Lavender, Bryan, House
Also known as: Roscoe Barrus House
Why it's listed
Built about 1825 beside the Trent River in Pollocksville, this two-story frame house follows a hall and parlor plan and has a gable roof parallel to the road. Its main feature is a two-tier porch across the front, with one end enclosed to shelter an exterior stair that is the only way to reach the upstairs bedrooms. The porch was reworked in the early 1970s but keeps its original form and many original materials. Porches of this type, called Charleston porches, were common in New Bern, and only a few other examples are known in North Carolina. The house shows how the form traveled from Charleston to New Bern and then upstream to Pollocksville. It is also known as the Roscoe Barrus House. Barrus lived there from 1835 to 1870 and ran a drug and pharmaceutical business with stores in Baltimore and New York until the Civil War destroyed his trade and wealth. Bryan Lavender, the likely builder, lost the property to creditors.
Significance in brief: The house has an enclosed-end, two-tier Charleston-type porch with an exterior stair, which is the only access to the second story. This porch form is seldom seen in North Carolina outside New Bern and shows a building type moving from Atlantic port cities inland along rivers. It is also associated with Roscoe Barrus, a local merchant and pharmaceutical dealer who lived there from 1835 to 1870.
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 85000904, listed April 25, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Off US 17 South of Trent River Bridge, Pollocksville |
|---|---|
| County | Jones County |
| Listed | April 25, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85000904 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Unknown (built c. 1825, apparently by Bryan Lavender) |
| Architectural style | Federal style, hall and parlor plan with Charleston-type double-tier porch |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied as a private residence; condition listed as good and altered. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 35.00885, -77.21903 (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 85000904.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19460712
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.