Pugh House
Why it's listed
Frame two-story Italianate house in Morrisville, Wake County, built about 1870 for merchant and postmaster James M. Pugh and his wife Mary Ellen. Its defining feature is a hip-roofed front porch with slender posts, round-arched spans and sawn ornament in the spandrels and balustrade. The center-passage interior has a two-run stair with turned newel and balusters, and a parlor mantel combining Greek Revival form with a Gothic-influenced frieze. Beside the house stands a frame smokehouse of the 1880s with Queen Anne-style trusswork and quatrefoil vents. The property is listed for its architecture and for its association with Mabel Pugh, who was born in the house, trained at Peace College and the Pennsylvania Academy, and built a career as a graphic artist and portraitist. Her block prints and illustrations, including the 1933 children's book Little Carolina Blue Bonnet, drew on the town. She headed the art department at Peace College from 1936 to 1960.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is an important example of vernacular Italianate design, with its sawn porch, interior features and smokehouse. It also argues the house is significant for its association with artist and art educator Mabel Pugh, who worked there from the 1920s and later headed the art department at Peace College.
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). NRHP reference 14000334, listed June 19, 2014. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 103 Page St., Morrisville |
|---|---|
| County | Wake County |
| Listed | June 19, 2014 |
| Reference number | 14000334 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | Ca. 1870, ca. 1880s, 1923-1953 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Art |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Contributing buildings in the Morrisville area; aluminum siding and 1970s alterations noted; occupied by present owners since 1978. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 35.82069, -78.83679 (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 14000334.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives)
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.