{"nrhp_refnum":"85001337","name":"May-Lewis, Benjamin, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"US 264-A","address_restricted":false,"city":"Farmville","county":"Pitt County","state":"NC","lat":35.60973452200005,"lon":-77.64268159660298,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-06-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story frame farmhouse with Federal and Greek Revival detailing on a 202-acre farm near Farmville, Pitt County, North Carolina, built most likely in the 1830s and remodeled in the 1850s.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of a dwindling number of substantial early nineteenth century houses in Pitt County. It has fine Federal and Greek Revival interior woodwork, including two Greek Revival mantels derived from Asher Benjamin patternbooks. It is also tied to the prominent May and Lewis families, and its form shows how a single-pile house grew into a double-pile, center-hall dwelling.","narrative":"Set at the end of an asphalt lane off US 264-A near Farmville, this frame farmhouse was most likely built in the 1830s by Benjamin May III, a prosperous Pitt County planter. It began as a single-pile, two-story house with a Federal finish and was remodeled in the 1850s into a double-pile, center-hall dwelling with Greek Revival touches. Inside, Federal chair rails, panelled doors and mantels survive alongside Greek Revival surrounds and two heavy parlor-style mantels drawn from Asher Benjamin's patternbooks. A kitchen and dining wing and a wraparound porch were added in the early twentieth century. Benjamin May Lewis, Sr., a grandson of May, bought the house in 1904 and moved in during 1907, and the Lewis family still owns it. The surrounding farm keeps a smokehouse, packhouses, stables, tobacco barns and a family cemetery. The house is valued for its craftsmanship, its place among surviving early planter dwellings, and its family associations.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal-Greek Revival","criteria":["A","B","C","D"],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition, occupied as a private residence on a working farm with numerous outbuildings; continuously owned by descendants of Benjamin May III.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.104733-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/7217/47721779/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/85001337.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721779","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_May-Lewis_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19720711"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/pitt-county/may-lewis-benjamin-house-85001337/"}