Knox-Johnstone House
Also known as: Ben Allen Knox House
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Erected about 1880 as the seat of a farm on the northwest edge of the village of Cleveland, this two-story weatherboarded frame house has a center-hall plan, a nearly full-facade porch, and Italianate woodwork including bargeboards with bosses and hooded window surrounds. Benjamin Allen Knox built it to replace an earlier family house after the growing village began to pass the farm's outbuildings. Its interior combines later nineteenth-century finish with mantels, doors and surrounds reused from the earlier Greek Revival house, which the nomination treats as a notable survival. Knox was born in 1839 on the family plantation, served with a North Carolina infantry company in the Civil War, and died here in 1907. The house is regarded as one of the few stylish Victorian houses in rural Rowan County from that period. A large frame barn was erected behind it about 1935, which the nomination considers a representative example of the county's shift to larger dairy operations in the mid-twentieth century.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is architecturally significant as a largely intact Italianate house, one of few stylish Victorian-era houses in rural Rowan County after Reconstruction. Its interior also retains Greek Revival woodwork reused from the earlier family house. The 1930s barn is significant as one of a small number of large frame dairy-era barns in the county.
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 93000737, listed August 5, 1993. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 100 Beaumont Farm Rd., Cleveland |
|---|---|
| County | Rowan County |
| Listed | August 5, 1993 |
| Reference number | 93000737 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1880-ca. 1935 |
| Architect / builder | Benjamin Allen Knox (builder) |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian/Italianate |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 1.8 |
| Coordinates | 35.73385, -80.68253 (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 93000737.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19864680
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.