White, James H., House
Also known as: Marshall House
Why it's listed
Perched on a steep terrace above the Madison County Courthouse in Marshall, North Carolina, the James H. White House was designed in 1903 by Asheville architect Richard Sharp Smith. Built of frame construction and sheathed in pebbledash stucco, it has a stone foundation, a recessed wraparound porch, hipped roofs and twelve-over-one windows. White, a businessman who founded Marshall's first bank, published the county newspaper, developed the local power and water systems, and served as clerk of Superior Court, commissioned the house. Its interior first floor, including oak pocket doors, plaster crown molding and carved mantels, remains as Smith drew it. Roof and second-floor changes made in the 1920s kept the original Smith idiom. The house is regarded as a significant surviving example of Smith's work and of White's role in Marshall's growth.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is significant for its association with James H. White, a businessman who led Marshall's shift from a frontier village to a commercial town. It is also significant as an intact example of the design idiom of architect Richard Sharp Smith, whose original 1903 plan survives on the first floor.
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 89002136, listed December 21, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 5 Hill St., Marshall |
|---|---|
| County | Madison County |
| Listed | December 21, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89002136 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1903-1922 |
| Architect / builder | Richard Sharp Smith, architect; James H. White, original owner |
| Architectural style | "Old English" vernacular; Colonial Revival and Queen Anne motifs |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Sold by White in 1922; later used as a tourist home and renamed the Marshall House in 1988. |
| Acreage | 1.4 |
| Coordinates | 35.79800, -82.68373 (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 89002136.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q20745529
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.