{"nrhp_refnum":"84002265","name":"Bland, Joseph Franklin, House","other_names":["Franklin Bland House","The Castle"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1809 Virginia Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winston-Salem","county":"Forsyth County","state":"NC","lat":36.10576665200006,"lon":-80.27018823199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-08-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story stone house of Chateauesque style on a wooded lot of about two acres in the Buena Vista neighborhood of Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, known locally as \"The Castle.\" It was built in the early 1930s by Joseph Franklin (Frank) Bland.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a distinctive example of the Chateauesque style in Winston-Salem and that it incorporates many unusual engineering and design features, including railroad tracks in its support system, oil drums used as porthole windows, and steel pipe for the stair rail. It also argues that Bland, a local musician and founder of the Bland Piano Company, is significant to the community's history.","narrative":"Built in the early 1930s in Winston-Salem's Buena Vista neighborhood, the stone house known locally as \"The Castle\" follows the Chateauesque style, with fieldstone walls, recycled slate roofs, a circular stair tower and multiple gables. Joseph Franklin Bland planned the house and built much of it himself on a wooded lot above a ravine. Interior features include a 20 by 30 foot living room with hewn timbers salvaged from the Bohannon Grist Mill, wrought iron fittings made on site, and a cellar supported by railroad tracks. Bland was an organist at First Presbyterian and St. Paul's Episcopal churches and founded the Bland Piano Company around 1913, which remains in operation as the oldest music company in the city. The house is regarded as an unusual and well-executed example of its style, and the nomination treats it as important both for its design and for its link to Bland's musical career. Later owners have included a physician and a company president. Since 1971 the Nash family has added compatible structures using similar materials.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1936-37","architect_builder":"Joseph Franklin Bland (builder, planned and largely constructed by owner)","architectural_style":"Chateauesque","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Altered; the house has been extended with a guest house, catering kitchen, swimming pool, patio, gazebo and garage since 1971, while the original house is preserved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:42.550914-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/67/7201/47720167/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/84002265.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002265/c78d817ee2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002265/c78d817ee2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JOSEPH_FRANKLIN_BLAND_HOUSE,_FORSYTH_COUNTY.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:JOSEPH_FRANKLIN_BLAND_HOUSE,_FORSYTH_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720167","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Franklin_Bland_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19460570"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/forsyth-county/bland-joseph-franklin-house-84002265/"}