Foard-Tatum House
Why it's listed
Set on a knoll above a branch near its confluence with the South Yadkin River, this two-story, three-bay farmhouse was built around 1845 and stands at the end of a half-mile tree-shaded lane in the rolling hills of Davie County. It was the centerpiece of a plantation within the large antebellum landholdings of the Foard family, which occupied both sides of the river. Its heavy timber frame is covered in weatherboard and carries transitional Federal and Greek Revival details, including boxed cornices, gable-end chimneys and fluted window surrounds. The interior is the main reason for its listing: nearly all of the main block's features, from the front door and window surrounds to the mantels, base moldings and cornices, follow plates in Asher Benjamin's 1830 pattern book The Practical House Carpenter. The house has been vacant since 1964. A rear ell was added in the 1860s or 1870s, and the site also retains log outbuildings from the mid-nineteenth century, which are rare survivals.
Significance in brief: The house is significant under Criterion C as a distinctive example of transitional Federal/Greek Revival architecture. Its interior features are taken from plates in Asher Benjamin's pattern book The Practical House Carpenter (1830), and it is described as the only known surviving intact collection of Asher Benjamin interior features in the county. The site also includes mid-nineteenth-century log outbuildings that are rare, reasonably intact examples.
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 94000530, listed May 26, 1994. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | At end of NC 1101, Cooleemee |
|---|---|
| County | Davie County |
| Listed | May 26, 1994 |
| Reference number | 94000530 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | CA. 1845 |
| Architectural style | Transitional Federal/Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant since 1964; structurally sound despite a hole in the roof, a fallen west chimney and a collapsed replacement porch; damaged areas stabilized in preparation for complete restoration. |
| Acreage | 6 |
| Coordinates | 35.79319, -80.52238 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 94000530.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18355703
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.