Pleasant Hill/Hawkins House
Also known as: Rivenoak
Why it's listed
Pleasant Hill, later renamed Rivenoak, is a large frame plantation house near Middleburg in Vance County, North Carolina. Built in the late eighteenth century, probably by Philemon Hawkins, Jr., it rises two and a half stories with a five-bay facade, paired brick end chimneys laid in Flemish bond, and a Georgian central-hall plan unusual among surviving early North Carolina houses. Around the 1850s the interior and front were updated with Greek Revival door and window frames, mantels and a Greek key frieze. The Hawkins family made the house a social center of the region. Philemon Jr. signed the 1776 state constitution, and his son William, born here, served as governor from 1811 to 1814. The Carroll family owned the property from 1856 until 1978. Later porches and wings have been removed during a careful rehabilitation, revealing the original block. The house is regarded as one of the largest and best-preserved early houses in the county.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is tied to the politically prominent Hawkins family, including Philemon Hawkins, Jr., a signer of the 1776 North Carolina Constitution, and his son William, governor during the War of 1812. It also represents the wealthy plantation region of the northeast Piedmont. Architecturally, it is an unusually large and well-preserved eighteenth century house with Greek Revival remodeling.
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 79001758, listed March 19, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | W of Middleburg on SR 1371, Middleburg |
|---|---|
| County | Vance County |
| Listed | March 19, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79001758 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Probably Philemon Hawkins, Jr. (builder) |
| Architectural style | Eighteenth century Georgian double-pile, central-hall plan with mid-nineteenth century Greek Revival embellishments |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and under careful rehabilitation after a period of neglect; later additions such as a twentieth century stone porch and side wings were removed. No outbuildings stand. |
| Acreage | 3.7 |
| Coordinates | 36.40064, -78.34254 (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 79001758.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19987605
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.