[Durham INC] Descriptions of 10 houses on Old West Durham Home Tour (Sun, Oct 18)

[John Schelp]

Step into an old mill village

Kindly join us for the Old West Durham Home Tour on Sunday, Oct 18 (1-5pm). 

Tour ticket includes a 16-page booklet with map, history & time-line of West Durham and descriptions of each house on the tour. Volunteers will welcome you inside century-old mill houses, restored bungalows, a Sears & Roebuck house, the Prohibition House, and an old parsonage. Ten homes in all.

Tickets are on sale at the Regulator Book Shop for $5. Tour starts anytime after 1:00 at Green & Virgie (where you can also buy tickets on the day of the tour for $10). 

Descriptions of each house are below. For more information, visit http://www.owdna.org/hometourpage.htm

have a good day,
John


* Watts-Honeycutt House, 900 Virgie Street (ca. 1910)

According to long-time residents, the Watts-Honeycutt house was built of wood beams from the original Catholic Church on West Chapel Hill Street (along with three corner houses nearby).

Milton and Nannie M. Hester were the first occupants in 1910-11. Frank and Cora Watts moved into 900 Virgie around 1927. Two cows were kept in the open space across Green Street. Their daughter, Frankie, married Charlie Honeycutt and the couple lived in the house for many years, operating a popular liquor house. Shots were sold in the back of the house. Liquor was hidden under the floorboards of the back bedroom closet (preserved), under the cushions of a sofa in the living room, and in cabinets in the back hallway (preserved). Small bottles were also sold to take home. Charlie Honeycutt would also drive around West Durham with his daughter, delivering bottles to customers.

The liquor was purchased from several ABC stores across Durham. (Sales were limited at each store -- so several store visits were required.) An FBI raid in the 1960s found no evidence of liquor sales. 

Weekly Wednesday night prayer services were held in the front living room. All the children attended college, and several received advanced degrees. Years later, the Watts-Honeycutt House played host to several holiday parties for the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association.
        

* 914 Virgie Street (ca. 1910)

The house at 914 Virgie Street was typical of the houses constructed by Erwin Cotton Mills sometime in the 1910’s.

When the present owners bought the house in December 2000, it was 1,100 square feet, consisting of a large, dine-in kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and an odd-sized back room. The new owners initially renovated one bedroom into a library, and used the odd-sized back room as a large, walk-in closet.

In 2008, the owners designed a thousand-square-foot addition with two relatively small bedrooms, a master bedroom with walk-in closet, a master bathroom with steam shower, and a hallway with stairs up to a studio loft that ties in with the attic and original roofline. Interior architectural features were selected to be consistent with the original part of the house, and the trim is similar or identical to the original in size, design, and materials. Salvaged, five-panel doors were installed.

The odd-sized back room was converted into an entryway leading to a large, screened porch and deck. Below the addition is a partial basement with outside entrance.     
    

* Bertie Davis House, 906 Carolina Avenue (ca. 1909)

The "T"-shaped house was a popular style in mill villages throughout North Carolina in the early twentieth century.  906 Carolina was the home of William and Bertie Davis. Bertie was a “loom fixer” at the No. 4 Spinning Room at Erwin Mills Cotton Factory. William was in the No.1 Weave Room.

These houses were originally built for a mill worker who had a family.  The Davises had eleven children. Thirteen people lived in 900 square feet with two bedrooms and one bath. Bertie, the anchor of the family, was well loved in her community. Her nephews still come knocking on the door in 2009. They tell stories of her taking care of many of the neighborhood children. The babies would sleep in dresser drawers. Older children used the driveway as a vital cut-through to E.K. Powe elementary school. 

Bertie slept in the back bedroom of the house and William slept in the front bedroom, a common practice at the time, particularly if one family member worked a night shift. William would sometimes leave for extended periods and Bertie would rent his room for extra income. 

Bertie lived in this house for over 50 years. She passed away at the Durham Rest Home and Retirement Center after her 100th birthday in 1995. Pictures of Bertie and her family are on display.

The present owner added 500 square feet plus a large screened-porch and deck in 2006. 


* Jasper Rasberry House, 912 Carolina Avenue (ca. 1909)

Another "T"-shaped mill house, 912 Carolina Avenue features the same architectural elements as most of its neighbors. But subtle differences prevail. Like its neighbors, these houses were built from the wood that was milled from trees on the Erwin Mills property. Using the lumber available at the time, the house is mostly pine, with some hardwood. The flooring was finished with pine, but the sub-floor was laid in oak. 

A recent renovation brought this house down to its studs. Changes included a new foundation, plumbing, utilities, and interior walls. The reconstructed fireplace is faced with original brick. (The remaining brick is piled at 906 Carolina to be turned into walkway.) The aim of the renovation work was to stay within the original 900 square foot layout. Other than the Viking stove and Sub-Zero refrigerator, this house is a good example of a typical T-shaped mill house.  


* 2503 Green Street (ca. 1909)

Originally built as a shotgun-style house, a hallway ran from the front door to the back door. When the current owners took possession, the hallway had been closed to make a larger living room, and to provide a powder room (toilet and sink) in the front of the house. The leftover part of the hallway became a large closet. The closet in the middle was used to make a shower.

Indoor plumbing was added around 1926 (according to the date on the bottom of the claw foot bathtub). The owners have heard that the house originally had access to a large communal outhouse along the alley behind the property. 

In the 1960s (as nearly as the owners can tell), the house was moved to the current location to make room for the parking lot of the West Durham Pentecostal Church on Oakland Avenue. 

The former laundry and breakfast room, in what years ago was the back porch, have been incorporated into an updated kitchen. The owners love to cook and entertain, so they built an extra-large kitchen with two sinks, ranges, and dishwashers. 

The owners have tried to keep the house very livable and versatile by having furniture that can be moved around easily, especially in the living room. They subscribe to the principles of "The Not-So-Big House,” that make a small house seem larger.


* 914 Alabama Avenue (ca. 1930)

This 950 square-foot, eclectic cottage is a mystery unveiled: a work in progress. It is one-and-a-half story, and originally had three bedrooms and one bath.  

Noteworthy qualities of the exterior include the steep pitch of the roof with clipped or dog-eared gables, original German siding, and exposed roof lookouts. The front windows also tuck underneath the fascia of the roof, one of the distinguishing characteristics of early 20th-century cottage design.  

Howard and Ruby Bivins bought the house about 1960, and raised four children here. Mr. Bivins worked at Erwin Mills as did his son, Troy.    

Howard's second wife, Dorothy (or “Dot”) Bivins, continued living in the house until her death in 1998. She was beloved by her neighbors and by her faithful customers, whom she served for 23 years at the Tip Top Fish House on Hillsborough Road (close to Bullocks).     

The house, vacant for over a decade after Dot Bivins’ death, is currently at the beginning stages of a major rehabilitation. All plaster and trim has been removed, but the trim will be reused. Renovation plans include a two-story addition in the rear of the house and new insulation, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems. The original staircase will remain in service.


* 1024 Alabama Avenue (ca. 1930)

According to tax records, 1024 Alabama Avenue was built in 1930. It may be older than that, but it is certainly very representative of the "double-barreled shotgun” duplex built in this neighborhood and throughout Durham in the first part of the twentieth century.  

This style of duplex gets it name from the arrangement of the rooms, one behind another from front to back, in each apartment.  

The demo work that has been done to date has revealed some interesting, original features: all bead-board ceilings and tongue and groove wood plank walls with the original wallpaper in the four main rooms. The duplex still has the original, siding, windows, and exterior doors.

The present owners purchased the property this year. It is a great example of the "before" in a preservation project. Copies of the plans for renovation, which will give visitors an idea of what will be done, will be available the day of the tour. 


* 1010 Rosehill Avenue (ca. 1942)

This Colonial Revival style house was built about 1947 during the housing boom right after World War II. The first owner was Donald E. Whitworth and his wife, Frances. Mr. Whitworth was a serviceman for Dailey’s Inc, which sold appliances at 734 9th St. Later, the house was purchased by Dr. and Mrs. Felton Nease who lived there for many years before selling it in 2008.  

Although brick Colonial Revival houses were popular in Durham, they are rare in Old West Durham, probably because they were larger than the typical mill house, and brick was a more expensive material than clapboard. 

The present owner has extensively renovated the house with new insulation, wiring, plumbing, and energy-efficient wooden windows. A master bedroom with a new master bath was added on the second floor. An office/study was added on the first floor along with a new bathroom, and a screened porch.  The original bathroom was completely redone, and the kitchen was expanded with new, custom-made cabinets, granite countertops and an island with a mahogany countertop. However, the original doors, fireplace and mantel, and hardwood floors have been kept and restored. The general contractor is David Parker, Riverbank Construction, who kindly paid for our 16-page tour booklets. 


* Mamie Norwood House, 1022 Rosehill Avenue (ca. 1928)

Mamie Norwood ordered her dream home from a 1927 Sears & Roebuck catalog and built a frame house at the end of Rosehill. For many years, the two-story residence served as the parsonage for a neighborhood church (West Durham Church of God), which was eventually torn down and replaced with an ABC liquor store. Others have lived in the house including the local fire chief and a number of Duke professors and physicians (which may explain the Duke stone in the front wall).

Everything but the brick and mortar arrived on a train from Sears & Roebuck's lumber and millwork plant in Chicago. Note the original glass door knobs and the chandelier in the dining room that came with the house. To allow the most sunlight into a particular room, homebuyers could chose reversed floor plans (which was done by simply writing 'REVERSED' on the order form). The 1926 Sears catalogue says buying one of its houses, "promotes happiness and contentment, for it is the most pleasant and natural way to live... Our easy payment plan will 1) Save your rent money, 2) Give your kiddies a chance, 3) Get close to nature, 4) Have real friends and neighbors and 5) Be independent in old age." 

The parcels in Old West Durham are deep and narrow, with the house closer to the street. This allows for a garden in the back -- and folks can sit on the porch and talk with neighbors walking by, without lifting your voice.


* Rosehill Garden, 1021 Rosehill Avenue

The garden at the northern end of Rosehill Avenue was originally a plot to grow vegetables and fruit trees during the Great Depression. The Wilson sisters owned the garden from 1935 until 1990. A rock from the family farm in eastern North Carolina still sits in the middle of the garden. It's near "Emma's Swing" named after the first child in her generation to be born in the homes surrounding the garden.

Durham's 1927 Comprehensive Plan shows a 100-foot right-of-way up Rosehill and through Oval Park (connecting NC 751 in the south to NC 157 in the north). Durham's "Western Bypass" never came to be.

William A. Wilson planted the willow oaks shortly after he bought the lot from Alphonsus & Nellie Cobb. At about the same time (1936-1937), Mr. Wilson also planted the two large magnolia trees which were seedlings from the famous magnolia at Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Mr. Wilson enjoyed taking the bus around town and was often seen coming home with a seedling in his handkerchief. Many trees and shrubs in the garden are from the North Carolina Central and Duke campuses.

John Sprunt Hill was Wilson's classmate at UNC. During a visit, Hill asked Wilson for a camellia from his garden. Mr. Wilson declined, saying it was from his wife's hometown in Mississippi. When she was older, Wilson's daughter liked to recount that John Sprunt Hill's money didn't get him everything he wanted.

More recently, the garden was the location an annual ice cream socials for the Methodist Retirement Home, and an outdoor wedding. For the past 20 years, neighbor Gary Ray has been lovingly taking care of this urban oasis.
            

* Hobgood-Tate House, 1001 Edith Street (ca. 1910-1911)

The Hobgood-Tate House appears to have been built around 1910-1911 by R.M Hobgood, who is listed in city directories as a postal clerk. The 1913 Sanborn map clearly shows the original configuration of the house: it was ell-shaped with two front rooms separated by a central hall. The front door opened into the central hall. Behind the parlor on the left were two more rooms. Thus the house originally had four rooms plus a central hall. Opening from the rear of the central hall was a porch that stretched the length of the house, alongside the back two rooms (now the dining room and kitchen). There were fireplaces in the front parlor and in the room directly behind it (now the dining room).

The house originally stood at 1704 W. Markham. It was moved in May 2008 when the previous owner wanted to tear it down. After moving the house to Edith St, two bedrooms, a bath, and closets were added at the back of the house. The central hallway was restored by rebuilding the wall that separated it from the front parlor. The new owner matched the original wainscoting, repaired or matched the original door and window moldings, restored the bead board ceilings, repaired the original windows and doors, refinished the original quarter-sawn, heart-pine floors, restored the original mantel, and found restored 1920’s light fixtures for the hallway.