{"nrhp_refnum":"83001871","name":"Strange, Robert, Country House","other_names":["Myrtle Hill"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"309 Kirkland Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fayetteville","county":"Cumberland County","state":"NC","lat":35.09176296000004,"lon":-78.87423294599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-07-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Literature","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half-story frame Federal house built about 1825 at 309 Kirkland Drive, Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina. It was once the center of a roughly 500-acre tract known as Myrtle Hill along the Cape Fear River.","why_significant":"The house is a fine local example of Federal architecture, distinguished by a four-room plan with central stair hall, interior back-slope chimneys and a cut sandstone block foundation. It is also tied to Robert Strange, a lawyer, judge, state legislator, U.S. senator and author of the first novel about North Carolina, who influenced the development of early Fayetteville.","narrative":"Built around 1825 on the Cape Fear River just north of Fayetteville, this one-and-one-half-story frame house was the center of Myrtle Hill, a tract of nearly 500 acres assembled by Robert Strange. Strange was a lawyer, Superior Court judge, member of the House of Commons and U.S. senator, and he wrote Eoneguski, or The Cherokee Chief (1839), the first novel about North Carolina. The house follows a four-room plan around a central stair hall and rests on a cut sandstone block foundation enclosing a raised basement. Five bays, three gable dormers, interior chimneys, Federal mantels and a Greek Revival-style front door reflect the shift in local building between about 1825 and 1835. A spring house, a later summer kitchen and the Strange family cemetery remain nearby. The Strange family held the property until 1944, when the tract had been divided for residential development and the house and its lot were sold. It was listed for its association with Strange and as one of few surviving early Fayetteville buildings.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal (with transitional Greek Revival door treatment)","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Described as well-maintained and in good condition; the surrounding area has changed greatly through residential development.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:55.766983-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/85/7175/47717585/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/83001871.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001871/6edd21d029-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001871/6edd21d029-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"JERRYE &amp; ROY KLOTZ MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ROBERT_STRANGE_COUNTRY_HOUSE_FAYETTEVILLE_CUMBERLAND_COUNTY_NC.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ MD</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ROBERT_STRANGE_COUNTRY_HOUSE_FAYETTEVILLE_CUMBERLAND_COUNTY_NC.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717585","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Strange_Country_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18217439"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/cumberland-county/strange-robert-country-house-83001871/"}