Davis, Archibald H., Plantation
Also known as: Cypress Hall
Why it's listed
Cypress Hall, the Archibald H. Davis Plantation, is a working farm near Justice in Franklin County, North Carolina. Its centerpiece is a two-story, five-bay frame house with a center-hall plan and Greek Revival interior finish, thought to date from the late 1820s or 1830s. Around it stand sixteen or more outbuildings, including a rare stone kitchen with a large fireplace and bake oven, a Greek Revival well house, a pea house, a smokehouse, former slave or tenant houses, log tobacco barns, and a frame "trading post" that may predate the main dwelling. Archibald H. Davis, a planter who inherited the land around 1821, owned dozens of slaves and died in 1854. The estate declined after the Civil War and was sold in 1894 to A. W. Wilson, whose descendants have farmed it since. The property was listed for its completeness as an antebellum plantation complex and for its architecture.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it an unusually complete and well-preserved antebellum plantation complex, with an early Greek Revival dwelling and one of the largest and best-preserved groups of outbuildings in this agricultural county. Notable features include the frame "trading post" and a kitchen built of native stone blocks. It is also tied to planter Archibald H. Davis and to the later history of the property after Reconstruction.
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 75001266, listed July 24, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | SE of Louisburg off NC 581, Justice |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | July 24, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75001266 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied private residence and still-working farm; condition rated excellent to good, with the house and most outbuildings kept in good condition. |
| Acreage | 20 |
| Coordinates | 36.05358, -78.19551 (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 75001266.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18711554
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.