fixer upper

Sold – Save This Old House – c.1840s Fixer Upper on 2.74 Acres in Whitakers, NC $30K

1890 O’Neal Road
Whitakers NC 27891
Edgecombe County                      $30,000 Sold

 

 

OHU50K NOTES

Per Preservation North Carolina: Located in an idyllic setting on 2.74 acres with mature trees and an expansive open front lawn while being just 20 minutes from Tarboro shops, restaurants and a brewery, the Weeks House and farm complex are notable for containing the only known surviving log dwelling in Edgecombe County and an early 19th century woodworking shop!

Architectural and Historical Information

The Weeks House and farm complex are notable for containing the only known surviving log dwelling in the county and a reasonably intact early 19th century woodworking shop. Enlargements of the house in two stages and a cohesive cluster of outbuildings add to the interest of this farm.

House Details

The appearance of the house today is L-shaped with an attached rear ell; a kitchen/dining room is also located in the rear, connected by a breezeway. The front ell, on the right, dates from Victorian times; the gabled section on the left dates from about the time of the Civil War. Behind that section is the log room that Silas Weeks (1796-1860) built in the 1840s, according to family tradition. It has beaded weatherboard and batten doors with the exposed logs and horizontal battens forming the interior walls.

Family History

Silas Weeks Jr. (1825-1899) is said to have enlarged the log house at about the time of the Civil War, building a hall-and-parlor house with attic in front of the log structure. Two batten doors, 6-over-4 and 6-over-6 sash windows, and a tumbled single-shoulder chimney survive.

Robert S. Weeks (1859-1933) performed the third phase of work in about 1902, adding a two-room Victorian ell to the right side, with a central hall separating the old and new parts. Late Victorian mantels, 2-over-2 sash windows, and four- and five-panel doors date from this time. The house was re-weatherboarded and a full-length front porch was built. It formerly had turned posts and sawn brackets, which together with a decorated gable end facing the front, give the house an overall Victorian character. A vernacular detached kitchen/dining room also dates from this period, replacing an earlier detached log kitchen.

Outbuildings

Among the several surviving outbuildings are two hewn mortise-and-tenon structures that belonged to Silas Weeks: an “old kitchen” without chimney, and a woodworking shop. The shop is full of early tools including a lathe, homemade wooden contrivances, and various farm artifacts. Some of these are certainly pre-1846 – a deed of that date mentions “my blacksmith tools, cooper tools, and turning tools” as going with the land to Silas Weeks, Jr.

Other frame outbuildings, dating from the early to mid-20th century include a smoke house, corn barn, mule barn, privy, and small dairy.

 

 

 

REALTOR COMMENTS

The Weeks Homeplace is a perfectly situated country escape in Edgecombe County. Whitakers is located 20 minutes from Tarboro, a charming small town with a lot to offer including a 45-block historic district which surrounds the original colonial town common. Downtown Tarboro offers wonderful dining, shopping, a brewery, fishing, kayaking and many entertainment opportunities. The town of Whitakers is also a quick 25 minutes from NC Wesleyan College and The Dunn Center for Performing Arts, a premier venue featuring cultural events, concerts and various world-class performances. Also nearby is the Rocky Mount Sports Complex, one of the largest sporting facilities on the eastern seaboard. Just 30 minutes away is the beautifully restored 82-acre Rocky Mount Mills campus along the Tar River with restaurants, craft breweries, River & Twine “tiny house” hotel, workspaces and event venues. Other nearby attractions in Rocky Mount include the Imperial Centre of the Arts and Sciences and the Rocky Mount Events Center. Whitakers is also conveniently located 45 minutes from Greenville, home to one of the best medical facilities in the east as well as East Carolina University, and only an hour from Raleigh.

 

 

 

 

 

Old Photo of the house

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