Dec 06, 2006
National Register of Historic Places - Adams-Edwards House
Statement of Significance: The Adams-Edwards House is a rare surviving Wake County example of a modest mid-nineteenth- century house. Its original section features a three-room plan house from that period, apparently the only surviving example of that plan in the county. Quinton and Piresa Adams likely built the house ca. 1850; they also farmed some of the 112 acres they owned around the house on both sides of Tryon Road. For the last quarter of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth century, the William and Frances Edwards family, also farmers, owned the farm and lived in the house. In typical fashion, owners repeatedly expanded the dwelling between its construction date and the first quarter of the twentieth century, reflecting the ways that families with small-scale farms enlarged and updated their houses over time. Additions and alterations to the Adams-Edwards House during the period of significance included two successive single-room additions to the west end of the house in the mid- and late nineteenth century, front and rear porches and some cosmetic remodeling ca. 1880, and an early twentieth-century rear ell at the north end of the house. This work transformed the house into a triple-A cottage with a rear ell, a very common late nineteenth-century house type in rural Wake County. Context 1, "British and Africans Shape an Agrarian Society (Colonial Period to 1860)," and Context 2, "Civil War, Reconstruction, and a Shift to Commercial Agriculture (1861-1885)," in "Historic and Architectural Resources of Wake County, North Carolina, Ca. 1770-1941" (MPDF) provide the historic context for the construction and enlargement of the Adams-Edwards House. The locally significant Adams-Edwards House falls under Property Types 3A and 3B, "Houses Built from the Colonial Period to the Civil War Era" and "Houses Built Between the Civil War and World War I." Additional context for the Adams-Edwards House is provided herein. Houses in Wake County are significant as reflections of the architectural trends that reached the county and the choices and adaptations that people made in terms of architectural design and style. Individual houses in Wake County must retain a high level of integrity to be considered eligible under Criterion C for architectural significance, according to the registration requirements in the MPDF. Houses representing a progression of stylistic influences, such as the Adams-Edwards House, have alterations that are part of the historic fabric of the resource and represent the pattern of updating houses over time. The period of significance for the house is ca. 1850 through ca. 1900, encompassing the date of construction and the later significant additions and alterations to the house.
National Register of Historic Places - Adams-Edwards House
Statement of Significance: The Adams-Edwards House is a rare surviving Wake County example of a modest mid-nineteenth- century house. Its original section features a three-room plan house from that period, apparently the only surviving example of that plan in the county. Quinton and Piresa Adams likely built the house ca. 1850; they also farmed some of the 112 acres they owned around the house on both sides of Tryon Road. For the last quarter of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth century, the William and Frances Edwards family, also farmers, owned the farm and lived in the house. In typical fashion, owners repeatedly expanded the dwelling between its construction date and the first quarter of the twentieth century, reflecting the ways that families with small-scale farms enlarged and updated their houses over time. Additions and alterations to the Adams-Edwards House during the period of significance included two successive single-room additions to the west end of the house in the mid- and late nineteenth century, front and rear porches and some cosmetic remodeling ca. 1880, and an early twentieth-century rear ell at the north end of the house. This work transformed the house into a triple-A cottage with a rear ell, a very common late nineteenth-century house type in rural Wake County. Context 1, "British and Africans Shape an Agrarian Society (Colonial Period to 1860)," and Context 2, "Civil War, Reconstruction, and a Shift to Commercial Agriculture (1861-1885)," in "Historic and Architectural Resources of Wake County, North Carolina, Ca. 1770-1941" (MPDF) provide the historic context for the construction and enlargement of the Adams-Edwards House. The locally significant Adams-Edwards House falls under Property Types 3A and 3B, "Houses Built from the Colonial Period to the Civil War Era" and "Houses Built Between the Civil War and World War I." Additional context for the Adams-Edwards House is provided herein. Houses in Wake County are significant as reflections of the architectural trends that reached the county and the choices and adaptations that people made in terms of architectural design and style. Individual houses in Wake County must retain a high level of integrity to be considered eligible under Criterion C for architectural significance, according to the registration requirements in the MPDF. Houses representing a progression of stylistic influences, such as the Adams-Edwards House, have alterations that are part of the historic fabric of the resource and represent the pattern of updating houses over time. The period of significance for the house is ca. 1850 through ca. 1900, encompassing the date of construction and the later significant additions and alterations to the house.
Dec 06, 2006
Posted Date
Aug 29, 2023
Historical Record Date
Dec 06, 2006
Source Name
National Register of Historic Places
