Umstead, Adolphus W., House
Why it's listed
Built around 1850 as a two-story, three-bay I-house with Greek Revival details, the Adolphus W. Umstead House stands on a clearing within a forty-acre wooded tract near Bahama in northeast Durham County. It has a fieldstone foundation, fieldstone and brick chimneys, a center hall plan, a sidelighted double-leaf entrance, and hand-planed pine board walls. Its west side encloses an earlier one-room log house whose loft is reached by an enclosed corner stair. The house is linked to the Umstead family, who settled along Dial Creek in the late eighteenth century and farmed the land for generations. Adolphus Umstead, for whom the house is named, farmed about 150 acres and operated a grist mill on Dial Creek in the 1880s. The house was vacant and deteriorated when bought in 1978 and has since been restored. Its nomination rests on its value as a representative example of a farmhouse type that has become scarce in Durham County.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be a good representative example of a mid-nineteenth century piedmont North Carolina vernacular I-house with Greek Revival details, a farmhouse type that is increasingly rare in Durham County. It is built around an earlier one-room log house and is the earliest surviving house associated with the Umstead family, locally prominent settlers and farmers. The nomination also cites its well-executed restoration.
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 89001418, listed September 14, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | NC 1607, 0.5 mi. N of NC 1611, Bahama |
|---|---|
| County | Durham County |
| Listed | September 14, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001418 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | C. 1850-1928 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival; vernacular I-house |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored and renovated by the owners who bought it in 1978 after it had been vacant and deteriorated; the stable is in use for storage. |
| Acreage | 40 |
| Coordinates | 36.18431, -78.85477 (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 89001418.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q23073327
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.