{"nrhp_refnum":"08001365","name":"Robinson Rock House Ruin and Plantation Site","other_names":["31mk272"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Reedy Creek Park-2900 Rocky River Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charlotte","county":"Mecklenburg County","state":"NC","lat":35.263248025500076,"lon":-80.70689143436816,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-01-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Industry","Historic - Non-Aboriginal"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The ruins of a three-story stone house and plantation site in Reedy Creek Park, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, with associated blacksmith shop, outbuildings, cabin sites, spring and well, and placer mining features. The house is described as most likely Georgian in style, built by the Robison family around 1772-1778.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the site is an early Colonial plantation in the Carolina Piedmont, with its stone house one of few surviving examples from the 1700s in Mecklenburg County. It is said to be an almost undisturbed archaeological resource with high potential for information on eighteenth-century plantation life. It is also linked to Revolutionary War-era family members and to placer gold mining associated with the North Carolina Gold Rush.","narrative":"Along the north bank of Reedy Creek in what is now Reedy Creek Park stand the ruins of a two-and-a-half to three-story granite house built by the Robison family around 1772 to 1778. Portions of all four outer walls survive, with the southeast corner rising almost 20 feet. The walls are random coursed ashlar with precisely aligned corners, and the long granite stones change direction as the courses rise. The Robison family acquired the land in 1767 and 1769 and farmed it into the early 1800s. Robert Robison Sr. was a church elder at Sugar Creek Presbyterian Church, and his son John is recorded as a signer of the Tryon Resolves in 1775. Later the Wallace family and George Jordan owned the house, and Jordan lived there until his death in 1899. Around the house lie a blacksmith's shop, outbuildings, cabin sites, and placer mining pits linked to the Gold Rush. Archaeological excavations have recovered ceramics, glass, nails, and colonoware. The site was not disturbed after abandonment, which makes it valuable for studying eighteenth-century plantation settlement and life.","period_of_significance":"A.D. 1751 to 1830s","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Colonial/Southern Colonial; house most likely in the Georgian style","criteria":["A","D"],"status_note":"Ruin; portions of all four outer walls still stand, with the southeast corner reaching almost 20 feet; site has remained almost undisturbed since abandonment in 1899.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:40.873126-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/96/7213/47721396/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/08001365.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001365/e43ae66b4f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001365/e43ae66b4f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"BusinessEditorUSA","credit_html":"BusinessEditorUSA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robinson_Rockhouse_3.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721396","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Rock_House_Ruin_and_Plantation_Site","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21016128"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/mecklenburg-county/robinson-rock-house-ruin-and-plantation-site-08001365/"}