Forney, Edward J., House
Why it's listed
Built around 1892 on Spring Garden Street in Greensboro, this two-and-a-half-story weatherboarded frame house is one of the best surviving Queen Anne dwellings in the city. A large polygonal corner tower, shingled gables, a varied roofline and decorative metal roof shingles mark the style, and the porch was later given Doric columns in the Colonial Revival manner. Inside, molded door and window surrounds with foliate cornerblocks, crown moldings and a fluted mantel survive. Edward J. Forney built the house after joining the original faculty of the State Normal and Industrial School, now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He founded its Commercial Department, led it until 1940, and trained about 4,000 women for secretarial and clerical work that had mostly been held by men. The house is the oldest known surviving faculty residence tied to the school. After the Forneys sold it in 1946 it was divided into apartments, though much original fabric remains.
Significance in brief: It is among the best surviving Queen Anne houses in Greensboro and shows early twentieth-century Colonial Revival updating. With the Foust Building it is the oldest surviving building tied to the college, and the earliest known surviving faculty residence. Forney founded and led the Commercial Department for forty-eight years and pioneered women's business education in North Carolina.
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 92000359, listed April 21, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1402 Spring Garden St., Greensboro |
|---|---|
| County | Guilford County |
| Listed | April 21, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92000359 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1892 to 1941 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne; Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Divided into three apartments after 1946 and leased as apartments by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, which acquired it in 1988; exterior and most interior fabric remain intact. |
| Acreage | 0.7 |
| Coordinates | 36.06560, -79.81306 (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 92000359.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19461798
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.