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THE WILLIAM GRIER HOUSE
This report was written on February 1, 1978 1. Name and location of the property: The property known as the William Grier House is located on Steele Creek Rd. opposite from its intersection with Shopton Rd. in the southwestern portion of Mecklenburg County. 2. Name address and telephone number of the present owner and occupant
of the property:
Telephone: (704) 588-0434 The present occupant of the property is: Mrs. Marion Starnes Telephone: (704) 588-0673 3. Representative photographs of the property: This report contains representative photographs of the property. 4. A map depicting the location of the property: This report contains a map depicting the location of the property.
5. Current Deed Book Reference to the property: The most recent reference to this property is found in Mecklenburg County Deed Book 3753 at page 974. The Parcel Number of the property is 14111210. This report contains a complete chain of title for the William Grier House. 6. A brief historical sketch of the property: Among the early Scotch Irish settlers of the Steele Creek Community was James Grier, who died on June 29, 1784, at the age of seventy. In the mid-1740's Mr. Grier and his wife, Margaret, conceived and gave birth to a son whom they named Thomas. Thomas Grier, who lived until January 29, 1828, married twice. By his first wife, Hannah Alexander, he had four children who attained adulthood. Susannah Grier, daughter of James and Catherine Spratt, was his second wife, by whom Thomas Grier had nine children. Among the sons produced by this union was William M. Grier, born August 20, 1804.1 It is clear that Thomas Grier was a farmer of considerable prominence in the Steele Creek Community in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Indicative of his economic prowess is the fact that in 1820 he owned twenty-nine slaves, a large number for a Mecklenburg planter of that era.2 The Catawba Journal of February 5, 1828, characterized Thomas Grier as a "highly respectable and most valuable citizen."3 One can logically infer that he possessed the economic means to erect the house which still stands on Steele Creek Rd. Thomas Grier's Last Will and Testament, dated January 23, 1828, contains a codicil which proves that the structure was being built for William M. Grier at that time. It reads as follows:
Wllliam M. Grier married twice. His first wife was Minerva W. Grier, daughter of John Hayes of Lincoln County. She died on May 29, 1837, at the age of twenty-seven.5 Their only child, Minerva William Susan Grier, died on August 19, 1838.6 The second wife of William M. Grier, who was to outlive her husband, was Ferriby C. Grier.7 The most notable child of this union was Calvin E. Grier, a soldier in the army of the Confederate States of America who later moved to Charlotte and became one of the "brightest lawyers" in this community.8 William M. Grier died on May 30, 1870, having been "afflicted for the last (sic) six months with paralysis."9 Ferriby C. Grier lived until September 27, 1878, when she expired at the age of sixty-nine.10 In 1867 William M. Grier had sold his homeplace to Margaret Jane Lewis, a daughter of his half-sister, Susan Grier White.11 Included in the inventory of items purchased by Margaret Jane Lewis were "900 pounds of bacon, an old carriage and harness, and seven spitoons."12 Mrs. Lewis retained the property until January 12, 1888, when she sold all but a ten acre tract to Robert Franklin Byrum.13 Mr. Byrum, born on June 9, 1862, "was a successful farmer and enterprising citizen of the community." He and his wife, Janie Porter Byrum, had six children, three sons and three daughters. He died on June 1, 1925,14 having made provisions for the division of his estate whereby his son, Fred K. Byrum, acquired the house.15 Fred K. Byrum served in the United States Army during World War I and was thereafter associated with the C. W. Upchurch Motor Co., a local Studebaker dealer on W. Trade St. He died of a heart attack on January 29, 1936, at the age of forty-eight.16 The three children of Fred K. Byrum and his wife, Margaret Rudisill Byrum, retained joint ownership of their father's estate until May 12, 1969, when they divided the property among themselves and gave ownership of the house to Robert Franklin Byrum,17 who was an associate of his uncle, W. Lester Byrum, in operating Byrum's General Store.18 Robert Franklin Byrum died on February 7, 197319 and his widow, Agnes S. Byrum, has owned the house since that time.20 She continues the practice of her husband in operating the structure as rental property.
Footnotes1 Mrs. Robert McDowell, A List of those Buried in Historic Steele Creek Burying Grounds (Charlotte: 1953), pp. 36-37. Hereafter cited as List. 2 The United States Census (1820), p. 178. 3 Catawba Journal (February 5, 1828) p.3. 4 Mecklenburg County Will Book A, p. 163. 5 Charlotte Journal (June 2, 1837) p. 3. 6 Charlotte Journal (August 24, 1838) p. 3. 7 Daily Charlotte Observer (September 28, 1878) p. 3. 8 The Daily News (May 2, 1889) p. 1. 9 The Western Democrat (June 7, 1870) p. 3. 10 Daily Charlotte Observer (September 28, 1878) p. 3. 11 Mecklenburg County Deed Book 7, p. 268. 12 Mecklenburg County Deed Book 5, p. 170. 13 Mecklenburg County Deed Book 57, p. 513. 14 The Charlotte Observer (June 2, 1925). 15 Mecklenburg County Will Book U, p. 9. 16 The Charlotte Observer (January 30, 1936) sec. 1, p. 14. 17 Mecklenburg County Deed Book 3114, p. 35. 18 Mecklenburg County Will Book 10, p. 16. 19 The Charlotte Observer (February 9, 1973) p. 2C. 20 Mecklenburg County Deed Book 3753, p. 974. 7. A brief architectural description of the property: This report contains an architectural description prepared by Ms. Ruth Little-Stokes, architectural historian. 8. Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets the criteria set forth in N.C.G.S. 160A-399.4:
9. Documentation of why and in why ways the property meets the criteria established for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places: The Commission judges that the property known as the William Grier House does meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. Basic to the Commission's judgment is its knowledge that the National Register of Historic Places, established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, represents the decision of the Federal Government to expand its recognition of historic properties to include those of local, regional, and State significance. The Commission believes that the investigation of the William Grier House contained herein demonstrates that the property is of local importance. Consequently, the Commission judges the property known as the William Grier House does meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. 10. Documentation of why and in what ways the property is of historical importance to Charlotte and/or Mecklenburg County: The property known as the William Grier House is historically important to Mecklenburg County for three reasons. First, the structure formed the focal point of an antebellum plantation in Mecklenburg County. Second, the structure is one of the few Federal style plantation houses which survives in Mecklenburg County. Third, individuals of local prominence inhabited the structure.
Chain of Title1. Deed Book 3753, p.974 (July 22,1974). 2. Deed Book 3114, P Re 35 (May 12, 1969) 3. Will Book U. p. 9 (April 15, 1927). 4. Deed Book 57, page 513 (January 12, 1888) 5. Deed Book 7, page 268 (May 11, 1871). 6. Deed Book 5, p. 170 (March 26, 1867). 7. Will Book I, p. 225 (March 29, 1850). 8. Will Book A, p. 161 (February 4, 1825).
BibliographyAn Inventory of Older Buildings in Mecklenburg County and Charlotte for the Historic Properties Commission. Catawba Journal Charlotte City Directories Charlotte Journal Daily Charlotte Observer Mrs. Robert McDowell, A List of those Buried in Historic Steele Creek Burying Grounds (Charlotte: 1953). Mecklenburg County Estate Records Records of the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds Office Records of the Mecklenburg County Tax Office The Charlotte Observer The Western Democrat United States Census Records Vital Statistics of Mecklenburg County Date of Preparation of this Report: February 1, 1978 Prepared by: Dr. Dan L. Morrill, Director Telephone: (704) 332-2726
Architectura1 Description
Summary of Significance Detailed Description The gable roof has boxed, molded eaves with large pattern boards. These appear to have been rebuilt, for the gable end fascia board cuts off a corner of the gable end window. Federal houses in this geographic region customarily have flush raking cornices ornamenting the gable ends. The single stepped shoulder exterior end chimneys have stone bases, and are laid in random common bond brick. These are probably late nineteenth century replacements, for Federal chimneys are usually laid in Flemish bond or a regular pattern of common bond. The house rests on a fieldstone pier foundation, infilled at a later date with brick. The only portion of the frame which is visible to the attic construction. This consists of hand-hewn rafters with pegged peaks. Early machine-made square head nails were found in the rafters. The rear wing has lapped aiding, nine-over-six sash with molded surrounds (some in pairs), and four-over-four sash in the rear gable end. The wing was apparently built in a one room wide form, with a single exterior end chimney at the rear, and was enlarged in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century to its present two-room width. At this tine the room line was altered, and additional sash and a small rear brick chimney were added. The original rear chimney is laid in Flemish bond, with a single stopped shoulder. The chimney is one of the most interesting feature of the house, for the handmade brick are unusually large. The interior of the main block was originally a hall-and-parlor plan on both floors. The front entrance originally opened into the west room, the hall. The only alterations to this plan were the addition of partition walls creating narrow center halls on both floors, and the removal of the original stair from the first to second floors. The original stair was probably a corner stair in a rear corner of the west room. Because the ceiling and floor are covered with newer materials, no trace of the stair opening was found. The original interior trim of the main block consists of wainscots, plaster walls, molded surrounds, ornate mantels, and paneled and batten doors. The main parlor contains a large tripartite mantel with delicate, paired fluted colonnettes supporting corner blocks, a deep reeded and molded cornice, and a shelf. The corner blocks and center tablet contain sunbursts, and an unusual beehive ornament adorns the center of the tablet. The fireplace surround is reeded, with sunburst corner blocks. The flat-paneled wainscot and molded chain rail are of mahogany, a very unusual feature. The hall has a similar but less ornate mantel and a flush-sheathed wainscot. On the second floor, the east room has a delicately reeded Federal mantel, while the mantel in the west room has been removed. Both rooms have flush sheathed wainscots and batten doors with unusual tapering ledges (horizontal braces). The rear wing, probably constructed as kitchen and dining room, has been substantially altered on the interior, but retains a late Federal mantel in the southeast room. The only stair from the first to the second floor is located in the wing, adjacent to the main block. The open-string stain rises in two flights, with a landing, and must be original to the wing, for the design of the stair railing is late Federal. The surrounding open space has been considerably whittled down by highway construction, and no original outbuildings are standing on the property.
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