Patterson, John E., House
Also known as: Cashwell House
Why it's listed
Built about 1840 at the southwest corner of Moore and Hillsborough streets in Fayetteville, this one-and-one-half-story frame house follows the coastal cottage form common in eastern North Carolina during the first half of the nineteenth century. A full-width engaged front porch with slender square columns shelters a symmetrical five-bay facade with 6/6 sash windows, Greek Revival surrounds, and double-shoulder end chimneys. A detached rear kitchen/dining room, once linked to the main house by a T-shaped porch, retains weatherboarded walls and a standing-seam tin roof. The interior follows a double-pile central hall plan with plain Greek Revival mantels. The earliest known owner, John E. Patterson, was a free person of color and a brick mason who speculated in real estate in the neighborhoods northwest of downtown. The house is regarded as the only surviving example of its type in the city and as evidence of the housing built and occupied by free people of color before the Civil War.
Significance in brief: The nomination describes it as the only surviving Greek Revival coastal cottage in Fayetteville and a rare local survival of that house type. It is associated with free persons of color in antebellum Fayetteville and with the development of neighborhoods where they lived. Its detached kitchen is cited as an example of separating cooking from living areas.
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 83001867, listed July 7, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 445 Moore St., Fayetteville |
|---|---|
| County | Cumberland County |
| Listed | July 7, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83001867 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1840 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival coastal cottage |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Black, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used for rental purposes, according to the document. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 35.06164, -78.88368 (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 83001867.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18217141
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.