Alexander, William T., House
Why it's listed
Built probably between 1820 and 1830, this two-story brick house on Mallard Creek Church Road in north Charlotte was the seat of William T. Alexander's plantation. By 1860 Alexander held 972 acres and used the labor of thirty-three enslaved people to produce wheat, corn and cotton. The house is nearly square, with Flemish-bond brick walls on a cut granite foundation, a side-gable roof, and Federal-style wooden cornices with rope molding and scalloped pendants. Inside, original features include Georgian cornices, six-panel doors, and an open-string staircase with mahogany brackets. The Alexander family farmed the land until 1953 and kept the house until 2000. Surrounding suburban development has replaced most of the estate, and no outbuildings from the plantation era survive. The remaining 4.67-acre tract includes a ruined 1928 dairy barn and several 1930s-1940s outbuildings. The house was listed for its architecture, as a rare surviving antebellum home in the county.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is among the finest antebellum plantation houses in Mecklenburg County under Criterion C for architecture. Its side-gable form and restrained mix of Federal and Georgian features typify the finer plantation seats of the early nineteenth century. It is one of the county's oldest surviving houses and its earliest example of brick construction.
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 02001718, listed January 15, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Mallard Cr. Church Rd., .1 mi W. of Jct. with US 29, Charlotte |
|---|---|
| County | Mecklenburg County |
| Listed | January 15, 2003 |
| Reference number | 02001718 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1820-1830 |
| Architectural style | Early Republic/Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission; plans were in progress to convert the house to professional offices. Current function listed as work in progress. |
| Acreage | 4.7 |
| Coordinates | 35.32317, -80.73465 (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 02001718.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q21016347
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.