Carter-Swain House
Why it's listed
Begun around 1849, this farmhouse in the Big Ivy community near Democrat, Buncombe County, started as a fifteen-by-seventeen foot two-story log building of pine and oak. Later owners added a rear shed-kitchen, then a weatherboarded central-hallway section, a rear ell and a two-tiered porch with a porch room and scroll-sawn balusters. Inside are cherry paneled ceilings and mantels with an applied diamond motif. John A. Carter, who built it, was a farmer, postmaster, merchant and Justice of the Peace who owned 950 acres by 1870. Tradition says the house served as an inn for drummers, circuit riders and lawyers traveling between Asheville and Burnsville. Methodist circuit rider John L. Swain married Carter's daughter Harriet, giving the house its second name. A four-pen log barn, later sheathed for curing burley tobacco, also stands on the property. The house was recognized as a representative example of the region's traditional architecture, combining an early log core with a later farmhouse form.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it an outstanding example of nineteenth-century western North Carolina vernacular architecture. An early log section was expanded into a central-hallway farmhouse with a two-tiered porch, porch room, cherry paneled ceilings and distinctive mantels. Tradition also holds that it served as a roadside inn on the Asheville to Burnsville route and was the home of postmaster and merchant John A. Carter.
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 87001114, listed July 2, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | E side SR 2162, N of jct. with SR 2163, Democrat |
|---|---|
| County | Buncombe County |
| Listed | July 2, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87001114 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Western North Carolina vernacular; central-hallway farmhouse with an early log section |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Marked unoccupied and private residence; the form says the owner is restoring it for use as a second home. Alterations are described as slight, and the site is largely unchanged. |
| Acreage | 8.7 |
| Coordinates | 35.78999, -82.49169 (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 87001114.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17986286
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.