{"nrhp_refnum":"90001802","name":"McElroy, John Wesley, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"11 Academy St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Burnsville","county":"Yancey County","state":"NC","lat":35.91760972000003,"lon":-82.30147048199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-11-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story frame house at 11 Academy Street in Burnsville, Yancey County, North Carolina, built about 1845 on a T-shaped plan with a rear ell and a one-story kitchen wing. It sits on one of the highest points in town.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a rare, intact example of antebellum architecture in Yancey County, where most houses of the era were log. Its frame construction, brick chimneys and vernacular woodwork influenced by Federal and Greek Revival styles set it apart. Local tradition attributes it to the builder Ephraim Clayton, though the nomination rests only on architectural merit.","narrative":"Built about 1845 on a hilltop in Burnsville, this two-story frame house was constructed for John Wesley McElroy, a merchant, farmer and civic leader who later served as a brigadier general of the western North Carolina home guard. It has a three-bay main block, a rear two-story ell and an original one-story kitchen wing, with brick step-shouldered chimneys and white weatherboard siding. Inside, hand-planed yellow pine sheathing, Greek Revival mantels with Doric pilasters and an unusual wishbone-shaped newel post survive. The house matters because Yancey County in the mid-1800s was isolated and heavily forested, and most dwellings were built of log. A stylish frame house was a rarity. Local tradition credits McElroy's brother-in-law, the builder Ephraim Clayton, with its construction. Later owners included a Unionist lawyer and state senator, William Moore. The property passed to a local history association in 1988 and is being restored as a museum.","period_of_significance":"C. 1845","architect_builder":"Clayton, Ephraim, attributed builder","architectural_style":"Other: vernacular Federal/Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Undergoing an academic restoration and intended for use as a house museum; the form lists the current function as work in progress.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:51.197988-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/7228/47722898/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/90001802.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001802/bce660089a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001802/bce660089a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Wesley_McElroy_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Wesley_McElroy_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722898","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley_McElroy_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6263580"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/yancey-county/mcelroy-john-wesley-house-90001802/"}