Mangum, James, House
Why it's listed
Set on the slope of a steep hill above Little Beaver Dam Creek near Creedmore, this two-story, L-shaped farmhouse in Wake County has a five-bay facade, brick end chimneys and an off-center hall plan one room deep. Its proportions suggest the Federal era, while the interior mixes earlier details with Greek Revival ones, including flat-paneled wainscoting, six-panel doors and imaginatively designed mantels with Greek key motifs. The house was the home of James Manuel Mangum, born in 1796, a planter who served in the North Carolina House of Commons and became a brigadier general in the state militia in 1842. After his death in 1854 and his widow's in 1874, the 555-acre homeplace was sold at auction. The house was valued as the most impressive surviving dwelling in a hilly, sparsely settled area that was to be flooded by the Falls of the Neuse reservoir project, and it is now owned by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it an interesting vernacular farmhouse and the most impressive surviving dwelling in a hilly, sparsely settled part of Wake County. Its Federal-form plan holds consistent, well-preserved interiors that mix Greek Revival and earlier motifs in an ambitious yet naive way. It was also the home of a locally prominent planter, militia general and state legislator.
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 74001379, listed November 18, 1974. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | SW of Durham off NC 751, Creedmore |
|---|---|
| County | Wake County |
| Listed | November 18, 1974 |
| Reference number | 74001379 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Federal in form with vernacular Greek Revival and earlier interior finish |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as in good condition and altered; unoccupied and owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, within the area to be inundated by the Falls of the Neuse reservoir project. |
| Acreage | 5 |
| Coordinates | 35.82845, -78.98967 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 74001379.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14707987
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.