{"nrhp_refnum":"80002821","name":"Sowers, Philip, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SR 1162","address_restricted":false,"city":"Churchland","county":"Davidson County","state":"NC","lat":35.79135453450007,"lon":-80.46215833732003,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-11-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large two-story brick farmhouse on a three-sided plan around a hexagonal stair hall, on the northeast side of SR 1162 near Churchland in southwest Davidson County, North Carolina. Philip Sowers began it in 1860 and it was finished around 1865-1870, with a log barn and corn crib nearby.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an unusual interpretation of late Greek Revival architecture, notable for its Y-shaped triple-wing plan around a hexagonal stair hall and a graceful half-spiral staircase. Its walnut interior remains almost completely intact. A possible but undocumented link to nearby Cooleemee is noted. The older log barn and likely archaeological remains could yield information about mid-nineteenth century farm life.","narrative":"Rising above the Yadkin River valley in southwest Davidson County, this two-story brick house was built for planter Philip Sowers, who bought 800 acres in 1860 and began construction that year. The Civil War slowed the work, and the interior was not finished until about 1870. Its three-sided plan centers on a hexagonal stair hall, with three bays on each facade and a half-spiral staircase along one wall. Bricks were fired from Yadkin River clay on the property, and local woodworker Henry Grubb crafted the walnut interior from trees on the estate. The architect and contractor remain unidentified. A log barn, probably older than the house and possibly dating to about 1800, and a double-pen corn crib survive from the plantation. The property was listed for its unusual late Greek Revival design, its largely intact interior, and its potential to yield archaeological information about nineteenth-century farm life. The remaining 390 acres have stayed in the Sowers family for 120 years.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect and contractor unknown; interior woodwork in walnut credited to Henry Grubb, a local woodworker","architectural_style":"Late Greek Revival (vernacular), with an unusual Y-shaped triple-wing plan","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"Occupied private residence in good condition, restored from the mid-1950s by the builder's grandson; the log barn's north wall is decaying.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.351417-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/26/7199/47719926/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/80002821.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002821/ae83c48936-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002821/ae83c48936-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"AmaryllisGardener","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philip_Sowers_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">AmaryllisGardener</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:Philip_Sowers_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719926","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Sowers_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18388197"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/davidson-county/sowers-philip-house-80002821/"}