Favoni-Harris, Dr. Charles and William Shakespeare House
Why it's listed
Favoni is a two-story house on a hill above Rocky River in western Cabarrus County, made up of two single-pile blocks. The older block is log, probably built soon after Dr. Charles Harris inherited the land in 1791, and its interior blends Georgian and Federal details, including a stair with heavy turned balusters and a mantel covered in reeding found nowhere else in the county. About 1840 his son, William Shakespeare Harris, added a frame Greek Revival block with a hip roof, a porch with paired Tuscan columns, and marbleized mantels. Dr. Harris trained in medicine, practiced in Salisbury, and is believed to have taught students in a log building on the property. His son served several terms in the state legislature and held many enslaved people. The house is unoccupied and badly deteriorated, though preservation groups were seeking a restoring buyer. Its main importance lies in showing how substantial local houses changed over two generations.
Significance in brief: The log section keeps the most intact late eighteenth century interior in Cabarrus County, combining Georgian and Federal details. The frame section is one of the county's most sophisticated Greek Revival houses, with the county's best marbleizing. The property is also tied to Dr. Charles Harris, a physician said to have run an early medical school, and to his son William Shakespeare Harris, a planter and legislator.
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 86000413, listed March 5, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | SR 1445, Poplar Tent |
|---|---|
| County | Cabarrus County |
| Listed | March 5, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86000413 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Georgian and Federal (log section); Greek Revival (frame section) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as unoccupied and vacant, deteriorated and altered; the Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina was negotiating an option to sell it to an owner who would restore it. |
| Acreage | 10.7 |
| Coordinates | 35.39003, -80.71997 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 86000413.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q25247491
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.