Jones, Cullen and Elizabeth, House
Also known as: Ferry Road Farm
Why it's listed
Set in farmland near the Chowan River, this one-and-a-half story house in northwest Chowan County grew in three stages. It began about 1810 as a one-room log dwelling, roughly fifteen feet square, with logs hewn on the interior face. Twenty to thirty years later, one log wall was removed and the remaining walls were folded into a hall-and-parlor house with an engaged porch and rear shed rooms, a form known regionally as a coastal cottage. Around 1900 a partition created a central stair passage, and the old detached kitchen was joined to the house as a dining room, with a new kitchen added behind. It is the only known antebellum log house in Chowan County. The Jones family farmed about one hundred acres here. From 1894 to 1906 the house also held the Rockyhock post office, where mail arriving by steamboat was sorted into pigeonholes in the front hall. A family cemetery and a ca. 1900 outbuilding remain on the property.
Significance in brief: It is the only known antebellum log house standing in Chowan County and illustrates three vernacular building traditions of eastern North Carolina: the one-room log house, the coastal cottage, and the later passage-plan remodeling that joined the kitchen to the main house. It also served as the Rockyhock post office from 1894 to 1906, reflecting the community's cotton-era prosperity and steamboat links.
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 06000340, listed May 3, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 2732 Rocky Hock Rd., Edenton |
|---|---|
| County | Chowan County |
| Listed | May 3, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000340 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1810, ca. 1830-1840, 1894-1906 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Other: Vernacular Coastal Cottage |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Politics/Government |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rental farm property with a current single-dwelling use; the form notes a small barn was destroyed by Hurricane Isabel in 2004 and that two missing porch posts will be replicated. |
| Acreage | 20 |
| Coordinates | 36.18285, -76.69002 (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 06000340.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18152775
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.