Futral Family Farm
Why it's listed
Built in 1885 by David Futral as a one-story saddle-notched log hall-parlor house on Juniper Branch, a headwater of Back Swamp in northwestern Onslow County, the dwelling was enlarged around 1906 by his son Amos Futral with a garret, side room, rear shed rooms and a semi-detached kitchen and dining room. The expanded house takes the form of a coastal plain cottage with a front engaged porch and rests on wooden blocks and posts. Its brick chimney was fired on the property, and the log section still shows a plate projection that likely supported an earlier mud-and-stick chimney. The farm lies in a landscape of fields, woodlots and garden plots that have changed little over time. Family members worked it through subsistence farming and turpentine gathering, and the surviving buildings are regarded as an unusually intact record of nineteenth and early twentieth century rural life in the county. Its log construction and earthfast foundation are presented as rare survivals of local building practice.
Significance in brief: The house combines local vernacular traditions described as now rare in Onslow County, including log construction, an earthfast wooden foundation and evidence of a former mud-and-stick chimney. The farm is presented as one of the best preserved nineteenth and early twentieth century Onslow County farms tied to naval stores production and agriculture.
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 89001851, listed November 13, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | SR 1210, 1 mi. SE of jct. with SR 1209, Fountain |
|---|---|
| County | Onslow County |
| Listed | November 13, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001851 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1885-1938 |
| Architectural style | Coastal plain cottage |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied as a residence by the widow of Carl Futral; a 1986 bathroom addition was made to the house. |
| Acreage | 48.5 |
| Coordinates | 34.80730, -77.63625 (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 89001851.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19461883
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.