Brinegar Cabin
Why it's listed
Brinegar Cabin is a small log farmhouse beside the Blue Ridge Parkway near Whitehead in Alleghany County, North Carolina. It is a one-story building covered with lapped siding, set on an uncoursed fieldstone foundation and topped by a gable roof that still carries early wooden shingles. A large stone chimney stands at the south end, and a shed addition at the rear holds a second room. A frame outbuilding with a stone basement, probably a dairy, stands to the northwest. About 1880 Martin Brinegar and his bride, Caroline Joines, settled on the farm at 3,500 feet, and he spent five years completing the cabin and outbuildings, largely by himself. He also worked as a cobbler. His widow lived there until about a decade after his death in 1925, when the state bought it and later gave it to the federal government. It is valued as a well-preserved example of a long-lived mountain building type, and it now displays mountain crafts and weaving.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the cabin as an unusually well-preserved example of a log construction type used by early settlers in the eighteenth century and by settlers of more remote regions later. It is listed under architecture and is typical of small mountain farm dwellings of North Carolina.
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 72000922, listed January 20, 1972. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | At mi. 238.5, Blue Ridge Pkwy., Whitehead |
|---|---|
| County | Alleghany County |
| Listed | January 20, 1972 |
| Reference number | 72000922 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century |
| Architect / builder | Martin Brinegar |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is stated as excellent, unaltered and on its original site; it currently houses a display of mountain crafts and weaving and is a museum under National Park Service ownership. |
| Coordinates | 36.41849, -81.14548 (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 72000922.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17512051
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.