{"nrhp_refnum":"84000532","name":"Howell Homeplace","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SR 1517","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tarboro","county":"Edgecombe County","state":"NC","lat":35.91512195400006,"lon":-77.46752744813033,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-12-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wood frame farmhouse and associated farm complex on the north side of SR 1517, east of Tarboro in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, built in the second quarter of the nineteenth century (family tradition says 1830-1840) for Brittain Howell.","why_significant":"The house is a plain example of vernacular Greek Revival farmhouse design whose simple exterior contrasts with a more sophisticated interior. Its entrance and stair halls have trompe l'oeil paneling and marbleizing attributed to Edward Zoeller, a Bavarian fresco painter active in Tarboro. The farm has stayed in one family for over a century and a half and is an example of a self-sufficient, multi-crop Edgecombe County farm.","narrative":"Set in a grove of trees at the end of a farm road, this two-story weatherboarded farmhouse east of Tarboro was built in the second quarter of the nineteenth century as the seat of Brittain Howell's Edgecombe County farm. Its exterior is plain, with a hipped tin roof, two interior chimneys, a three-sided porch with slender columns, and three entry doors arranged asymmetrically. Inside, the entrance and stair halls carry painted imitation panels, marbleizing and rosettes, attributed to Edward Zoeller, a Bavarian-born fresco painter working in Tarboro. The plan may reflect an early side-hall house joined to a later addition, though the form leaves the question open. About six outbuildings remain, including a probable early kitchen that may date to the late eighteenth century. The farm grew cotton, corn, and other crops, later tobacco, and has remained in one family for over 150 years. The painted hall belongs to a group of Edgecombe County interiors regarded as significant statewide.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular Greek Revival","criteria":["A","B","C","D"],"status_note":"Occupied private residence on a working farm; condition marked good and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.178093-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/22/7201/47720122/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/84000532.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720122","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howell_Homeplace","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19462426"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/edgecombe-county/howell-homeplace-84000532/"}