{"nrhp_refnum":"74001381","name":"Powell House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW of Wake Forest off U.S. 1","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wake Forest","county":"Wake County","state":"NC","lat":35.92352544200003,"lon":-78.54232680499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-10-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large two-story frame plantation house in early Federal style, standing in a valley near a highway in Wake Forest, Wake County, North Carolina, with several outbuildings and an old family graveyard nearby.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an impressive early Federal plantation house, distinguished by its large scale and unusual interior finish, with interior woodwork of interesting vernacular character that is unusual in Wake County. It also cites a good collection of early outbuildings and an association with the locally prominent planter Jesse Powell, who is said to have built it and who hosted a nearby academy's students.","narrative":"Set in a valley near a highway in Wake Forest, Wake County, the Powell House is a large two-story frame plantation house in the early Federal style, built on a half-basement of rock-faced ashlar. Its center-hall plan, two rooms deep, retains much of its early interior, including a chest-high paneled wainscot and a semi-elliptical plastered arch in the hall. The house is probably early nineteenth century, and the nomination attributes it to Jesse Powell, a planter and active Whig politician. Powell was the son of Dempsey Powell, who had been an early resident and militia lieutenant in the 1770s. In 1828 Powell advertised that he could board ten or twelve students from the nearby Wake Forest Pleasant Grove Academy in his home. Alterations include a portico added about 1940 and rear additions, but the interior interest and the surrounding group of early outbuildings give the property its significance.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1800","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Early Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Portico added about 1940; rear additions and some windows reworked; interior retains most early Federal fabric.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:41.790781-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/7225/47722562/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/74001381.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722562","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powell_House_(Wake_Forest,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25203215"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/wake-county/powell-house-74001381/"}