Carson-Young House
Why it's listed
Built ca. 1860 by John Carson, grandson of Colonel John Carson, this two-story I-house sits on a knoll in the Pleasant Gardens area northwest of Marion. Its center-hall plan, central two-story pedimented porch, sidelights and transoms reflect the Greek Revival style, while its steeper gables and chamfered posts reflect later decades. Inside, the stair and several mantels retain original woodwork, including cherry mantels with hand-planed marks. Carson served as a Confederate officer and later worked as a railroad contractor on the Western North Carolina Railroad. Thomas B. Young bought the house in 1877 and added turned balusters and scrollwork to the upper porch. Later owners, the Rabb family, ran a grocery business in Marion and farmed the land from 1937 onward and made most of the interior and kitchen changes around 1951. The house, a two-story brick school house and a barn share a rare mid-nineteenth-century setting that few other properties in the county preserve.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house, school house and barn form a rare intact collection of mid-nineteenth-century buildings in the county. The house combines Greek Revival features such as a pedimented porch, sidelights and transoms, and pilastered mantels with later-century details like steeper gables and chamfered posts. The brick school house is described as possibly the only surviving mid-nineteenth-century school house in the area, and the barn as the only barn of its period in the area.
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 11000483, listed July 28, 2011. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 842 Major Conley Rd.,, Marion |
|---|---|
| County | McDowell County |
| Listed | July 28, 2011 |
| Reference number | 11000483 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1860 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival; Other: I-house |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently an active farm property; the house is described as having been altered ca. 1951 with a rear kitchen addition. |
| Acreage | 12.7 |
| Coordinates | 35.70781, -82.05368 (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 11000483.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19460872
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.