Tilley, Marcus, House
Also known as: Roscoe Tilley House
Why it's listed
Near the village of Bahama in northeastern Durham County, this two-story frame I-house was built about 1880 around an older log house that still survives inside its east bay. It sits on a 13.63-acre home tract beside Lake Michie, with a surviving log smokehouse and several later outbuildings. Marcus Tilley, a farmer from a family known for early work in curing bright-leaf tobacco, likely built the enlargement. The house is notable for its modest Greek Revival interior finish and its center-hall plan. It illustrates how small farm families moved from log homesteads to larger frame houses as tobacco brought in cash. It is also tied to Nannie May Tilley, born there in 1899, who earned graduate degrees at Duke University and wrote The Bright-Tobacco Industry: 1860-1929, published in 1948. She completed her dissertation in 1939 while living at the house and is documented there until 1942. Only about seventy I-houses remain in Durham County, and this is one of the more intact.
Significance in brief: The house is listed under Criterion B as the home of Nannie May Tilley, one of the first generation of female North Carolina historians, who wrote the standard reference on the bright-tobacco industry while living there. It also qualifies under Criterion C as a well-preserved example of the evolution from log cabin to frame I-house, a house type now scarce in a rapidly suburbanizing 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 99001684, listed January 14, 2000. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 7616 Jock Rd., Bahama |
|---|---|
| County | Durham County |
| Listed | January 14, 2000 |
| Reference number | 99001684 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1880; 1939-1942 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | OTHER: I-house |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently used as a single dwelling; the main block retains most original exterior and interior fabric, though windows and porch posts are replacements. |
| Acreage | 13.6 |
| Coordinates | 36.15568, -78.84018 (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 99001684.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q24436206
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.