{"nrhp_refnum":"72000960","name":"Hardscrabble","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N side of SR 1002, 1.2 mi. W of jct. with SR 1003","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bahama","county":"Durham County","state":"NC","lat":36.13374719900003,"lon":-78.95973129199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-01-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Hardscrabble is a two-story frame plantation house made of two joined houses, one Georgian and one Federal, on the north side of SR 1002 southwest of Bahama in Lebanon Township, Durham County, North Carolina. The front house dates from before 1779 and the rear house probably from the 1790s.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the property is architecturally notable because two nearly intact houses of different styles, built about twenty years apart, were later covered by one cross-gable roof. Together they show how North Carolina architecture changed in the late eighteenth century. It was also the country seat of the prominent Cain family for more than 120 years.","narrative":"Hardscrabble, southwest of Bahama in Durham County, combines two houses under one roof. The front house is Georgian and was probably built by William and Elizabeth Clenny before 1779, when they sold the land to James Cain and his son John. The rear house is Federal and was probably built in the 1790s, possibly by Samuel Hopkins for a Mr. Cain. Both are weatherboarded, two-story buildings with large chimneys in decorative brickwork, paneled wainscots and distinct mantels. The Georgian parlor has a wide arched fireplace and a paneled overmantel, while the Federal rooms hold individualized vernacular mantels, including one with spiral-fluted colonnettes. A common cross-gable roof joined the houses in the late nineteenth century, around 1888. The Cain family, large landowners near Hillsborough, held the plantation for over 120 years, and the name Hardscrabble reflects hard conditions after the Civil War. The pair offers a direct comparison of two building periods.","period_of_significance":"18th and 19th centuries","architect_builder":"William and Elizabeth Clenny (front house, probably); Samuel Hopkins (probably the rear house, built for Mr. Cain)","architectural_style":"Georgian and Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and altered; occupied and used as a private residence, in the care of tenants.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:57.836407-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/7200/47720036/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/72000960.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720036","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardscrabble_(Bahama,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19462180"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/durham-county/hardscrabble-72000960/"}