|
|
|
Thomas Alexander House
This report was written on November 19, 1997 1. Name and location of the property: The property known as the Thomas Alexander House is located at 2051 Sharon Lane in Charlotte, North Carolina. 2. Name, address and telephone number of the present owner of the property: The present owner of the property is: Robin Spinks 3. Representative photographs of the property: This report contains representative black and white photographs of the property. Color slides are available at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission office. 4. Maps depicting the location of the property: This report contains two maps depicting the location of the property.
5. Current deed book reference to the property: The most recent deed to this property is recorded in Mecklenburg County Deed Book 7630 on page 806. The tax parcel number of the property is # 183-022-24. 6. A brief historical sketch of the property: This report contains a brief historical sketch of the property. 7. A brief architectural description of the property: This report contains a brief architectural description of the property. 8. Documentation of why and in what ways the property meets criteria for designation set forth in N. C. G. S. 160A-400.5:
9. Ad Valorem tax appraisal: The Commission is aware that designation would allow the owner to apply for an automatic deferral of 50% of the Ad Valorem taxes on all or any portion of the property which becomes a designated "historic landmark." The current total appraised value of the improvements is $ 135,450. The current total appraised value of the lot is $ 90,000. The current total value is $ 225,450. The property is zoned R-3. 10. Portion of propery reccommended for designation: Only the exterior of the Thomas Alexander House and its lot are currently reccommended for historic designation. Date of preparation of this report: November 19, 1997 Prepared by: Mary Beth Gatza Copyright 1997 by Mary Beth Gatza
Historical Overview
The story of the Thomas Alexander House, named for original owner Thomas Morgan Alexander (1855-1914), begins with the story of his family. Thomas's great-great-grandfather, Hezekiah Alexander (1722-1801), arrived in Mecklenburg County in 1766 with his wife and the first five of their ten children. Hezekiah Alexander is best known as a colonial landowner and signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. In 1774, he built a fine rock house which stands today as one of Charlotte's most enduring landmarks. Hezekiah had a son, Silas Alexander, who had a son, Telemarcus Alexander, who in turn had a son James Wallace Alexander. James Wallace Alexander Family James Wallace Alexander (b. 1824) married Margaret Louise Reid (1829-1906) on December 17, 1850. They are listed in the 1860 census with their two children, Martha Jane "Mattie" Alexander (1853- 1932) and Thomas Morgan Alexander (1855-1914). James Wallace Alexander's demise apparently occurred sometime in the next decade, as he does not appear in the 1870 census, and there are no later records of him in Mecklenburg County. A J. W. Alexander from Mecklenburg County enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1862 and died in 1863. This was very probably our James Wallace. In 1873, sometime after the disappearance of her husband, Margaret Louise Reid Alexander purchased 186 3/4 acres in Sharon township for $1259.43. The land had been owned by her late father, William Reid (1798-1864), and was transferred to her by her brother, Hugh Kirkpatrick Reid (1840-1921) and his wife Eliza. This became her homeplace tract. Margaret L. Alexander raised her two children on her own. Both Mattie and Tom married in the 1880s. Mattie wed Charles Taylor Brown (1854-1897) in 1881 when they were both 26 years of age. There were no children born to this union. Charles Taylor Brown died in 1897 of Bright's disease (a liver disorder). His obituary noted that he "had charge of" Mr. H. K. Reid's place near Sharon church at the time he died. H. K. Reid was Mattie's uncle (her mother's brother). After her husband's death, Mattie lived with her mother and her brother and his family. In her later years, she resided with her niece Annie Lee Alexander Choate at the Choate home in the Steele Creek section of Mecklenburg County. Mattie died in 1932 at age 79 and is buried in the churchyard at Sharon Presbyterian Church next to her husband. Death claimed Margaret L. Alexander on February 8, 1906. At the time of her death, she was said to have been "one of the oldest residents of Sharon Township." Her obituary further noted that "she had lived most of her life in Sharon Township and was known and loved for her many excellent qualities." Thomas Alexander Family Margaret L. Alexander's son, Thomas Morgan Alexander (1855-1914), married Antionette "Nettie" Watson White (1858-1916), who was from Cabarrus County, on December 3, 1885. Together they had six children, four of whom lived to maturity. Their children were: Annie Lee (1886-1970), Hugh White (1888-1889), Lida Reid (1890-1964), Martha Louise (1892-1966), William Wallace (1895-1896) and Thomas Neely (b. 1896). All of their children were born in the decade between 1886 and 1896. Thomas' mother and sister also lived with this family. At the turn of the century, their household consisted of four adults and four children. It is not known what type of house they lived in, but whether it be due to size or for some other reason, it was replaced in favor of a new, two-story farmhouse built in the latest style. That house, the subject of this report, was built in 1903. Music was featured in the Alexander home. The family often gathered for group sessions of what they called "chamber music." Thomas played the violin, and was occasionally accompanied by others. All three girls were taught to play piano at an early age. Thomas Neely, the youngest child and only surviving son, would assist by working the foot pedals on an old pump organ. Education was also valued by the Thomas Alexander family. All three daughters went to Queens Chicora College in Charlotte (now Queens College). Thomas and Nettie Alexander's first child, daughter Annie Lee Alexander, was born on September 25, 1886. "Normal" and "ordinary" is the way she perceived her life on the family farm. She attended Queens Chicora College. On January 30, 1915, at age 29, she married Clarence Brevard Choate (d. 1960). Together they settled in Steele Creek, the section of Mecklenburg County where his family lived. By 1920, their household included Annie Lee's aunt (Mattie J. Brown) and Annie Lee's brother (Thomas Neely Alexander) in addition to their first two children. In all, Clarence and Annie Lee Choate had three girls and three boys: Thomas William (1916-1991), Nanette (b. 1917), Faye Louise (b. 1920), Clarence Brevard (1922-1925), Annie Reid (b. 1924) and Campbell White (b. 1929). In later years, Annie Lee opened her home to her sister, Louise, who resided there at the time of her death in 1966. Annie Lee Alexander Choate passed away herself on September 19, 1970. Lida Reid Alexander, Thomas and Nettie Alexander's second daughter, was born on July 29, 1890. After graduating from Queens Chicora College, she went to Franklin, NC, to teach as a missionary for the Presbyterian church. It was there that she met Fred Moore Slagle, whom she then married. They were wed in her parents home, the Thomas Alexander House, on December 22, 1916. The wedding announcement stated that "Miss Alexander is a young woman of attractive personality and many accomplishments..." The couple made their home in Macon County, NC, and had four children together. Lida Reid Alexander Slagle died on May 17, 1964. The third and youngest daughter of Thomas and Nettie Alexander was Martha Louise Alexander, who was born on November 20, 1892. She, like her sisters before her, played the piano and attended Queens Chicora College. As an adult, Louise, as she was called, lived in an apartment on East Seventh Street in Charlotte's Elizabeth neighborhood. She attended Caldwell Memorial Presbyterian Church and taught Sunday School there for a time. Louise enjoyed a long tenure as a supervisor for the county welfare department, and lived on her own in Elizabeth through the early 1960s. At some point, she moved in with her sister, Annie Lee Alexander Choate in Steele Creek. Martha Louise Alexander died of a heart attack on July 18, 1966, at age 73. Three boys were born to Thomas and Nettie Alexander, though only one survived to majority. The youngest of their six children, Thomas Neely Alexander, was born on November 17, 1896. Less is known about him than is known about his sisters. He was single and living in Mecklenburg County as late as 1922, living for a time with his sister Annie Lee and her husband Clarence Choate. After that, no further record of him could be found in Mecklenburg County. Thomas and Nettie Alexander opened their doors to others. After Nettie's brother, Walter Pharr White (1860-1909) died in 1909, his four children were left orphaned; their mother, Margaret Harris White (1861-1897) had predeceased her husband by twelve years. Their two girls, Nina Frances White (1891- 1956) and Martha Phylena White (1895-1933) were raised by various relatives, and stayed at least for a time in the Thomas Alexander House with their aunt Nettie and her family. Martha, or Mattie as she was called, is known to have lived there in 1910. Thomas Morgan Alexander died before seeing any of his children married or settled into their careers. When he passed away on November 22, 1914, his daughters ranged in age from twenty-two to twenty-eight, and his son was only eighteen years old. His obituary noted that he was "one of the best known citizens of the county," and also that he was "widely connected in the county." He was described as "an upright and honorable citizen" who "was esteemed by a wide circle of friends, who regarded him highly for his genial, affable disposition and for his integrity." The obituary gives the following account of his passing:
Thomas's wife, Nettie Alexander, was also highly regarded in the community. Her obituary, published the day after she died on May 26, 1916, described her as "one of the most prominent women of the Sharon neighborhood" and "a woman of great beauty of character." She did not die suddenly, as her husband did. The newspaper explained that "for some weeks her condition had been deemed critical" after an extended illness. Nettie lies beside her husband in Sharon Presbyterian Church cemetery. At the time of Nettie Alexander's death, her two younger children, Louise and Thomas N., lived at home with her in the Thomas Alexander House that she and her husband had erected more than a decade earlier. The four children retained ownership of the property. They may have continued to keep up the family farm, as together they took out a loan, using the land as collateral, in May of 1920. By that time, the two older daughters had married and established households of their own elsewhere. Apparently, none of the children chose to, or were able to, perpetuate the family farm. The four children sold the property in 1922. Odom Alexander The Thomas Alexander House and 120 3/4 acres were sold to Odom Alexander in 1922. No relation was found between Odom Alexander and the Thomas Alexander family. If there was a kinship, it would have been a distant one. Odom Alexander was in the real estate business. His office was downtown, and he made his residence on Central Avenue. There is no evidence to suggest that he ever resided in the Thomas Alexander House. Odom Alexander held the property for only two years before selling the house and 90 acres to Frank R. McNinch in 1924. Frank R. McNinch Frank R. McNinch (1873-1950) is remembered locally as an attorney and former mayor of Charlotte. The native Charlottean was elected mayor in 1917, re-elected in 1919, and served until 1921. During this time, he also functioned as the Commissioner for Finance and Administration. His illustrious career was not limited, however, to the local level. He was active and accomplished in national politics. Some of the positions he held are as follows: 1905- ? North Carolina House of Representatives McNinch bought the Thomas Alexander House in 1924, and held on to it for several years before selling to another politician, Cameron Morrison, in 1932. Whether or not McNinch ever resided in the house is unknown; he built a Colonial Revival-style house (the Frank R. McNinch House, a designated Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmark) at #2401Sharon Lane in 1925. Frank R. McNinch retired in 1946 and spent the remainder of his years in Washington D.C. It was there that he died in 1950. His body was returned to Charlotte and lies interred in Elmwood cemetery. The Morrocroft Years Twenty acres, including the Thomas Alexander House, was sold by McNinch to fellow lawyer and politico Cameron Morrison (1869-1953). Native to North Carolina but not to Mecklenburg, Morrison moved his law practice from Richmond County to Charlotte in 1905. Sixteen years later, he was elected Governor of North Carolina, a post he held for four years, from 1921 to 1925. Two of Governor Morrison's outstanding achievements while in office were the funding of a comprehensive road-building program and his campaign to improve school buildings statewide. Morrison went on to serve both as a U.S. Senator (from 1930 to 1932) and as a Congressman (from 1942 to 1944). After his second term as Governor, Morrison returned to Mecklenburg with his second wife, Sara E. Morrison and his daughter (from his first marriage) Angelia Morrison. Here he amassed about 3,000 acres of land in the Sharon section of the county, which he named "Morrocroft." The seat of his estate was a Tudor Revival-style mansion designed by Harrie Thomas Lindeberg and built in 1927 (now a designated Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmark). Morrocroft was an experimental farm--it was Morrison's intention that it serve as a model to encourage others throughout the state to engage in scientific farming techniques. Morrocroft was known for its cattle, sheep, swine and poultry, and employed many local residents during the tough economic times of the 1930s. A top employee at Morrocroft was the foreman. Living quarters were provided for the foreman in the Thomas Alexander House, which was purchased by Morrison in 1932. As Sharon Lane was beyond the corporate limits of Charlotte at the time (it was not annexed until 1960), city directory coverage is spotty during the 1930s and 1940s. Two men were known to have been foremen at Morrocroft and to have lived in the Thomas Alexander House--William S. Stewart in the early 1940s and A. Ray Morrow in the 1950s. William Stanley Stewart (1882-1957) had roots in the community. He had ancestors and relatives who were buried in the churchyard at Sharon Presbyterian. He himself was a member of that church. Stewart held the post of foreman of Morrocroft for a time, at least during the 1940s, and later worked as a night watchman. In all, he was employed there for about twenty-five years. He died of cardiovascular disease in 1957 at the age of 75. A. Ray Morrow held the title of superintendent for Morrocroft from 1943 to 1960, and also lived in the Thomas Alexander House. He returned to the house in June of 1995 and shared reminiscences with Charlotte historian and author Mary Kratt. He apparently stayed on to manage the farm after Mr. and Mrs. Morrison were deceased. Sara Morrison died in 1950, devising all her interest in the property to her husband. Cameron Morrison passed away three years later in 1953, leaving his estate to his daughter, Angelia and her husband James J. Harris. James J. and Angelia M. Harris gave the house and its lot to the trustees of Covenant Presbyterian Church in July of 1964. The church added some restrictive covenants to the deed and sold the property two weeks later. Later Residents Patrick Noble Calhoun (1911-1976) made his first residence in Charlotte at the Thomas Alexander House. Calhoun was a native of Atlanta who rose up through the ranks in the banking industry to become executive vice-president of North Carolina National Bank. When he achieved that post in 1960, he moved to Charlotte and lived in the Thomas Alexander House for four years. Calhoun was active in civic affairs, and served on the Charlotte City Council for a brief time in 1971-72. He retired in 1974 and died in 1976 of leukemia. At the time of his death, then-mayor John Belk said of Patrick Calhoun: he "was always a gentleman and always willing to help everyone with anything that would come up. And he always did more than his share and remained optimistic." Dr. Forrest B. Long (1922-1987) and his wife, Gloria H. Long (1943-1994) purchased the Thomas Alexander House and lot from the trustees of Covenant Presbyterian Church in 1964. Dr. Long was a veterinarian and proprietor of Long's Animal Hospital in Charlotte. William E. Wilkinson, Jr. and his wife Alice J. Wilkinson were the next owners of the Thomas Alexander House. They purchased it in 1967 from the Longs. William Wilkinson was a vice-president at Carolina Transfer and Storage. The Wilkinsons purchased the adjacent lot at the corner of Pelham and Sharon Lanes, thereby creating a bigger parcel around the house. They resided in the house until 1972, and sold it in 1973 to Carlos and Sarah O. Weil. The Weils kept the place for only three years before selling in 1976 to Harriet R. Bobbitt. Mrs. Bobbitt, then a recent widow, moved from a more rural location to the Thomas Alexander House in 1976. There she raised her children and commuted to the store she owned and operated in the Cotswold shopping center. She stayed in the house until her children were grown, selling it in 1987 to Elrod Construction Company. Elrod Construction Company split off the lot at the corner of Pelham and Sharon Lanes, built a duplex on that site, and sold the Thomas Alexander House and lot to Larry R. and Elizabeth R. Best. The Bests conveyed the property in 1990 to the current owner, Robin H. Spinks. Summary The Thomas Alexander House is a large, turn-of-the-century farmhouse built by a prominent family who had roots in the community and an ancestral tie to Mecklenburg County history. It likely replaced another, older, house as the seat of a fairly large family farm. A new generation of Alexanders in the 1890s probably induced the family to construct new quarters, as it was built to accommodate four adults and four children. In the early 1920s, when the elders had passed and the children had gone their separate ways, the house and land were sold on the open market. For three decades, during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, the property was a part of a huge (3,000 acre) experimental farm, called "Morrocroft," owned by former North Carolina Governor Cameron Morrison. The Thomas Alexander House served as the residence for the Morrocroft foreman--undoubtedly a prestigious address. Other illustrious figures associated with the property included former Charlotte mayor Frank R. McNinch (in the 1920s) and North Carolina National Bank executive vice-president Patrick N. Calhoun (in the 1960s).
Architectural Description
Overview Built in 1903, the Thomas Alexander House was once the seat of a fairly large family farm in rural Mecklenburg County. It was built for Thomas Morgan Alexander, a descendent of colonial planter Hezekiah Alexander, to house his extended family of four children and four adults. Thomas Alexander chose a popular vernacular Victorian form and adorned it with an admixture of Queen Anne Victorian and Classical details. In this way, this house represents a marriage of two different architectural eras--blending the forms and features of the past with elements of the latest style. Setting When new, the Thomas Alexander House was surrounded by 186 3/4 acres of land on a rural country lane. At that time, the small city of Charlotte was approximately four long miles to the north. As population increased and transportation improved, urban Charlotte pushed farther and farther outward, eventually swallowing up this and countless other rural homeplaces. The first wave of development around this place started in 1936 when neighboring landowner, C. P. Alexander (no relation), plotted a dozen house lots along the south side of Sharon Lane between the Thomas Alexander House and Providence Road. Sharon Lane was annexed by the city of Charlotte in 1960, and today the city limits are again miles away, but in the other direction. Though the Thomas Alexander House is now surrounded by housing development on all sides, it still retains the feeling and association of a rural farmhouse. Exterior Built of wood frame, the Thomas Alexander House stands two stories tall, and has a basically rectangular footprint. It has a side-gabled roof with a front-facing cross-gable over the left (northeast) side of the building. Though the three-bay facade features even fenestration and a center entrance, it is asymmetrical--the left (northeast) bay extends out beyond the plane of the front elevation. The northeast bay is actually a projecting wing, but its corners are clipped, giving it the effect of an oversized bay window. An original wrap-around porch shades most of the front (northwest) and side (northeast) elevations. The footprint of the porch follows the clipped corners of the projecting front wing. The porch itself consists of a hipped roof supported by Tuscan columns that are linked together by a plain wood balustrade. Underneath the porch, the walls are sheathed with bevelled-edge drop board siding. The remainder of the house is covered with plain weatherboard. Full-height chamfered cornerboards finish the junctures at the corners of the house. Gable end detailing gives this house its character. The front-facing cross gable is supported over the clipped corners of the projecting wing by pairs of graceful scroll brackets. The gable itself is sheathed with fishscale shingles, pierced by a round window, and trimmed with an Eastlake-style vergeboard. Bullseye cornerblocks and baseblocks punctuate the fluted front door surround. The window surrounds are plain, each adorned with only a single piece of trim across the top. Windows are the original two-over-two double-hung sash. A dentilled cornice surrounds the entire structure, including the one-story rear ell. The one-story rear ell is original. It stands on the east corner of the house and has always held the kitchen. When first built, the Thomas Alexander House has a one-story porch across the two left (southwest) bays of the rear elevation. The porch was enlarged and enclosed at some point in the mid twentieth century. This, a new roof, and the brick foundation underpinning are the only alterations to the exterior of the house. There are two chimneys on the house. One is an interior chimney, which rises up through the cross-gable of the roof. The other stands on the exterior of the side (southwest) elevation and is laid up in common bond brick and has stepped shoulders and a corbelled base. Interior Only the exterior of the Thomas Alexander House is being considered for designation at this time. Therefore, the interior will not be described here. Summary Victorian elements of the Thomas Alexander House include the form and massing, the wrap- around porch, the front door surround, two-over-two sash windows, and the gable end trim. The dentilled cornice and Tuscan porch columns are Classical details. The two modes are combined in this house to create a hybrid style that bridged the gap between the two very different eras of architectural decoration. The integrity of the Thomas Alexander House is excellent. Virtually no original material has been removed. The only additions have been the rear porch enclosure and brick foundation underpinning. It is rare to find any structure of this age with all of its original details intact.
Howard O. White, Mecklenburg: The Life and Times of a Proud People (Brentwood, TN: JM Productions, 1992), p. 45, p. 50. Mecklenburg County Marriage Bonds, 1762-1868; U.S. Census, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, 1860, page 40; U.S. Census, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, 1870, page 27; Moore's Roster of North Carolina Troops in the War Between the States, v. 3 p. 505. Mecklenburg County Deed Book 57, page 383; White, Mecklenburg, pp. 393-94. Mecklenburg County Marriage Bonds, 1762-1868; The Mecklenburg Times, 8 April 1897, p. 5; U.S. Census, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, 1900, page 42; U.S. Census, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, 1910, page 10A; U.S. Census, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, 1920, page 10; North Carolina Standard Certificate of Death # 605805; The Charlotte News, 31 December 1932, p. 8. The Charlotte News, 9 February 1906, p. 5. White, Mecklenburg, p. 50, pp. 363-65. U.S. Census, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, 1900, page 42; White, Mecklenburg, pp. 50-1, 130-31. White, Mecklenburg, p. 51. White, Mecklenburg, p. 50, p. 130, p. 363; U.S. Census, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, 1920, page 10; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Health Department, Death Certificate # 1444; The Charlotte Observer, 19 July 1966, p. 7B; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Health Department, Death Certificate # 2131; The Charlotte News, 19 September 1970, p. 4B. White, Mecklenburg, pp. 364-65; The Charlotte News, 22 December 1916, p. 2. White, Mecklenburg, pp. 50-1, p. 131, p. 365; Hall's Charlotte City Directory, various years; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Health Department, Death Certificate # 1444; The Charlotte Observer, 19 July 1966, p. 7B. White, Mecklenburg, p. 365; U.S. Census, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, 1920, p. 10; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 481, p. 116. White, Mecklenburg, pp. 53, p. 57; U.S. Census, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, 1910, p. 10. The Charlotte News, 25 November 1914, p. 2. The Charlotte News, 27 May 1916, p. 12. Headstone, Sharon Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC, section J5. The Charlotte News, 27 May 1916, p. 12; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 64, page 433; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 481, page 116. Mecklenburg County Deed Book 481, page 116; Hall's Charlotte City Directory, various years; "Telephone Directory of Charlotte and Davidson, NC" 1922, p. 13; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 562, page 64. The Charlotte News, 21 April 1950, p. 1-A; The Charlotte Observer, 21 April 1950, p. 1-A; The Charlotte Observer, 22 April 1950, p. 1-A; Hall's Charlotte City Directory, various years; Elmwood cemetery, burial cards (on microfilm). The Charlotte Observer, 28 February 1950. Dan Morrill, Survey and Research Report on Morrocroft (Charlotte: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, 1979). White, Mecklenburg, pp. 248-257. The Charlotte Observer, 28 February 1950. Dan Morrill, Survey and Research Report on Morrocroft (Charlotte: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, 1979). White, Mecklenburg, pp. 248-257. White, Mecklenburg, pp. 182-85, p. 403; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Health Department, Death Certificate #871; The Charlotte News, 18 June 1957, p. 11-B. Hall's Charlotte City Directory, various years; Mecklenburg County Will Book 7, page 552; Mecklenburg County Will Book 10, page 568; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 2562, page 445; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 2577, page 205. Hall's Charlotte City Directory, various years; The Charlotte Observer, 18 April 1976, p. 1-B; The Charlotte News, 19 April 1976, p. 7A; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Health Department, Death Certificate #1010. Mecklenburg County Deed Book 2577, page 205; Hall's Charlotte City Directory, various years; The Charlotte Observer, 27 July 1987, p. 8-A; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Health Department, Death Certificate #2496; Social Security Death index, 1937-1996. Mecklenburg County Deed Book 2927, p. 268; Hall's Charlotte City Directory, various years; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 3591, p. 367; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 3860, p. 423. Telephone interview with Harriet Bobbitt, Charlotte, N. C., 29 September 1997; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 5523, p. 244; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 5612, p. 12. Mecklenburg County Deed Book 6224, p. 15; Mecklenburg County Deed Book 7630, p. 806. |
