McArthur-Council House
Why it's listed
Set in the Gray's Creek area of southwestern Cumberland County, this farmhouse began as a two-room frame dwelling with a large central chimney and back-to-back fireplaces, built in the mid-1830s to replace an earlier log structure. Duncan McArthur is believed to have built it, and his son Neill expanded it after the Civil War. Around 1918 the house was enlarged into a two-story Late Victorian dwelling with a double-tiered pedimented porch, wrought iron supports, and a rear kitchen ell, with the older section left inside the new walls. The interior of the original section retains wide pine floorboards, wide horizontal wall boards, an early Greek Revival style mantel, and an unusual vertical plank Dutch door. Outbuildings include a log smokehouse with its original wooden lock, a pack house, and a tobacco barn. The house is valued for showing how a typical rural farmhouse evolved, and for preserving an early stage of its construction that is rarely found in the county.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house documents a family's adaptation of its lifestyle across nearly a century of changing rural conditions. It is presented as a rare Cumberland County example of a two-room plan with a large central chimney, and its early interior was kept intact within the later enlargement. It is also associated with the settlement traditions of Highland Scots along the Cape Fear River.
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 83001861, listed July 21, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | SR 2244, Grays Creek |
|---|---|
| County | Cumberland County |
| Listed | July 21, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83001861 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1830-1918 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Altered; the house is occupied and continues to be used as part of a farm, with the house tract parceled separately. |
| Acreage | 3.1 |
| Coordinates | 34.89402, -78.93252 (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 83001861.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18217055
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.