{"nrhp_refnum":"85001553","name":"Melton-Fortune Farmstead","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SR 1006 S of NC 226","address_restricted":false,"city":"Golden Valley","county":"Rutherford County","state":"NC","lat":35.50875673300004,"lon":-81.76485247152542,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-07-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 140-acre farmstead near Golden Valley in northeast Rutherford County, North Carolina, centered on a log-core farmhouse begun about 1796 by John Melton, with a log barn, cribs, smokehouse, flower house and family cemetery.","why_significant":"The farm is presented as a representative nineteenth-century farm complex, with a house built in stages from the 1790s and a log barn containing an early nineteenth-century wooden, mule-powered thresher. The oldest section keeps a vernacular Federal mantel and early woodwork. Archaeological remains are also considered likely to add to its significance.","narrative":"Set on 140 acres of bottomland and forested hillside south of the Broad River, this farmstead near Golden Valley grew from a log house built by John Melton, who moved from Virginia and bought land in 1796. The original hall-and-parlor log core was later weatherboarded and enlarged, and it keeps a boxed-in stairway, flush board sheathing and a simple Federal mantel. Surrounding it are a smokehouse, corn cribs, a granary, a rock flower house and a family cemetery with 71 graves. The standout is a log barn with a wooden, mule-driven threshing machine, thought to date from before the Civil War and since restored to working order. Ownership passed from Melton to his son John Martin Melton, then to grandson Julius Fortune, and remained with descendants. Census records show a self-sufficient farm growing varied crops. The property was listed as a representative nineteenth-century farm complex with likely archaeological potential.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Unknown (house built by John Melton, per the statement of significance)","architectural_style":"Vernacular Federal (hall-and-parlor log house, later weatherboarded)","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"The house has been unoccupied since the 1960s, but the land is still farmed by the family. The property is described as deteriorated, with a cellar room in ruins.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.047255-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/7221/47722172/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/85001553.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722172","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melton%E2%80%93Fortune_Farmstead","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19987077"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/rutherford-county/melton-fortune-farmstead-85001553/"}