Guy, Thomas, House
Why it's listed
This one-story log house near Mebane, in eastern Alamance County, is made of two single-room log pens sharing a central chimney with a stone base and brick stack, an arrangement known as a saddlebag plan. Thomas Guy built it about 1890 with help from his son-in-law Andrew Nash, adding the second pen within a few years to ease crowded living conditions for his large family. The east pen uses half-dovetail notches, an older building style, while the west pen is V-notched. Original plank-and-batten doors, exposed whitewashed log walls and a steep corner stair survive in the east pen. Guy bought the 25-acre farm in 1911 and farmed tobacco, corn and cotton there for about fifty years. His grand-nephew acquired it in 1947 and kept it in the family. It was listed because it is the only known surviving saddlebag log house in the county, and it clearly shows the type and its method of construction.
Significance in brief: The house is significant under Criterion C as the only known surviving saddlebag-plan log house in Alamance County, a rare type in the area. Two log pens, one with half-dovetail notches and one with V-notches, flank a shared stone-base, brick-stack central chimney. It also retains many original design elements and remains tied to the descendants of its builder.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 93001195, listed November 22, 1993. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | NC 2135 N side, 0.3 mi. W of jct. with NC 2142, Mebane |
|---|---|
| County | Alamance County |
| Listed | November 22, 1993 |
| Reference number | 93001195 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1890 |
| Architect / builder | Guy, Thomas and Nash, Andrew, builders |
| Architectural style | Other: log, saddlebag plan |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in family ownership and used for storage and family gatherings; described as somewhat ramshackle in appearance but structurally sound. |
| Acreage | 25 |
| Coordinates | 36.00837, -79.26808 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 93001195.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17513031
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.