Johnston, John, House
Why it's listed
Built in the early nineteenth century as a one-and-one-half story, side-gabled hall-and-parlor house, the John Johnston House stands in rural Caswell County in the Northern Piedmont. Its three-bay, two-bay-deep frame form rests on a coursed fieldstone foundation, with beaded lapboard siding, nine-over-nine sashes and end chimneys of coursed fieldstone. The house was moved about 150 yards southwest around 1921 from its original site, which is now occupied by a Craftsman bungalow. It is regarded as an excellent example of its type, with Federal-inspired detailing including a tripartite hall mantelpiece with Tuscan colonettes and a Federal parlor fire surround. Its interior retains original five-inch pine floors, batten doors and a pine balustrade on the enclosed corner stair. In 1990 the house was restored to its antebellum appearance after early twentieth-century porches and stucco were removed, and a rear ell was added. The restoration is credited with preserving a rare early house type tied to the county's tobacco-based plantation economy.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a rare and excellent example of an early nineteenth-century plantation-era house, with a hall-and-parlor plan and local interpretations of Federal architectural details. It states that the 1990 academic restoration recovered the house's antebellum appearance and retained a high degree of integrity in its form, style and original structural components.
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 97000238, listed March 14, 1997. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1325 NC 62, N., Yanceyville |
|---|---|
| County | Caswell County |
| Listed | March 14, 1997 |
| Reference number | 97000238 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | second quarter of the nineteenth century |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rehabilitated and restored in 1990 with a rear ell added for modern residential use |
| Acreage | 2.3 |
| Coordinates | 36.43580, -79.28267 (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 97000238.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18152761
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.