{"nrhp_refnum":"04000938","name":"Lenoir, Walter James, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NC 268, 0.3 mi. E of jct. with NC 1513","address_restricted":false,"city":"Yadkin Valley","county":"Caldwell County","state":"NC","lat":36.015772232000074,"lon":-81.50319056499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-09-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story frame I-house built in 1893 on a hilltop site above the Yadkin River in Happy Valley, northern Caldwell County, North Carolina, near Fort Defiance. Rufus Theodore Lenoir had it built as a wedding gift for his son Walter James Lenoir.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is the most impressive rural example of the Folk Victorian style in Caldwell County. It pairs a traditional three-bay I-house form with Queen Anne decorative detailing. The ornate two-tier front porch and the well-preserved late-Victorian interior are singled out. The house is also described as the last hurrah of the old Happy Valley plantation society.","narrative":"Built in 1893 on a hilltop above the Yadkin River in Happy Valley, Caldwell County, this two-story frame farmhouse was a wedding gift from Rufus Theodore Lenoir to his son Walter James Lenoir. It sits on 6.35 acres that were once part of a 300-acre tract next to the family's ancestral home, Fort Defiance. The house follows the traditional I-house form, three bays wide and one room deep, with a rear ell. Its standout feature is a two-tier front porch with chamfered posts, sawnwork balustrades, a spindle frieze and a gable covered in decorative shingles with a sunburst ornament. Inside, a center hall holds unpainted pine and walnut woodwork, beaded-board wainscots, walnut mantels and a paneled stair. Walter Lenoir and his wife lived there only about ten years before moving to the town of Lenoir. A 1970s restoration, guided by an 1895 photograph, returned the porch to its original look. The house is recognized as the county's finest rural example of Folk Victorian architecture.","period_of_significance":"1893","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Folk Victorian; I-house","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Restored in 1975-1976 and now used as a weekend retreat by its owners; the interior and exterior are described as exceptionally well preserved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:54.47856-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/81/7193/47719381/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/04000938.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000938/7f5fbb4fa4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000938/7f5fbb4fa4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Eddyz9","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walter_James_Lenoir_House_in_October_2024.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Eddyz9</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walter_James_Lenoir_House_in_October_2024.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719381","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_James_Lenoir_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18153538"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/caldwell-county/lenoir-walter-james-house-04000938/"}