Purefoy-Chappell House and Outbuildings
Why it's listed
Built around 1838 for James S. Purefoy, this house stands in Forestville, a former railroad village now within Wake Forest, North Carolina. The original heavy timber-frame section has one room, a loft and a rear shed room, each finished with a fireplace and simple Greek Revival mantels. A detached kitchen/dining building of the same date was later joined to the house by a 1974 hyphen. A two-story wing was added around 1895, and the property also includes a ca. 1838 smoke house and a ca. 1862 doctor's office with its apothecary shelves intact, built by Dr. Leroy Chappell. Purefoy was a Baptist minister, businessman and postmaster. The property was recognized for architecture because the early one-room house form, the kitchen building and the doctor's office are rare survivors of once-common building types in Wake County. A later barn, well house and greenhouse are considered noncontributing.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the property meets Criterion C for architecture as a rare survivor of once-common forms: an antebellum one-room house with rear shed room, a detached kitchen/dining building, and an 1862 doctor's office with apothecary shelves. It meets the registration requirements set out for antebellum houses and outbuildings in the Wake County multiple property documentation. It is locally significant.
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 08001016, listed October 22, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1255 S. Main St., Wake Forest |
|---|---|
| County | Wake County |
| Listed | October 22, 2008 |
| Reference number | 08001016 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1838; ca. 1862; ca. 1895 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Other: One-Room House; Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The house is still in use as a single dwelling with secondary structures; a hyphen containing a modern kitchen was added in 1974. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 35.96385, -78.51779 (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 08001016.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q22025337
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.