Allison Woods
Why it's listed
Allison Woods is a gentleman's farm and rural retreat of about 298 acres northeast of Statesville, North Carolina, on the South Yadkin River. William Locke Allison, a former railroad engineer and Baldwin Locomotive Works vice-president, developed it between about 1926 and 1939 on land held by his family since the late eighteenth century. The property centres on two man-made lakes, the upper lake formed by impounding an old tannery spring and the lower lake completed in the early 1930s. Stone buildings by local mason Baldy Franklin Guy include a springhouse, a mill house, and an ice and party house, and a brick bungalow built in 1928-1929 by Statesville contractor L. Boyer Tomlinson housed the farm manager. The estate also had an orchard of about twenty acres, cultivated fields, and a herd of livestock. It is valued as one of very few surviving interwar gentleman's farms of its kind in North Carolina, and its buildings and landscape retain much of their original character.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the property is important to the history of agriculture, architecture, and landscape architecture in Iredell County and North Carolina. It is described as one of very few surviving examples of an interwar gentleman's farm in the state, and its stone and brick buildings show consistent craftsmanship by local stone mason Baldy Franklin Guy.
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 95000173, listed March 9, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly, area E and S of US 21 surrounding the S. Yadkin R.,N to NC 2156, Statesville |
|---|---|
| County | Iredell County |
| Listed | March 9, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95000173 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1926-1941 |
| Architect / builder | Tomlinson, L. Boyer (builder); Guy, Baldy Franklin (builder/stone mason) |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Black, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The farm manager's residence has been continuously occupied and kept in good repair; the other buildings have been kept water-tight; the Allison Woods Foundation leases the property for conservation and educational use. |
| Acreage | 298 |
| Coordinates | 35.89245, -80.81988 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 95000173.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19460165
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.