Tate House
Also known as: The Cedars
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Brick house in downtown Morganton, built in the Greek Revival style by Dr. William L. McRee, a physician who died in 1855. Samuel McDowell Tate bought it after McRee's death and, after his 1866 marriage to Jennie Pearson, remodeled it around 1868 in the Second Empire style. The work added a mansard roof, a three-story octagonal tower, and porches with turned posts. Tate was a Confederate captain who was promoted to lieutenant colonel at Gettysburg. After the war he was president of the Western North Carolina Railroad and later served in the state House, as national bank examiner, and as state treasurer. He helped secure the Hospital for the Insane and the removal of the North Carolina School for the Deaf to Morganton. The interiors retain Victorian parlors, a dining room with paneled ceiling, and Greek Revival trim on the second floor.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a clever and ambitious adaptation of a Greek Revival house into the Second Empire style. It also argues the house is a monument to Samuel McDowell Tate, a local figure who served in the Civil War, the railroad, the state legislature, and state offices, and who helped bring two state institutions to Morganton.
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 73001300, listed May 25, 1973. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 100 S. King St., Morganton |
|---|---|
| County | Burke County |
| Listed | May 25, 1973 |
| Reference number | 73001300 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival; remodeled in Second Empire style |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Irene Tate, the last survivor of the couple's ten children, retains a life estate in the house. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 35.74418, -81.68893 (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 73001300.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18158632
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.