Holt-Frost House
Also known as: Dr. Frost House
Why it's listed
Built around 1889 at 130 Union Avenue in Burlington, this two-story frame house is a vernacular Queen Anne design with an irregular form, a steep pyramidal slate roof and three projecting gables. Its most notable feature is the abundance of ready-made sawn and turned millwork, along with multicolored glass in the attic windows, fish-scale shingles, and Eastlake-style porch details. The main block was put up by James G. and Ella Moore Holt. A one-story rear wing with a Greek Revival interior door may be part of an earlier house built by Ella's father, Dr. John Allen Moore, the first physician to settle in the railroad town of Company Shops. If so, it is among the city's few surviving antebellum structures. The house was altered with an enlarged front porch early in the twentieth century and additions in the 1950s, but it remains largely intact. It is popularly named for Dr. John S. Frost, a dentist who lived there for over four decades.
Significance in brief: The house is one of the few full-blown Queen Anne style dwellings left in Burlington and the richest in turned and sawn ornament. Its rear wing may be part of the home of Dr. John A. Moore, the first physician to settle in Company Shops (now Burlington), which would make it one of the city's few surviving antebellum structures.
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 84001920, listed May 31, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 130 Union Ave., Burlington |
|---|---|
| County | Alamance County |
| Listed | May 31, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84001920 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne (vernacular), with Eastlake-style porch ornament |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied as a private residence; described as deteriorated and altered, and being restored as a home and office with a low-interest city loan. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 36.09988, -79.43831 (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 84001920.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17560853
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.