{"nrhp_refnum":"83003992","name":"Penn House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"324 Maple Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reidsville","county":"Rockingham County","state":"NC","lat":36.35752615500007,"lon":-79.66900189099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-11-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-acre residential complex at 324 Maple Avenue in Reidsville, North Carolina, consisting of a two-and-a-half-story brick Colonial Revival house built in 1932 and nine outbuildings, most dating from the 1910s and 1920s.","why_significant":"It is described as the largest and most elaborate Colonial Revival residence from the 1920-1940 period still standing in Reidsville, and the finest surviving house associated with the Penn family, prominent in the city's tobacco industry and civic life. Charles Ashby Penn helped develop the Lucky Strike brand, and Stella Edrington Penn continued the family's philanthropy. The outbuildings, designed to complement an earlier Prairie-inspired house, show the shift in architectural taste from the 1910s to the 1930s.","narrative":"Set on a three-acre lot a few blocks south of downtown Reidsville, this complex centers on a two-and-a-half-story Colonial Revival house completed in early 1932 and designed by Danville, Virginia, architect Bryant Hurd. A full-height portico with six Corinthian columns dominates the facade, and the center hall and principal rooms have Neo-Federal woodwork. Stella Edrington Penn had it built after fire destroyed the earlier house, a blond brick Prairie-inspired residence from about 1910 built for her husband, Charles Ashby Penn. Nine outbuildings remain, including a garage with servants' apartment, dairy, smokehouse, gazebo and greenhouses, most designed to echo the first house. Charles Penn rose in the American Tobacco Company and was largely responsible for developing Lucky Strike cigarettes. The couple supported Annie Penn Hospital, churches and community institutions, and Stella Penn helped found the town's first library. The property reflects both the Penn family's role in Reidsville's development and changing early twentieth-century architectural taste.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Bryant Hurd, Danville, Va. (architect)","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival (with Neo-Federal interior detail); outbuildings echo an earlier Prairie-inspired house","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Reidsville, which received it as a donation in 1980; the form lists work in progress and a proposed museum use, with future plans uncertain.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.978558-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/5/7220/47722005/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/83003992.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003992/2320f1c1af-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003992/2320f1c1af-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"JERRYE &amp; ROY KLOTZ MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PENN_HOUSE.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PENN_HOUSE.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86003391","name":"Reidsville Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/reidsville-historic-district-86003391/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722005","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19987501"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/rockingham-county/penn-house-83003992/"}