the Town of Wake Forest

February 25, 2019

Table of Contents

Project Background & Methodology ......................................................................... 1
Property Description & Building Inventory .......................................................... 2
Property History ............................................................................................................ 14
National Register of Historic Places Assessment ............................................. 17
Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 20
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 22

Preliminary Historic Research Report
Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 1
Project Background & Methodology

Tryon Investment Partners II plans to redevelop several parcels previously used for
agriculture into an “active adult” community. Two properties slated for demolition
under this redevelopment plan are the subject of this report, pursuant to the Town
of Wake Forest demolition of historic structures ordinance. The ordinance states
that all properties within the town limits or the ETJ slated for demolition are
required to be identified and evaluated for National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP) eligibility. The properties are located at 1716 and 1720 Averette Road.

The project developer hired MdM Historical Consultants to complete this report.
Cynthia de Miranda is the project manager and the architectural historian. Ms. de
Miranda first checked the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (HPO)
GIS website to confirm that the properties had not been identified under previous
architectural surveys conducted in the county; they had not. Ms. de Miranda then
gathered information on the properties from the Wake County GIS system, the Wake
County Register of Deeds, aerial photographs, and interviews and correspondence
with owner Martha Neville Harris. Ms. Harris grew up on and has moved back to the
farm, which was purchased by her grandfather in 1928. Ms. de Miranda also
consulted other primary sources, including nineteenth-century agricultural census
records at the North Carolina State Archives and genealogical sources at the State
Archives and on Ancestry.com. Finally, Ms. de Miranda consulted secondary sources
on the history and architecture of the local area from architectural historian Kelly
Lally’s Wake County survey report and publication.

Ms. de Miranda surveyed and photographed the two dwellings at 1716 and 1720
Averette Road and other buildings on the farm on February 4, 2019. She wrote the
descriptions and narrative history below and evaluated the properties according to
the criteria for the NRHP. An explanation of the evaluation is also part of this report.

This preliminary report does not contain exhaustive research on these properties.
Rather, its purpose is to provide sufficient information to make a recommendation
about the properties’ eligibility for the NRHP. Eligibility requirements for other
historic designation—such as local historic landmark status—are different and are
not addressed here. The Historic Preservation Commission is the only body that can
recommend a property to the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners for designation
as a local historic landmark.

Preliminary Historic Research Report
Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 2
Property Description & Building Inventory

The parcels at 1716 and 1720 Averette Road together are part of land that has been
farmed since at least the mid-nineteenth century. The properties are east of Wake
Forest and north of Rolesville in the Wake Forest Township of northeast Wake
County. Lying northwest of the intersection of Highways 96 and 98, the parcels are
just a mile and a half south of the county’s border with Franklin County.

For purposes of this report, the two properties together are referred to as the
Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Farm. The dwelling at 1720 Averette Road is referred to as
the Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House and that at 1716 Averette Road is the Pearce-
Mitchell-Neville Tenant House. The land was part of a large tract owned by R. Calvin
Mitchell in the nineteenth century and was transferred to his daughter Nancy James
Mitchell Pearce in 1881. It later belonged to her brother Richard C. Mitchell. After
the younger Mitchell’s death in 1907, the land was bought, sold, and lost a few times
before the Neville family purchased it and another parcel south of Averette Road in
1928. While the houses predate the Neville family’s ownership, it is not clear if they
were built during Nancy Pearce’s ownership or Richard Mitchell’s. The names, then,
reflect the early family ownership as well as the long period of ownership by the
Nevilles from the early twentieth century; more explanation follows in the history
section of this report. Each dwelling is evaluated for NRHP eligibility individually as
well as together as a farm.

That farm encompasses the crown of the rolling landscape that characterizes the
immediate area. The farmstead stands near the center of the parcel at 1720 Averette
Road and is at the highest point of the parcel. The farmstead includes the Pearce-
Mitchell-Neville House along with sheds, barns, a stable, grape arbors, a dinner bell,
and mature shade trees from the early and late twentieth century as well as the
twenty-first century. Cultivated fields spread out in all directions with farm lanes
evident throughout. The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Tenant House at 1716 Averette
Road is southwest of the farmhouse and overlooks Averette Road. That road extends
north from Highway 98 and curves to the northwest just where the two parcels lie,
on the north and northeast side of the roadway. Averette Road continues northwest
before curving back to head nearly due north. Roughly half a mile from the county
line, the Averette Road curves to the northeast and continues in that direction into
Franklin County. Just north of the farm and at a lower elevation flows Austin Creek,
which was historically dammed by the Mitchells for agricultural purposes. It is
beyond the farm parcel’s bounds.

Preliminary Historic Research Report
Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 3
Map of the Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Farm with building locations marked.

Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Farmstead, view N

Preliminary Historic Research Report
Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 4

Façade view of Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House, view NW

Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House
1720 Averette Road
ca. 1890, ca. 1900, ca. 1955, 1968, 2004

The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House is a one-and-a-half story, single-pile, side-gabled
frame dwelling with a hip-roofed front porch, two gabled dormers, and single-story
side and rear additions. The house faces roughly south, overlooking a gravel and dirt
driveway that extends northeast from Averette Road and then turns east as it
approaches the farmstead. A corbelled brick chimney rises at the center of the roof
ridge.

The asymmetrical façade is four bays wide and has windows set singly and in pairs.
The side addition adds two more bays with its two sets of paired windows, which
have the more horizontal proportion associated with the mid-twentieth century. All
windows are replacement one-over-one sash. The house stands on a continuous
concrete-block foundation and is covered with vinyl siding. Asphalt shingles cover
the roof. A corbelled brick chimney rises at the center of the roof ridge.

The front porch originally wrapped around the west side of the house; that portion
of the porch was enclosed around 1955. The original three bays of the house feature
two sets of paired windows flanking the front entry. The door is slightly off center
between the sets of windows, a reflection of the original hall-parlor plan inside. At

Preliminary Historic Research Report
Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 5
the other end of the façade, the room formed by the porch enclosure has a single
window at the façade and another centered at its west elevation. The porch floor is
poured concrete, which dates to 1968. The replacement porch columns were added
in 2004 when the house was sided and the windows replaced. There is no railing at
the porch, but stair rails have been added to the two sets of poured concrete steps at
the porch.

The rear ell was added around 1900, according to the owner, who grew up on the
farm. The ell added a kitchen and dining room to the four-room house. The 1968
side addition provided space for a modern kitchen, and the space in the ell was
remodeled for use as a bedroom and bathroom.

Few historic features or finishes are evident at the interior. A stair rises along the
original back wall of the house and features a square newel post and squared
balusters. The original ceiling, consisting of wide boards with flat battens over the
seams, remains in the main front room. Original wood floors are covered with
ceramic tile and the fireplace mantel as been altered. The owner recalled that the
interior walls originally had unpainted flush-board sheathing and that the house
originally had weatherboard siding and stood on rock piers. She stated that there
are two rooms at the half-story as well.1

Wellhouse, view NE

Wellhouse, Ca. 1960

Poured concrete, gabled lid with asphalt shingles; stands northeast of the house.

1 The owner requested no interior photographs and provided only limited access to the interior.

Preliminary Historic Research Report
Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 6
Ca. 1970 Shed, view NW
Shed, Ca. 1970

Front-gabled shed on continuous concrete-block foundation with plywood siding,
metal roofing, and overhanging eaves finished with fascia board at rafter ends. Entry
at one gable end; single window at opposite gable end.

Equipment Barn, view NW
Equipment Barn, ca. 1975

Large, side-gabled, wood-framed barn with three open bays and one enclosed room.
Metal siding and roofing, utility poles in poured concrete with angled bracing at at
open bays; five-panel wood door and replacement windows at enclosed section.

Preliminary Historic Research Report
Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 7
Shed, 2014

Front-gabled, prefabricated, rectangular-plan shed with double-leaf door at gable
end, grooved plywood siding, cornerboards, skid foundation.

2014 Shed and ca. 1920 grape arbor, view NE

Late twentieth-century grape arbors with tobacco barn in background, view SE

Grape Arbors, Ca. 1920, ca. 1995

A ca. 1920 grape arbor near the pack house is two T-shaped wood supports with
thin metal tubing to hold grape vines. Two other grape arbors with lumber and pole
supports strung with wire to support vines date to a about 1995 and stand well
south of the first, roughly between the stable and the tobacco barn.

Preliminary Historic Research Report
Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 8

Packhouse, view NW

Pack House, Ca. 1900

Metal-sided frame barn with gable roof standing on stone piers and additionally
supported by concrete-block piers. Personnel door and hay-loft door at south
elevation; window openings with storm windows stacked and centered at north
elevation.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 9
Feed House and Stable, view NW

Feed House and Stable, Ca. 1900

Gabled, frame barn with personnel doors and hay door at south gable end; sheltered
area inset under main roof along west side of building with one personnel door;
weatherboard and asphalt sheet siding; metal-sided pole sheds at east and north
sides. Shed collapsing at southeast corner.

2015 Shed, view SW

Shed, 2015

Side-gabled, prefabricated, rectangular-plan shed with door and two windows at
one eave side; grooved plywood siding, cornerboards, skid foundation.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 10

Luther Neville Headstone with Feed House and Stable at background left, view NE

Luther Neville Headstone, 1929, erected here ca. 2010

Marble headstone for Luther Neville. Martha Neville Harris relays that the stone was
removed from Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Youngsville when Estelle
Neville was buried there in 1978. At that time, the family replaced this stone with a
double stone for the couple. Lonnie Neville brought the marble stone back to the
farm, and Martha Neville Harris installed it at a flower bed many years later.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 11
Tobacco barn, view NE

Tobacco Barn, Ca. 1965

Gable roofed frame tobacco barn with asphalt sheeting at the exterior walls over
flush-board sheathing; continuous stone foundation; shed-roofed pole shed on
concrete foundation at west side of barn with flush-board sheathing at shed’s west
side; plywood at north side, and open at south side.

Bell, ca. 1970

Lonnie Neville brought a broken bell home from
church and installed it on his farm as a
conversation piece, according to his daughter
Martha Neville Harris.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 12
W side and façade of Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Tenant House, view NE

Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Tenant House
1716 Averette Road
ca. 1885, ca. 1900, 1980, 2004

The tenant house is a one-and-a-half-story, single-pile, side-gabled frame dwelling
with a nearly full-width shed-roofed front porch and a rear ell with enclosed side
porch. The house faces southwest. The porch posts are square with chamfered
edges, and the porch floor is poured concrete. The façade is three bays wide with a
centered front entrance with replacement door. A single window is centered at each
gabled end, and the northwest side of the house has a full-sized window in the gable
as well. All windows are replacement one-over-one sash. The house stands on a
continuous concrete block foundation and is covered with vinyl siding. Asphalt
shingles cover the roof. The interior brick chimney was removed after 2012.

The gabled rear ell, according to the current owner, was added around the turn of
the century. It is a single story in height and features smaller windows set in pairs at
both the exposed side and rear elevations. The shed-roofed side porch, at the inner
side of the ell, was enclosed in 1980 to add a utility room and bathroom to the house
for the first time.

The interior was not available for survey but the owner stated that there are two
rooms at the first floor and a single large room at the half-story. She recalled that the
interior walls had unpainted flush-board sheathing and that the house originally
had weatherboard siding and stood on rock piers.2

2 The owner did not allow access to the tenant house as it is currently rented.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 13

Wellhouse and rear and west side of Tenant House, view SE

Wellhouse, ca. 1960

Rectangular concrete enclosure with gabled roof/lid of wood with asphalt shingles;
located northwest of house.

Shed (L) and rear and west elevation of Tenant House, view S

Shed, 2016

Front-gabled, prefabricated, rectangular-plan shed with door at gable end, grooved
plywood siding, cornerboards.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 14
Property History

In the nineteenth century, this land was owned by two prominent families in Wake
Forest Township: the Mitchells and the Pearces. Richard Calvin Mitchell (ca. 1815-
1880), known as Calvin, farmed in the area as early as 1850, living with his wife
Eliza (b. 1814) and their eight young children. By the time of his death thirty years
later, Calvin Mitchell owned a nearly two-thousand-acre tract north of present-day
Highway 98 and east of the town of Wake Forest. In the decades following the Civil
War, large Wake County farms were commonly split into smaller parcels. Indeed,
early in 1881, shortly after his death, Calvin Mitchell’s two-thousand acres were
divided among his children. Two Mitchell daughters receiving land had married
Pearces, introducing that family into the chain of ownership.3

Map showing 1881 division of Calvin Mitchell’s land

Nancy James Mitchell Pearce and her husband James T. Pearce received 279 acres in
the 1881 division. The map showing that distribution of land also recorded the
location of a house, a mill, and a gin, all on land outside of the property studied for

3 Kelly Lally, The Historic Architecture of Wake County, North Carolina (Raleigh: Wake County 1994),
244; Libby Gorman, et al., North Carolina Century Farms: 100 Years of Continuous Agricultural
Heritage ([Raleigh]: N.C. Department of Agriculture, 1989), 229, viewed online at archive.org; 1850
United States Federal Census [database on-line] (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,
2009); Richard C. Mitchell and others ex parte Division of Land, March 9, 1881, Wake County Deed
Book 62, page 299-308; Kelly Lally, “Historic and Architectural Resources of Wake County,” National
Register Multiple Property Documentation Form (Wake MPDF), E50-51.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 15
this report. No other structures were indicated on the map. Family tradition relayed
by current owner Martha Neville Harris, whose family has owned the land since
1928, states that the tenant house was built around 1880 and the farmhouse around
1890. That chronology is compatible with the map of the division of Calvin Mitchell’s
land, with the ca. 1880 date being just slightly early.4

Early twentieth century deeds note that A. R. Pearce later owned at least some of
Nancy Pearce’s land and left a 68¼-acre section of it to Richard C. Mitchell (1848-
1907), a brother of Nancy Pearce. That smaller parcel included the land at today’s
1720 and 1716 Averette Drive as well as a few acres south of the road. A. R. Pearce’s
relationship to Nancy Pearce or Richard Mitchell could not be determined. The date
of the transfer of land from A. R. Pearce to Richard Mitchell could also not be
established, but it was mentioned in deeds as early as 1910. Richard Mitchell owned
other lands in Wake and Franklin counties and may not have lived on the 68-1/4-
acre parcel. However, the identity of the owner who erected the buildings under
study could not be ascertained.5

Richard C. Mitchell died in debt and without a will. His 68¼-acre parcel ended up in
a public auction in 1910, above the objections of his wife, Julia Catherine Richardson
Mitchell, and other family members. Alexander Shearon, a local iron mill manager,
was the highest bidder, but he sold the parcel before the end of the year.6

The 68-1/4-acre parcel changed hands a number of times in the early twentieth
century before Luther Ellis Neville (1877-1929) of Granville County purchased it.
The family planned to move to Wake County because the tobacco wilt had hit their
Granville County farm; as early as 1880, Wake County saw an influx of farmers from
surrounding counties in this period for the same reason. Luther Neville purchased
the land in 1928 but died of pneumonia early in 1929, before relocating to the farm.
His widow Estelle Cannady Neville and her five children, ages three to eleven,
moved and began farming here in 1929. The Neville family subsequently had a long
and productive association with the land. Lonnie Neville, Luther and Estelle’s eldest
child and Martha Neville Harris’s father, farmed the land both as a Estelle’s son and
later as owner of the farm. As noted by Martha Neville Harris, the two dwellings, the
pack house, and the feed barn and stable were already on the farm. The 1930 U.S.
Census records that Estelle Neville reported the value of her house was $800,
roughly $12,500 in today’s dollars, according to one historical currency converter.
The family referred to it as “the big house,” in contrast to the tenant house at 1716

4 Mitchell and others ex parte Division of Land.
5 R. Calvin Mitchell Estate Papers in North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 [database
on-line] at Ancestry.com; J. W. Bunn, Comr. [commissioner] To A. H. Shearon, Wake County Deed
Book 248, page 299, May 6, 1910.
6 Mitchell Estate Papers; North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line],
Ancestry.com (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002); J.W. Bunn, Commissioner, to A.
H. Shearon, May 6, 1910, Wake County Deed Book 248, page 299; Martha Neville Harris, interview
with the author, January 28, 2019.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 16
Averette Road. The latter was used at the time that the Nevilles moved to the farm
for cotton storage; in later years, the family leased it to farm tenant.7

Mrs. Harris can recall the houses’ original exterior appearance: weatherboard siding
and stone pier foundations. At the interiors, the floors were wood and the walls had
flush-board wood sheathing. She related that the “dinner bell” that stands in the
farmstead was never used. Rather, it was a broken bell that the family’s church
intended to discard. Lonnie Neville brought the bell home to his farm and installed it
on the wood supports as a conversation piece. He also built the tobacco barn
southeast of the farmstead. The scuppernong grape arbor near the packhouse was
on the farm when the Nevilles arrived; current owner Ronnie Harris planted others,
just south of the farmstead, in 1995.

Aerial view of project study area, US Department of Agriculture, 1959

7 A. H. Shearon and Addie Shearon to J. M Brewer and W. C. Brewer, Wake County Deed Book 251,
page 404, December 2, 1910; J. M Brewer, Mtgee, et al to Geo E Gill, Wake County Deed Book 380,
page 530, October 19, 1921; George E Gill and wife to The Citizens Bank, Wake County Deed Book
380, page 536, October 17, 1921; Citizens Bank of WF to S W Brewer, Wake County Deed Book 470,
page 222, May 7, 1925; S.W. and Nancy Brewer to L. E. Neville, January 31, 1928, Wake County Deed
Book 533, page 405; Martha Neville Harris interview; Wake MPDF, E50; 1930 United States Federal
Census [database on-line] (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002); Historical Currency
Conversions at https://futureboy.us.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 17
National Register of Historic Places Assessment

A property is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) if
it maintains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling,
and association, and is significant under at least one of the following four criteria.

A. Property is associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to the broad patterns of our history.
B. Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
C. A property that embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period,
or method of construction, or that represents the work of a master, or
that possesses high artistic values, or that represents a significant and
distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction.
D. A property that has yielded or may be likely to yield, information
important in prehistory or history.

The two dwellings were evaluated as individual properties, and the two parcels at
identified with PINs 1860199349 and 1860185168, which historically constituted a
single farm, were evaluated as a single property.

Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House:
Integrity and Eligibility Evaluation as an Individual Property

The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House is a late-nineteenth century dwelling in its
original location on a farm. The house has continued in use as a farmhouse and its
period of significance would be ca. 1890 through 1969.

The surrounding agricultural fields are still in use and there is an evident farmstead
east of the house; the property, in other words, is easily recognizable as a
farmhouse. The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House therefore retains integrity of
location, setting, and association.

However, alterations to the house resulted in a loss of integrity of materials, design,
and workmanship. Replacement of windows and the front porch flooring, posts, and
railing; installation of vinyl siding; replacement of all the windows; and alterations
of interior finishes like the flush-board-sheathed walls and wood floors has changed
and/or obscured original materials and workmanship. Changes to the porch also
have altered the integrity of design. Taken together, the loss of these aspects of
integrity also result in a loss of integrity of feeling. The house no longer has a turn-
of-the-twentieth-century or early-to-mid-twentieth-century appearance, nor does it
exhibit materials and workmanship from that period. Overall, then, the house has
insufficient architectural integrity to reflect its original appearance and the historic
period.

Properties can be eligible for the NRHP Under Criterion A if they are associated with
a significant event or pattern of events that have made contributions to history at

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 18
the local, state, or national level. While the practice of agriculture encompasses an
important pattern in the history of Wake County, the house no longer retains
sufficient integrity to reflect its period of construction or the historic period.

The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House is not known to be strongly associated with an
individual significant in history at the local, county, state, or national level and is
therefore not recommended eligible under Criterion B.

The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House is a late nineteenth-century frame vernacular
house with a single-pile depth, side-gabled roof, and rear gabled ell. This was a
common vernacular type in Wake County in the period. Because of a number of
alterations at the interior and exterior, it does not embody the distinct
characteristics of such a dwelling and is therefore not recommended eligible under
Criterion C.

It is unlikely that additional study of this property would yield any unretrieved data
not discoverable through informant interviews, building technology, and
documentary sources. Therefore, the Pearce-Mitchell-Neville House is not
recommended eligible under Criterion D.

Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Tenant House:
Integrity and Eligibility Evaluation as an Individual Property

The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Tenant House is a late-nineteenth century dwelling in
its original location. The house has continued in use as a residence on the farm and
its period of significance would be ca. 1885 through 1969. For some of that time, it
operated as a tenant house; it was at times used for agricultural storage and now as
rental housing.

The surrounding farm fields are still in use and the main house and its farmstead are
extant north of the Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Tenant House; the property, in other
words, is easily recognizable as a tenant house because of its location on a farm and
its subsidiary relationship to the farmstead house. The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville
Tenant House therefore retains integrity of location, setting, and association.

However, alterations to the tenant house, including removal of the interior brick
chimney, installation of vinyl siding, and replacement of all the windows, has
resulted in a loss of integrity of materials, design, and workmanship. Together, this
also has resulted in a loss of integrity of feeling as the house no longer has a turn-of-
the-twentieth-century appearance or early-to-mid-twentieth-century appearance,
nor does it retain most of its original materials or workmanship from that period.

While the practice of agriculture and the use of tenant farming encompasses an
important pattern in the history of Wake County, the house no longer retains
sufficient integrity to reflect its period of construction or the historic period and
therefore appears to be not eligible under Criterion A.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 19

The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Tenant House is not known to be strongly associated
with an individual significant in history at the local, county, state, or national level
and is therefore not recommended eligible under Criterion B.

The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Tenant House is a late nineteenth-century frame
vernacular house. Such dwellings are characterized by simple frame construction,
often single-pile and side-gabled and generally with weatherboard exteriors, wood
windows, fireplaces for heating, and pier foundations. Exterior alterations have
removed or obscured original features and materials. As a result, it does not embody
the distinct characteristics of such a dwelling and is therefore not recommended
eligible under Criterion C.

It is unlikely that additional study of this property would yield any unretrieved data
not discoverable through informant interviews, building technology, and
documentary sources. Therefore, the house is not recommended eligible under
Criterion D.

Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Farm:
Integrity and Eligibility Evaluation

The land was likely farmed as part of a larger tract in the nineteenth century, but the
68-¼-acre parcel that corresponds closely to the two parcels at 1720 and 1716
Averette Road was created in 1907. Mrs. Harris notes that the parcel was a farm
when her grandfather bought it, as supported by the presence of the houses and
farmstead. By this time, small-scale tobacco farms were common across Wake
County. The farm retains its original arrangement—farmhouse and farmstead on
the hill, surrounded by farm fields, and with a tenant house to the south. The farm
therefore retains integrity of location and setting. The property has continued in
use as a farm and its period of significance would be ca. 1885 through 1969.

While integrity requirements for buildings that are part of a complex are less
stringent than those for individual buildings, the extent of changes to the two
dwellings still result in a loss of integrity of materials and workmanship for the farm
as a single property. Alterations to the dwellings have obscured or removed defining
elements of their original and historic-period appearances. If the agricultural
buildings in the farmstead retained an impressive level of integrity as a late-
nineteenth through early-to-mid-twentieth century collection, the loss of integrity of
the two dwellings might be balanced by the strength of the farmstead and
surrounding fields. However, the farmstead includes a number of buildings that date
to the late twentieth century through the twenty-first century. Additionally, some
outbuildings seen on a 1959 aerial photo of the farm are not extant. These changes
to the overall farm have resulted in a loss of integrity of materials, design, and
workmanship. Because the farm no longer has a late-nineteenth or early-to-mid-
twentieth appearance, it has also lost integrity of feeling.

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Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 20
Wake County farms eligible for the NRHP under Criterion A reflect the importance
of agriculture to the economy of the county up through the mid-twentieth century.
The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Farm is a small farm that originated in the late
nineteenth century and has been continuously farmed since then. While a small
farm such as this is unusual now, it was common in the nineteenth century and well
into the twentieth. Further, the Nevilles’ ownership and move from Granville County
reflect the response to the tobacco wilt, a significant trend in Wake County
agricultural history. However, the farm does not reflect the appearance of either the
late nineteenth-century or the early-to-mid-twentieth century. Exterior alterations
have removed or obscured original features of the dwellings, a number of
outbuildings from the historic period are not extant, and other buildings have been
erected or installed. Therefore, due to a lack of integrity, the farm does not appear
eligible under Criterion A.

The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Farm is not known to be strongly associated with an
individual significant in history at the local, county, state, or national level and is
therefore not recommended eligible under Criterion B.

Wake County farms from this period include a dwelling and a collection of
subsidiary buildings, including but not limited to wells, cribs, smokehouses,
outhouses, storage barns, and animal shelters. The majority of these buildings from
this period are simple, frame buildings with rectangular plans and gabled roofs. The
pack house, stable, and tobacco barn are all examples of this type. However, the
farmstead includes more outbuildings that post-date the historic period, and some
outbuildings observed on a mid-twentieth-century aerial do not survive. As a result,
the farm does not embody the distinct characteristics its type and is therefore not
recommended eligible under Criterion C.

It is unlikely that additional study of this property would yield any unretrieved data
not discoverable through informant interviews, building technology, and
documentary sources. Therefore, the house is not recommended eligible under
Criterion D.

Recommendations

Preliminary research does not indicate that the houses at 1720 Averette Road and
1716 Averette Road are individually eligible for listing in the National Register of
Historic Places under any Criteria. The Pearce-Mitchell-Neville Farm, encompassing
both parcels, likewise does not appear eligible for listing in the National Register of
Historic Places under any Criteria.

The gravestone present on the parcel at 1720 Averette Road is decorative only and
does not mark a gravesite, according to current owner Martha Neville Harris. The
Neville family has used the Oak Grove Baptist Church cemetery in Youngsville and
no marked burials were observed in the larger area surrounding the farmstead or

Preliminary Historic Research Report
Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 21
the tenant house. However, if burial places are discovered, they should be left intact
and development should be redesigned to keep them in place.

Preliminary Historic Research Report
Neville Farm, 1716 and 1720 Averette Road, Wake Forest, Wake County 22
Bibliography

Primary Sources

North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011. Viewed online at Ancestry.com.

North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 . Viewed online at
Ancestry.com.

Wake County GIS Department. Viewed online at
https://maps.raleighnc.gov/iMAPS/.

Wake County Register of Deeds. Viewed online at
http://services.wakegov.com/booksweb/.

United States Census, various years. Viewed online at Ancestry.com.

United States Department of Agriculture. Wake County Aerial Photographs, 1959.
North Carolina Geological Survey.

Secondary Sources

Gorman, Libby, et al. North Carolina Century Farms: 100 Years of Continuous
Agricultural Heritage. [Raleigh]: N.C. Department of Agriculture, 1989.

Historical Currency Conversions. Used online at https://futureboy.us.

Lally, Kelly. “Historic and Architectural Resources of Wake County.” National
Register Multiple Property Documentation Form. Available online at
http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/nr/WA7244.pdf.

Lally, Kelly. The Historic Architecture of Wake County, North Carolina. Raleigh: Wake
County 1994.

Interview

Martha Neville Harris. Interview with the author, January 28, 2019.