McGuire-Setzer House
Why it's listed
Just southwest of Mocksville, North Carolina, a one-story-with-attic farmhouse and its detached kitchen sit on a grassy lot beside Jericho Church Road. The house was built in two stages: a hewn log pen around 1825, probably for Samuel McGuire, and a frame pen added about 1835 by Andrew Setzer, a wagon-maker. Both are covered in weatherboard, with brick gable-end chimneys and six-over-six windows. Inside are plank walls, chair rails, molded surrounds, paneled doors, Federal-style mantels and a boxed stair. The frame kitchen, about thirty feet away, has a large cooking fireplace and a dry-laid stone basement. The house never received modern plumbing, wiring or remodeling, so it preserves much of its original fabric and is among the best-preserved dwellings of its type in Davie County. Later owners included Dr. James McGuire, a physician and local historian. The property passed to a trust and is planned as a living history museum.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a relatively intact, typical early nineteenth-century Piedmont dwelling, qualifying under Criterion C for architecture. It has never had modern plumbing or wiring and retains most of its Federal-style interior finish. The detached kitchen is one of very few left in the county.
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 92001152, listed September 4, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | NC 1139 0.2 mi. S of Mocksville town limits, Mocksville |
|---|---|
| County | Davie County |
| Listed | September 4, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92001152 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1825; ca. 1835 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Vernacular late Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed current function is vacant, not in use. The kitchen is used for storage and is in poor condition, and the west chimney stack has fallen. The property is held in trust and is intended for use as a living history museum by the Davie County Public Library. |
| Acreage | 1.8 |
| Coordinates | 35.88033, -80.57055 (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 92001152.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18358459
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.