{"nrhp_refnum":"83001911","name":"Owen-Harrison House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Entrance off north side of SR 1768","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mill Bridge","county":"Rowan County","state":"NC","lat":35.652587118500065,"lon":-80.66021002032923,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-07-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Other","Art","Architecture","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick plantation house with attic, laid in Flemish bond, in the Mill Bridge community of Rowan County, North Carolina, about twelve miles southwest of Salisbury. It was completed in 1843 for James Owen.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the finest surviving antebellum brick plantation house in Rowan County. Its interior woodwork was taken from the pattern books of Asher Benjamin and Owen Biddle, and the parlor has a rare plaster ceiling medallion. It also holds the only known signed example of decorative painter J. W. Rainey's work in the state, and it is tied to the county's prosperous plantation era.","narrative":"Built in 1843 for James Owen, a planter, millowner and militia captain, this two-story brick house with attic stands in the Mill Bridge community of Rowan County, North Carolina. Its Flemish bond walls, four-bay front and pedimented porch mark it as the county's finest surviving antebellum brick plantation house. Inside, the trim and mantels follow plates from Asher Benjamin's The Practical House Carpenter, and the stair brackets follow Owen Biddle's pattern book. The parlor ceiling carries an ornate plaster medallion found in only a few other piedmont houses. Painter J. W. Rainey grained and decorated the interior in 1843 and signed his name in the attic. Parts of his work survive, including marbleized stair brackets and a turquoise-painted attic stair. Owen's daughter Frances and her husband John Mack Harrison later expanded the farm, which a newspaper praised in 1885 as the finest in Rowan. The house stayed in the family until 1974.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Transitional Federal-Greek Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Listed as in excellent condition and altered, occupied as a private residence. A porch is being restored, and a rear enclosed porch was added in the 1970s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.813488-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/44/7220/47722044/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/83001911.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722044","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen-Harrison_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19987437"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/rowan-county/owen-harrison-house-83001911/"}