Merritt-Winstead House
Why it's listed
Located on Boston Road in north-central Person County, this property began as a one-and-a-half-story cottage that Dr. John Hamlett Merritt completed for his bride, Ellen Belle Coxe, before their 1915 marriage. In 1934 the couple enlarged it into a two-story brick-veneer Colonial Revival house. Their daughter and son-in-law, Mary Elizabeth and Harry Winstead, moved in during 1950, added a gabled vestibule, enlarged the kitchen, and installed Federal-revival mantels. The center-hall plan from about 1915 survives, along with pine floors cut from Merritt family land. Dr. Merritt practiced medicine from the house and traveled several counties to treat patients, and his bedroom doubled as a reception room. The 6.62-acre tract also holds a vernacular garden with stone walls, a boxwood garden, grape arbors, a former grass tennis court, a swimming pool built about 1952, and farm outbuildings. Together these features record family life and landscape change through the mid twentieth century.
Significance in brief: The property is tied to the Merritt family, including Dr. John H. Merritt, a country physician who served patients across several counties. It also includes a vernacular Southern garden landscape that changed over decades. The house shows the evolution of Colonial Revival design from the early to the mid twentieth century, including the 1950 Federal-revival mantels and vestibule.
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 05001031, listed September 15, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 7891 Boston Rd., Roxboro |
|---|---|
| County | Person County |
| Listed | September 15, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05001031 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Landscape Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single dwelling with a garden; some features such as the grass tennis court are no longer maintained. |
| Acreage | 6.6 |
| Coordinates | 36.48247, -78.91832 (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 05001031.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19987091
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.