Ash Street

144 Ash Street.

The two hundredth in a series of posts highlighting buildings in East Wilson Historic District, a national historic district located in Wilson, North Carolina. As originally approved, the district encompasses 858 contributing buildings and two contributing structures in a historically African-American section of Wilson. (A significant number have since been lost.) The district was developed between about 1890 to 1940 and includes notable examples of Queen Anne, Bungalow/American Craftsman, and Shotgun-style architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

This house was demolished between 2012 and 2019. The photo above, courtesy of Google Maps Streetview, was taken in April 2008. The address of this house has vacillated wildly. It has been known as 141, 138, 144, and 218 Ash Street as lot lines shifted and houses were densely packed into Ash Street’s short stretch. Current tax records describe the now-vacant lot as 144 Ash Street. (And Ash is often spelled “Ashe.”)

The inventory list of the nomination form for East Wilson Historic District, prepared in 1987, is confusing. #144 is described as a vacant lot. #138 is a “shotgun with shed-roofed porch,” which obviously is not this house. It appears that #142, “ca. 1908; 1 story; two-room central-hall house with turned post porch,” is the house above, though it does not now have turned posts on its porch.

The last Google Maps image of the house, June 2012.

Ash Street was once part of the Oswald and Sallie Lipscomb farm. On 8 April 1890, Maria Peacock purchased a one-quarter acre lot from the Lipscombs for $37.50. Per the deed, Peacock, who already lived in the lot, received a life interest in the property with the remainder to Levi H. Peacock and his heirs.

Description of 144 Ashe Street from Deed Book 2391, page 143, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

The 1908 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, N.C., shows the house as 141 Jane Street, as Ash was very briefly known.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Ash Street, post office clerk Levi Peacock, 40; wife Hannah, 38; children Oliva V., 15, Hannah, 13, Levi, 11, Susan, 6, Rubie, 4, and Vivian, 1; and mother-in-law Susan Pryett, 55, laundress.

Detail from 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, N.C.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 141 Ash Street, post office clerk Livia H. Peacock, 60; wife Annie, 31; children Olvia, 23, Annie L., 21, Livia H. Jr.; Sudie, 14, Rubie, 12, Vivian, 9, Bennie, 5, and John, 3; boarders Mary S. Roberson, 32, and Mary Brodie, 20; plus widow Susan Byatt, 62.

In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Peacock Hannah (c) tchr h 138 Ashe; Peacock Hannah L (c) hair dresser h 138 Ashe; Peacock Levi H (c) clk P O 138 Ashe

Detail from 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, N.C.

In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Peacock Levi H (c) clk P O 138 Ashe [But Hannah, Ruby, Susan and Vivian Peacock at 140 Ashe.]

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Peacock Levi H (c; Hannah) h 218 Ashe [But Peacock Hannah H (c) tchr Wilson Graded Sch r 138 Ashe]

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Peacock Levi H (c; Hannah H) bellmn Hotel Cherry h 218 Ashe; Peacock Rubie E (c) sch tchr h 218 Ashe; Peacock Susan M (c) student h 218 Ashe; Peacock Vivian (c) lndrs h 218 Ashe

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 218 Ash, Levi Peacock, 62; wife Hanna, 64;  Susan, 28, Elizabeth L., 26, John H., 24, and Benjamin, 23; Hanna Luke, 80; Susan Piatt, 34; and Ruby Piatt, 15. [There are numerous errors in names and ages in this entry.]

Detail from 1930 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, N.C. The house is labeled (138) 218 Ash.

Levi Henry Peacock died 16 August 1934 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 72 years old; was born in Alabama to James Peacock and Marie Peacock, both of Wilson County; was married; lived at 218 Ash Street; was an “ex-P.O. clerk”; and was buried in Wilson [Masonic? Odd Fellows? Vick Cemetery?]

Hannah H. Peacock died 29 March 1935 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 50 years old; was born in Edgecombe County to Booker Pyatt of Petersburg, Virginia, and Susan Hines of Edgecombe County; resided at 218 Ash Street; was a school teacher; was the widow of Levi Peacock; and was buried in Wilson [Masonic? Odd Fellows? Vick Cemetery?]

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Hana Peacock, 32; her grandmother Susie Pyatt, 84; and brothers John, 22, and Benjamin Peacock, 24.

In 1942, Levi Harry Peacock registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 6 May 1898 in Wilson; lived at 418 North Reid Street, Wilson; his contact was Hannah Peacock, 138 Ashe Street, Wilson; and he worked for W.E. Barnes at Cherry Hotel, Wilson.

Susan H. Pyatt died 14 January 1944 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born in 1874 in Edgecombe County to Louis Hargrove and Hannah Lewis Hines; was widowed; and resided at 218 Ashe. Hannah Peacock was informant.

In 1944, John Hines Peacock registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 16 October 1915 in Wilson County; lived at 218 Ashe; his contact was sister Hannah L. Peacock, 218 Ashe; and he was “unemployed, except working around his home.”

1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory

Hannah Lee Peacock died 1 May 1969 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 12 September 1924 [sic] to Henry Levi Peacock and Hannah Hines; lived at 144 Ash Street; was a retired teacher; and was single. Vivian Peacock Smith, 144 Ash, was informant.

Wilson Daily Times, 22 April 1989.

Doris Smith Herrell sold the Peacock family’s Ash Street properties, including 144, in 2009, ending nearly 120 years of ownership by this family.

Shotgun houses restored.

Back during the summer, I enjoyed a long chat with Monica T. Davis about her master’s thesis, which examines the significance of shotgun houses (traditionally known locally as “endway houses) in the East Wilson community. What a pleasure to read this 6 December 2019 Wilson Times article about her efforts to restore these houses to usefulness.

Shotgun houses set for restoration.

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By Brie Handgraaf, bhandgraaf@wilsontimes.com

“Tiny houses have gained popularity in recent years, but two Wilson natives are working to restore several shotgun houses, which made the efficient use of a small floorplan cool more than a century ago.

“’When the East Wilson Historic District was nominated in 1988, there were 301 shotgun houses in Wilson and now there are only 88 left,’ said Monica T. Davis. ‘They were built when the tobacco industry was flourishing because shotgun houses could be built compactly with so many on a lot, which was good for the working-class people of the time.’

“Davis, a 2005 graduate of Fike High School, is a graduate student in interior architecture and historic preservation at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She recently teamed up with Antonio M. Jenkins, owner of Tee O’s Luxury Renovations, to purchase five properties and two undeveloped lots on Ash Street and Narrow Way.

“The duo started working on plans to bring back the shotgun floorplans and restore some of the homes’ original features. However, when they talked to city officials about separating two of the parcels, they learned two of the houses on Narrow Way had outstanding permits for demolition.

“Davis and Jenkins got to work, presenting staff with a scope of work and getting a grace period to make progress and save the homes from demolition. Since then, work has begun on the first of the houses at 132 Ash St., which was built in 1910 and has one bedroom.

“’The lawn was very unkept [sic] and you couldn’t event see the shotgun house because of the overgrowth, so we cut that down,’ Davis said. ‘We had some lead-based issues on the front of the house, so that was taken care of. The addition on the back of the home has been started and we have gutted the inside to restore features like the original tongue-and-groove flooring and a beadboard ceiling. All that was covered up by previous owners, so we’re working on revitalizing that.’

“Jenkins, who graduated from Beddingfield in 2006, said he expects each house to take a few months to complete. Davis was awarded the Atlantic World Research Network Graduate Student Research Grant that will help with the effort and 10 students in a preservation class from UNC-G will pitch in this May.

“’They are going to restore some original windows,’ Davis said. ‘They’ll clean some brick pillars and put in some old salvaged wood doors. We’ll also have a demonstration for them on how to install plaster.’

“The owner of Rinascita Designs said she’s worked with a restoration specialist who is confident the restoration work will qualify for tax credits.

“’The renovations will cost between $25,000 and $30,000,’ Jenkins said. ‘The first one appraised at $51,000 and after the repairs, I would say it’ll be valued around $150,000.’

“The plan is to rent the houses for the first five years to comply with the tax credits, but ultimately Davis said she wants to sell them.”

“’We created a nonprofit organization called Rebirthing Our Cultural Kington [sic] Foundation with the goal to teach African Americans in this district and throughout Wilson about homeownership,’ she said. ‘Many of these have been rental properties for over 40 years, but we want to encourage people to be financially literate and work toward owning a home.’

“Davis also hopes her work helps educate people on the history of east Wilson and spurs others to invest in the area.

“’If the people who are living in that neighborhood see we’re from here and have hope, maybe it’ll help change their mindset and improve the historic district,’” she said.”

[Update: More on the renovation of East Wilson shotgun houses from WTVD, ABC 11, a Raleigh television station.]

Jane Street.

Jane Rountree Mobley was enslaved by Moses Rountree, a leading nineteenth-century merchant. As Carolyn Maye relates, family lore passed to Mobley’s descendants holds that the Rountree family named a street Jane in honor of Jane Mobley. If so, where is it?

There is no Jane Street in present-day Wilson. However, early twentieth-century Sanborn fire insurance maps reveal that this was not always the case. Ash Street, a narrow spur off Nash Street running parallel and just east of Pender Street, was once called Jane. (Was it actually named for Mobley?)  The street is clearly marked in the 1908 Sanborn map:

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However, in the Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory issued the same year, the street was called Ashe, and the 1913 Sanborn map relegated “Jane” to parentheses.

When Hill’s issued the 1922 city directory, there was no alternate name listed for Ash Street.