1002 Oberlin Rd
Raleigh, NC, USA

National Register of Historic Places - John T. and Mary Turner House (Oberlin, North Carolina MPS)

Statement of Significance:

Located in the freedmen's village of Oberlin, now part of the city of Raleigh, the John T. and Mary Turner House is locally significant as a well-preserved example of an I-house with classical and Queen Anne details. The house was constructed about 1889 by John T. Turner, an African American entrepreneur, and his wife, Mary. At a time in Oberlin when small Queen Anne cottages were typical, the Turner House was larger and more architecturally imposing. The house's architectural style relies on simple, classical elements such as the porch's Tuscan columns, as well as modest Queen Anne references such as the polygonal bay on the south end. The I-house form ornamented with the double-tier porch was a common rural house type among prosperous farmers of the day and its use in Oberlin may have been illustrative of Turner's origins and the distinctly rural location of Oberlin during its earliest period of development. The architectural integrity of the Turner House is extremely high both on the weatherboarded exterior and the simple, yet elegant, interior.

The house likely began as a simple, one-story house with the two-story main block being added around 1910. The mantels and stair that define the interior also date from this era. This remodeling campaign is significant because it indicates that with his growing wealth and stature, John T. and Mary Turner were able to afford a house that reflected their prominent community position. In fact, it was around 1910 that Turner opened a grocery store near his home. By 1915 he opened a shoe store in Raleigh's African American business district, East Hargett Street.

Thus, the house is locally significant as a symbol of the financial and social success that was possible for residents of Oberlin in spite of the challenges of racism and poverty in the wake of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Turner's financial success as an entrepreneur illustrates the life of one of the most prominent early residents of Oberlin. The development of Oberlin from a tiny freedmen's village beginning in the late 1860s to a community of substantial stature by the turn of the twentieth century was defined by the success of men like Turner. The stable, middle-class reputation that Oberlin garnered during its early development was a point of pride throughout much of its history and was a defining feature of the village.

The John T. and Mary Turner House's significance relates to the Multiple Property Documentation Form "Historic and Architectural Resources of Oberlin, Wake County, North Carolina, 1865-1952" under the following contexts: "The Cultural and Social Life of Oberlin" (pages E 10-22) and "The Jim Crow Years: Modest Prosperity and Sense of Community, 1880- 1950" (pages E 22-28) and under the following property type: "Residential Buildings" (pages F 31 -36). The John T. and Mary Turner House satisfies the registration requirements for its type as set forth in the MPDF (pages F 35-36) in that it possesses the required level of integrity of location, setting and feeling to be an important representation of the historical development of Oberlin. The period of significance of the property extends from c.1889, the construction date of the house, to 1922, marking the end of John T. Turner's residence in the house at the time of his death. The John T. and Mary Turner House is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for Architecture and Criterion A for African American Ethnic Heritage and Social History.