Jones-Johnson-Ballentine Historic District
Why it's listed
Two farm complexes sit on either side of Sunset Lake Road in southern Wake County, bisected by Terrible Creek, on land granted to Etheldred Jones in 1778. Jones, a Revolutionary War veteran, built a hall-and-parlor house around 1800 that survives with later alterations. The Johnson family's house was remodeled in neo-Classical Revival style around 1905 over a mid-nineteenth-century I-house. The Ballentine farm includes a dairy barn modeled on plans from Radford's 1908 pattern book, and a complete dairy operation begun in the 1920s. In 1930 a southern branch of Standard Homes Company, a Washington, D.C. house-plan business, was established on the Johnson farm. The property is valued for its intact cluster of farm buildings and its record of Wake County dairying and the mail-order house-plan trade, and for its family ownership across six generations.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district represents the development of agriculture in Wake County from the late eighteenth century to the beginning of the Second World War, and that its buildings represent regional housing types and farm buildings. It is also significant for its link to the standardized house-plan industry, through a southern branch of Standard Homes Company, and for the rise of dairy farming in Wake County. The rural landscape is described as increasingly rare as the county urbanizes.
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 89002352, listed January 26, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | SR 1301--522 Sunset Rd., Fuquay-Varina |
|---|---|
| County | Wake County |
| Listed | January 26, 1990 |
| Reference number | 89002352 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | C. 1800-1939 |
| Architectural style | Neo-Classical Revival; Vernacular Victorian; Folk Architecture |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 338 |
| Coordinates | 35.61059, -78.77225 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 89002352.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q20639281
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.