Moore-Manning House
Why it's listed
Pittsboro's Moore-Manning House is a three-bay, two-story frame residence on a high knoll that once overlooked the town commons. Built in the 1830s in the Federal manner, with an elliptically arched sidehall entrance, fanlight and sidelights, it was remodelled around 1858 when lawyer and politician John Manning, Jr. moved in. The mid-century work added Greek, Egyptian and Gothic Revival details, including a sheathed parlor with a crossette-topped window surround battered toward the floor, and two Greek Revival mantels with Tuscan columns and channeled pilasters. A one-bay wing was added to the east side, and a late-nineteenth-century porch with open-work posts and sawn balustrade extends along the front. The house is significant for its record of the town's prosperity after 1850, when the Cape Fear and Deep River Navigation Company drew investment to Pittsboro. It also shows how local craftsmen moved from simple Federal design to more elaborate Revival taste. Manning later became a congressman and a professor of law at the University of North Carolina.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a visual record of the prosperity Pittsboro gained during its second period of growth after 1850, and that it is the town's best demonstration of the shift from Federal-style vernacular building to the Greek, Egyptian and Gothic Revival modes. It is also associated with lawyer, politician and educator John Manning, Jr., who helped make the University of North Carolina law school an administrative unit of the university.
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 82001289, listed October 5, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 400 Hillsboro St., Pittsboro |
|---|---|
| County | Chatham County |
| Listed | October 5, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82001289 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1830-1899 |
| Architectural style | Federal; Greek Revival, Egyptian Revival and Gothic Revival motifs |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Law, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Good repair; the owners were undertaking restoration at the time of the nomination |
| Acreage | 2.6 |
| Within district | Pittsboro Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.72533, -79.17667 (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 82001289.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18154620
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.