Benbow, Jesse, House II
Why it's listed
Set close to the road along Highway 150 west of Oak Ridge, this two-story frame farmhouse was completed around 1858 for Jesse Benbow (1815-1900), a prominent Guilford County landowner. Its three-bay, double-pile main block has a low hip roof, corner pilasters, a front porch with square columns, and a center-hall plan. A rear ell, once a separate building, was joined to the main house in a 1938 remodeling. Inside, the first floor retains extensive polychrome wood graining and marbleizing, imitating woods such as walnut and birdseye maple and stone. Six outbuildings remain, including a barn, smokehouse and granary. The house is one of only two well-preserved double-pile frame Greek Revival dwellings in the county. Benbow helped found the Oak Ridge Male Institute in 1850 and served as a trustee of New Garden Boarding School. His descendants owned the house until 1975, and it later served as a hunting lodge in the 1920s and 1930s.
Significance in brief: The house is one of two well-preserved double-pile, two-story frame Greek Revival dwellings left in Guilford County. It keeps extensive original polychrome wood graining and marbleizing inside. It is also tied to Jesse Benbow, a prominent landowner and a founder of the Oak Ridge Male Institute and a trustee of New Garden Boarding School, and to the antebellum agrarian development of 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 83001885, listed September 8, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | NC 150, Oak Ridge |
|---|---|
| County | Guilford County |
| Listed | September 8, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83001885 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1858 |
| Architect / builder | Builder/architect unknown; built by Jesse Benbow |
| Architectural style | Vernacular Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied as a private residence; the owners have carried out continuing renovation and restoration since 1975. |
| Acreage | 15.2 |
| Coordinates | 36.16374, -80.00219 (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 83001885.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19460472
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.