Jones, Alpheus, House
Also known as: Seth Jones 1847 Restaurant
Why it's listed
Northeast of Raleigh, on the east side of U.S. 401, stands a two-story frame house built about 1847 for Alpheus Jones, son of Seth Jones, on a 680-acre tract his father gave him in 1842. The house is a simple rectangular Greek Revival building with a hip roof, weatherboard siding, a stone foundation and a two-story double Doric portico on the western front. Inside, it keeps simple Greek Revival mantels, molded trim, marbleized baseboards and a straight open-string stair. Alpheus Jones, a lawyer and farmer, lived there only about seven years before his death in 1854. The property later passed through his heirs and several owners and suffered neglect around the turn of the twentieth century. It was acquired in 1968 and restored, and by 1975 it operated as a restaurant. It was nominated for its Agriculture association and as a restrained, representative Greek Revival plantation house with a successful adaptive use.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the house as a handsome, unpretentious and representative Greek Revival plantation house with consistent, typical Greek Revival finish throughout. It was nominated under Agriculture, tied to the Jones family's farming. It also stands as a sensitive, successful adaptive reuse of an antebellum house.
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 75001295, listed July 7, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | NE of Raleigh on U.S. 401, Raleigh |
|---|---|
| County | Wake County |
| Listed | July 7, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75001295 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1847 |
| Architect / builder | Possibly Richard Ligon (attribution uncertain; a timber is inscribed "Richard Ligon March 28, 1847") |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored and in use as a fine-foods restaurant (as of 1975); the form records the property as occupied. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 35.86395, -78.54683 (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 75001295.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q24436291
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.