National Register of Historic Places

622 East Vance Street.

The one hundred eighty-sixth 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.

622 East Vance burned the night of 18 October 2023 and was demolished the next morning.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1908; 1-story; Triple-A cottage.”

Detail from the 1922 Sanborn fire insurance maps of Wilson, N.C. The house was originally numbered 631.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 622 East Vance, widow Janie Cameron, 52; sons Lonzo, 21, Eugene, 15, and James, 11; and roomers Phillipp Gaskin, 38, and Amos Singletarry, 22.

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Cameron Eug (c) delmn John T Worrell h 622 E Vance; Cameron Jane (c) h 622 E Vance; Cameron Lonnie (c) lab h 622 E Vance

Wilson Daily Times, 25 November 1932.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Morgan Jas (c; Laura; 2) h 622 E Vance

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Petway Allen (c; Annie) lab h 622 E Vance

Wilson Daily Times, 7 June 1960.

The house per Google Street View, March 2022.

Plantation House Series: Callie S. Braswell house, known as Hawthorne.

Hawthorne was one of four antebellum plantation houses included in the Upper Town Creek Rural Historic District. Forty years after nomination, none are standing.

Hawthorne in 1980.

Per the National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form for Upper Town Creek Rural Historic District, prepared by Kate Ohno in 1982, the family of Callie (or Cally) S. Braswell (1828-1893) were long prominent in this area of the county. Braswell began acquiring land in the 1840s, and bought his home site around 1853. He married Martha Ann Trevathan in 1855, and the couple probably built Hawthorne shortly after.

At the November 1847 term of Superior Court, heirs of Benjamin Braswell, which included Callie S. Braswell, filed a petition for the division of the elder Braswell’s slaves. The petition names Lewis, Zilly, Amy, Warren, Amos, Lettice, Albert, Boston, Esther, Arden, Prissy, Charlotte, Eliza, Drew, Hilliard, John, Elisha, and Lina as the group to be divided. The court appointed W.D. Petway and David Williams, among others, to set values and apportion them, but no report identifying each heirs’ allotment can be found in Braswell’s estate file.

In the 1850 slave schedule of Edgecombe County, Cally S. Braswell is listed with ten enslaved people — women and girls aged 80, 30, 20, 6, and 1, and men and boys aged 18, 13, 10, 8, and 5.

In 1860, the slave schedule recorded twelve enslaved people occupying three houses for Calla S. Braswell: women and girls aged 42, 26, 13, 11, 11, 6, 4,  and 2, and men and boys aged 26, 15, 9, and 9. [The inconsistency in ages suggests considerable turnover during that decade.]

In 1866, Hilliard Braswell and Annis Batts registered their 6-year cohabitation with an Edgecombe County justice of the peace. In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Hilliard Braswell, 29, farm laborer; wife Anniss, 41; and son Gray, 4; with Austin, 16, and Frank Batts, 13. Next door: Boston Braswell, 29, farm laborer; wife Eliza, 38; son Henry, 10; and Georgeana Jenkins, 15. In 1866, Boston Braswell and Eliza Williams had registered their 5-year cohabitation with an Edgecombe County justice of the peace.

In 1866, Amos Braswell and Lettis Braswell registered their 12-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace. In the 1870 census of Upper Town Creek township, Edgecombe County: Amos Braswell, 44, farm laborer; wife Lettace, 36; and children Sophy A., 16, William Ann, 15, Amanda, 13, Burtin, 7, Willis, 5, Jordan, 3, and Arden, 2.

In 1866, Pricilla Braswell and James Armstrong registered their two-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace. In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Augustus Armstrong, 30, wife Pricilla, 22, and children Sallie, 4, Stella, 2, and William, 4 months. [Is James Armstrong the same person as Augustus Armstrong? Augustus was the son of Quinnie Braswell, who registered his 33-year marriage to Venus Braswell in 1866.]

Former site of Hawthorne, off East Langley Road near the Edgecombe County line.

Plantation House Series: David Williams house.

David Williams is best known for his work in the state legislature with General Joshua Barnes create Wilson County from parts of Edgecombe, Nash, Johnston, and Wayne Counties. Williams’ house was in Edgecombe County during his lifetime, but a boundary adjustment in 1883 shifted it into Wilson. His enormous plantation sprawled into both counties, however.

The David Williams house, 1980. It has since been demolished.

Per the National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form for Upper Town Creek Rural Historic District, prepared by Kate Ohno in 1982, the house was built between 1845 and 1860. “This square two-story double-pile Greek Revival house is typical of the kind of plantation house popular with the prosperous planters of this area during the fifteen years before the Civil War.

Detail of ceiling medallion, 1980. “The most outstanding feature of the interior is, however, the elaborate plaster ceiling medallions and cornices. The hall boasts the most elaborate round medallion, while the parlor has a simpler round one and an elaborate plaster cornice.”

Despite the dozens and dozens of number of people David Williams enslaved, I have only been able to identify a handful by name. The 1830 will of Drewry Williams, which entered probate in 1831, included bequests to son David of a “Negro girl by the name of Rose one Negro boy by the name of Amos and one Negro man by the name of George.” David Williams was also bequeathed a one-third interest in three enslaved people — Pink, Nan, and Peter — after the death of his mother.

In the 1850 federal slave schedule of Edgecombe County, North Carolina, David Williams is listed with 17 enslaved people.

In the 1860 federal slave schedule of Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Williams reported an astonishing 128 enslaved people, making him one of the largest slaveholders in the area. The quarters on his plantation included 20 houses, none of which was standing at the time the house was nominated for the historic register.

On 13 August 1866, Preston Williams and Betty Petteway registered their 15-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace. W.D. Petway was a close neighbor of David Williams, and the couple may have been enslaved on their adjoining plantations.

In the 1870 census of Joyners township, Wilson County: farmer Preston Williams, 46; wife Bettie, 34; and children Samuel, 17, Warren, 14, Rose, 11, William, 6, and Virginia, 2. On 18 August 1870, Dicey Petway, daughter of Bettie Williams, married Red[mond] Braswell, son of Preston Wilson, at Joyners township. [Braswell was the surname of another slaveholder who lived near Williams and Petway.]

A Google Maps aerial showing the former site of the David Williams house at A. (William D. Petway’s house was located at B. The Edgecombe County line runs parallel to and a couple of hundred feet east of Orchard Road.

Plantation House Series: William D. Petway house.

We’ve met William D. Petway here (advertising the sale of several enslaved people) and here (placing an ad for a runaway enslaved man). His home and plantation lay near and across the boundary with present-day Edgecombe County in Wilson County’s Upper Town Creek Rural Historic District.

William Davis Petway house, 1980.

Per the National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form for Upper Town Creek Rural Historic District, prepared by Kate Ohno in 1982:

“The oldest house in the district is the William Davis Petway house. Petway was born on October 1, 1799, and was the son of Major Micajah Pettaway, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and Mary Sugg. Major Pettaway was a prominent planter and in July 1819, he deeded 435 acres on the north side of Poplar Branch to his son. It seems likely that this tract formed the core of Petway’s holdings and was most likely the tract upon which he built his home. He married Cinderella Cromwell, daughter of Elisha Cromwell, prior to 1823. Petway continued to add to his landholdings in the 1820s, receiving 112 acres from the division of his father-in-law’s estate and other tracts adjacent to his property. By the time of this death on October 18, 1858, he owned in excess of 2,270 acres.

The parlor mantel of the Petway house.

“Petway was involved in business and civic matters as well as in farming. He served as sheriff of Edgecombe County from 1835 until 1851. He was also associated in the mid 1850s with W.M.G. Sharp and John T. Sharp in a mercantile business which also sold liquor at Joyner’s Depot [Elm City]. By 1850 Petway was in the turpentine business. He employed four male laborers and produced $800 worth of turpentine and other pine products annually. Petway was an extensive farmer as well. In 1836 he purchased the real property in his father’s estate amounting to 1,364 acres. By 1850 he owned 2,400 acres of which 500 acres were cultivated. Although his real property was valued at only $7,381 he owned forty-eight slaves in 1850. … [Petway’s listing in the 1850 slave schedule of Edgecombe County actually credits him with 49 slaves. Curiously, 43 were reported as women or girls, and only six as men or boys (and none of these above age 18). This is an improbable ratio that suggests a recording error.]

“Petway died intestate in 1858 leaving his widow and seven children ….

“The home tract thus came under the managements of Cinderella Petway for nearly 13 years. At first the plantation prospered; in 1860 Mrs. Petway is listed as a sixty-year old farmer owning real property valued at $25,000 and personal property valued at $16,000. She owned only fifteen slaves due to the division of her husband’s slaves among his heirs. Six slave houses (no longer extant) were on the property. Her son Oliver, age twenty, lived with his mother as well as Ezra Bullock, a farm overseer, and a white female domestic servant. Oliver’s personal property, including slaves, was valued at $18,000 and his slaves were probably used to cultivate and maintain the home tract occupied by him and his mother. …” [Senda Petway appears in the 1860 census of Edgecombe County with women and girls ages 50, 40, 28, 27, 18, 7, 2, and 1, and men and boys ages 70, 45, 28, 19, 8, 7, and 4. Son O.C. Petway claimed women and girls ages 40, 25, 18, 5, and 5, and men and boys ages 50, 13, 8, 8, and 1.]

The Petways enslaved dozens of people, but the surname is now uncommon in Wilson County. I have not been able to identify by name anyone William D. Petway enslaved except freedom-seeker Miles.

The historic district nomination form includes a map pinpointing the Petway house on State Road 1414.

That road is now White Bridge Road, and the Petway house and its outbuildings have been demolished.

A close-up of the site:

Photos courtesy of nomination form, above; aerials courtesy of Google Maps.

205 South Pender Street.

In the early 1960s, the brick building marked B.P.O. Reindeer Lodge No. 32 at 205 South Pender. The building has been demolished. 

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “#205 [formerly 203 1/2]; ca. 1930; 2 stories; (former) Central Grocery and Market; simple brick commercial building has parapet front and five-bay facade; remodeled recessed entry; upper floor at one time contained Knights of King Solomon civic club; interior has been altered for apartments.”

In April and May 1935, a series of notices appeared in the Wilson Daily Times alerting the public of the court-ordered sale of “the Knights of Solomon building, located on Stantonsburg Street, in the Town of Wilson” on May 18 of that year.

The 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory shows Wade H. Pridgen as the proprietor of a grocery at 203 1/2 Stantonsburg Street, with tobacco worker Eva Pringle as the upstairs tenant.

The 1947 and 1950 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories show Hocutt’s Grocery (William S. and Roland B. Hocutt, proprietors) at 203 1/2 Stantonsburg Street, with Eva Pringle still upstairs.

The 1963 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory shows BPO Reindeer at the address.

By the early 1970s, the first floor of this building housed the East Branch of the Wilson County Public Library, the successor to the Negro Library formerly located two blocks north on Pender Street.

The building was occupied as a lodging house during its final decades before demolition circa 2005.

410 North Reid Street.

The one hundred eighty-fifth 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.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District, this house is: “ca. 1940; 1 story; bungalow with gable roof and shed-roofed porch with standard tapered posts on brick piers.” 

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 408 Reid, rented for $14/month, taxi driver Essie Smith, 28, born in Red Springs, N.C.; wife Alice, 26, maid at Woodard-Herring; and daughter Aggie Nora, 2; plus Annie McCohan, 50, widow, also from Red Springs. [The Smiths may have been in house next door, which was later numbered 410.]

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, two entries: Smith Essie (c; Alice; 1) taxi driver h 408(2) N Reid; and Woodard Oscar (c; Katie J) janitor Branch Banking & Tr Co h 408 (407) N Reid

On 28 April 1947, the Wilson Daily Times published a memorial to Jennette Barnes submitted by her daughter Alice Barnes Smith of 410 North Reid. 

Essie Smith died 25 March 1962 at his home at 410 North Reid. Per his death certificate, he was born 23 December 1896 in Robeson County, North Carolina; was married to Alice Smith; and was a self-employed taxi driver. 

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, March 2022.

414 North Reid Street.

The one hundred eighty-fourth 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.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1913; 1 story; Levi Peacock House; Queen Anne cottage with hip roof and double-pile plan; aluminum sided but retains distinctive patterned-tin roof; Peacock was a barber.” The patterned-tin roof has been replaced by ordinary shingles.

The original address of this house, as shown in the detail below from the 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, appears to have been 418. The drawing of the house shows that the porch wrapping around the Green Street elevation and the front extension were later modifications.

From the 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, page 31. Note that East Green Street dead-ended at North Reid at the time, and Queen Street did not yet exist.

Prior to the Peacocks, Henry and Julia Clark Tart owned this house. Henry Tart was a well-regarded drayman, and his headstone is one of the most imposing in Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Henry Tart registered for the World War I draft on 18 September 1918. He recorded his address as the corner of Green and Reid Streets, his birth date as 11 April 1884, and his occupation as self-employed in the transfer business. His wife Julia C. Tart was his next-of-kin, and he signed his card in a neat, well-spaced hand.

In the 1920 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tart Julia (c) laundress h Reid cor E Green

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tart Julia (c) lndrs h 418 N Reid

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tart Julia (c) h 418 N Reid; also, Tart Olivia (c) student r 418 N Reid

Thomas Levi Peacock registered for the World War II draft in Wilson in 1946. Per his registration card, he was born 6 December 1928 in Wilson County; resided at 414 North Reid Street; his contact was Levi Harry Peacock; and he was a student at Darden High School.

Elouise R. Peacock died 15 June 1951 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 4 July 1906 in Wilson to Etta Fain; was a public school teacher; was married; and resided at 414 North Reid Street. Informant was Jeuetta Anderson.

The front room modification. Wilson Daily Times, 27 April 1962.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, November 2022.

101 South Pender Street.

The one hundred eighty-third 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.

The corner today, per Google Maps.

The corner of Pender and Nash, at 101 South Pender Street [Stantonsburg Street] (also known as 600 East Nash Street), as described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1950; 1 story; porcelain-enameled steel gas station with clean lines and simple square form suggesting International Style; altered and in disrepair.”

The 1908 Sanborn fire insurance maps of Wilson, N.C., depict an irregularly shaped vacant brick building at the tip of the triangle formed by the intersection of East Nash Street and Stantonsburg Street (now South Pender Street). It was numbered 601-603 East Nash Street. The building shown just below it was the original location of Darden Funeral Home. The three-story building also housed C.H. Darden’s bicycle shop and general repair business. The third floor was reserved for lodge meetings. (Which lodge? The Odd Fellows and Masons had their own lodges.)

The 1913 Sanborn map shows the building modified with a wooden porch on the Stantonsburg Street side and cast-iron porches at the entrance and Nash Street side. A grocery occupied the space.

By time the 1922 Sanborn map was drawn, the street numbers had flipped from odd to even and vice-versa, and the auto repair shop at the corner was at 600 East Nash Street.

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Triangle Service Station (Wm H Taylor) 600 E Nash

In the 1941 and 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories: Triangle Service Station (Cleveland T Barnes) filling sta 101 Stantonsburg

The Oblong Box-Style gas station described in the nomination form may date to 1950, but petroleum corporations began adopting the style in the late 1930s. I have not found photos of Triangle Service Station to determine whether it was built in the style or upgraded to it.

In the 1963 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Sutton’s Gulf Service (Cecil E Sutton) 600 E Nash St

The  Gulf gas station is just visible in this detail from a mid to late 1960s photo of the area.

The building is currently home to a carwash business.

801 East Green Street.

The one hundred eighty-second 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.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1913; 1 story; aluminum-sided and remodeled L-plan cottage.”

——

The house appears as an unnumbered dwelling on the 1913 Sanborn fire insurance maps of Wilson, N.C. This detail from page 32 of the 1922 Sanborn maps of Wilson, shows the house numbered 801 East Green Street. (As detailed below, for many years owners of this house operated a small grocery around the corner and behind the house, on North Vick. That store was built between 1922 and 1928.)

In the 1928 and 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories: Faison Grant J (c; Charlotte) gro 502 N Vick h 801 E Green

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 801 East Green, Grant Faisson, 46, grocery store merchant, and wife Charlotte, 42, trained hospital nurse. 

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 801 East Green, Grant J. Faison, 58, retail grocery operator, and wife Charlotte, 52, saleswoman in grocery store.

Wilson Daily Times, 28 December 1940.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Faison Grant J (c; Charlotte M) gro 502 N Vick h 801 E Green

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Foster Carter (c; Estelle W) gro 502 N Vick and County Farm Demonstration agent h 801 E Green

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 801 East Green, county farm agent Carter W. Foster, 36; wife Estelle, 34; daughter Bobbie J., 7; and nephew Dannie Jones, 8, born in Pennsylvania.

Carter Washington Foster died 17 February 1955 in Saratoga township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born 15 January 1914 in Wilson to Walter Foster and Rosa Parker; was married; resided at 801 East Green; and worked as a county agricultural agent.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, November 2022.