Bunn, Bennett, Plantation
Why it's listed
Bennett Bunn built this Federal-style farmhouse in 1833 near Zebulon in eastern Wake County, North Carolina. It sits at the center of a 181.5-acre farm that has stayed in the Bunn family since the 1780s, when Benjamin Bunn acquired the land. The weatherboarded house keeps its original two-room plan, flush-board walls, molded mantels with paneled overmantels and an enclosed stair. A board-and-batten door is hinged so it can close off either the stair or the unheated rear rooms. Around the house stand a ca. 1790 log house, two log barns, a dairy, a smokehouse, animal shelters, four early twentieth-century tobacco barns, a late nineteenth-century store, two cemeteries, a slave cemetery site and the dam of an early mill breached in an 1848 flood. Together with family deeds, maps and records, these buildings document a working farm from the late eighteenth to the mid-twentieth century, which is why the property was recognized for its agricultural history and architecture.
Significance in brief: The farm is an intact collection of 1830s and later farm buildings around the 1833 house, showing rural Piedmont farming from the late 18th to the mid-20th century. The house keeps its original interior trim, including paneled overmantels, an enclosed stair and a distinctive hinged door. The family has held the land since the 1780s and kept deeds, maps and records. The reviewer accepted the property under Criteria A and C only.
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 86000157, listed February 4, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | NC 97, Zebulon |
|---|---|
| County | Wake County |
| Listed | February 4, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86000157 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown (built by Bennett Bunn, according to the narrative) |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as occupied, in excellent condition and used as a private residence and for agriculture; about 45 acres are rented and planted in tobacco, soybeans and corn. |
| Acreage | 181.5 |
| Coordinates | 35.83786, -78.28260 (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 86000157.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4889672
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.