{"nrhp_refnum":"88002026","name":"Rigsbee's Rock House","other_names":["The Rock House"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Jct. of Lawrence Rd. and US 70W Bypass","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hillsborough","county":"Orange County","state":"NC","lat":36.059492086000034,"lon":-79.06662764099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-10-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Tudor Revival country estate built around 1929 on a 1.84-acre corner lot about two miles east of Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. It includes a white flint rock house, garage, pump house, wall, swimming pool, planters and an arch.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the best known example in Orange County of a 1920s Tudor Revival estate with outbuildings and yard sculpture all built of white flint rock. Its primary significance is its link to Mack Rigsbee and his wife, convicted bootleggers for whom it was built. Local legends tie features such as the large attic spaces and a reinforced bathroom floor to bootlegging.","narrative":"Built around 1929 about two miles east of Hillsborough, this one-and-a-half-story Tudor Revival house is made of white flint rubble rock with half-timbered gables and dormers. The 1.84-acre lot also holds a garage, pump house, swimming pool, planters, an arch and a low rock wall, all of the same stone. The architect and builder are unknown, though the stonework resembles that of Durham bungalows, which suggests Black stone masons may have worked on it. The house was built for Mack Rigsbee and his wife, who bought the lots in 1927 and 1928 and lost the property to default in 1931. Rigsbee was later convicted of illegal possession of whiskey, and local lore links the roomy attic spaces, a reinforced bathroom floor and a concealed faucet tank to bootlegging. The property is considered locally significant for its architecture and as a rare documented site associated with Orange County's Depression-era bootlegging. A careful restoration in 1986-87 preserved most original fabric.","period_of_significance":"1929-1931","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Tudor Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Used as a single dwelling; renovated in 1986-87, the garage was converted to an apartment/guest house, and the swimming pool has not been used for many years.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.094391-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/92/7216/47721692/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/88002026.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002026/9341c1cdb6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002026/9341c1cdb6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RIGSBEE%27S_ROCK_HOUSE,_HILLSBOROUGH,_ORANGE_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:RIGSBEE%27S_ROCK_HOUSE,_HILLSBOROUGH,_ORANGE_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721692","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigsbee%27s_Rock_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19987822"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/orange-county/rigsbees-rock-house-88002026/"}