{"nrhp_refnum":"72000933","name":"Bellair","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W of New Bern off SR 1401","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bern","county":"Craven County","state":"NC","lat":35.18071390700004,"lon":-77.12162701399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-08-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Bellair is a two-story Georgian brick plantation house near New Bern in Craven County, North Carolina, reached by a long cedar-lined drive. It was traditionally dated to about 1772, though the form says it was probably begun around 1763 and took some 60 years to finish.","why_significant":"It is one of only two 18th-century brick houses known outside New Bern in Craven County, and the only one that survives. Its sophisticated Georgian plan and massing were unusual for North Carolina at the time, and it predates Tryon Palace. It is tied to prominent families, including the Spaights and Blounts, and its interior detail suggests a link to master builder James Coor.","narrative":"Bellair is a brick plantation house in Craven County, North Carolina, approached by a long alley of cedars and surrounded by old pecans, magnolias and camellias. Built of Flemish bond brick on a coquina foundation, it rises two stories above a high basement. Its broad seven-bay front, shallow pedimented pavilion and narrow sides give it unusual proportions. Inside, the center and west rooms carry fine Georgian woodwork, while the east room was finished later in Greek Revival style. Richard Spaight and Elizabeth Wilson Spaight likely began the house around 1763, but their early deaths left it unfinished. The Blount family, who bought it in 1787, probably began the interior, and finishing may have taken some 60 years. The Richardson family has owned it since 1838 and received a Union safeguard during the Civil War. It is valued as the only surviving 18th-century brick plantation house outside New Bern in the county, and as an early Georgian example that predates Tryon Palace.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Traditionally attributed to John Hawks; interior finish possibly by James Coor (not documented)","architectural_style":"Georgian, with Greek Revival interior finish in the east room","criteria":[],"status_note":"Private residence, occupied by descendants of the 1838 purchaser; condition marked as altered and on its original site.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.159217-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/6/7197/47719706/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/72000933.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000933/264e034342-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000933/264e034342-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Frances Benjamin Johnston","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bellair_Plantation,_New_Bern_(Craven_County,_North_Carolina).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Frances Benjamin Johnston</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bellair_Plantation,_New_Bern_(Craven_County,_North_Carolina).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719706","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellair_(New_Bern,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18148433"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/craven-county/bellair-72000933/"}