Carter, John Waddey, House
Why it's listed
Known locally as the "Gray Lady," this two-story frame house at 324 East Church Street in Martinsville was built in 1896 by John Waddey Carter, a prominent lawyer, local politician and former mayor, as a wedding present for his second wife, Mary Kizziah Drewery. Its gray weatherboard exterior combines a two-story central gable, a curving wrap-around porch, a polygonal corner tower topped by an onion dome, and abundant Eastlake spindlework, fish-scale shingles and brackets. Inside, a central hall, a richly detailed staircase, high ceilings, brass hardware and decorative mantels survive. The house is significant as a high-style example of Queen Anne architecture, one of the few distinguished houses from before 1900 left in downtown Martinsville. It remained in the Carter family for ninety-one years until 1987, when a local real estate firm bought it for use as its headquarters and began modest renovations.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a high-style landmark example of Queen Anne architecture with Eastlake ornamentation under Criterion C. It is one of the few architecturally distinguished pre-1900 houses surviving in downtown Martinsville. It stayed in the same family for ninety-one years and retains a high degree of design integrity.
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 88002180, listed November 3, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 324 E. Church St., Martinsville |
|---|---|
| County | Henry County |
| Listed | November 3, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88002180 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1896 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne-Eastlake |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Being preserved with minor renovations and to be used as the headquarters of a real estate company's Real Estate Division; earlier used as a single dwelling. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | East Church Street-Starling Avenue Historic District |
| Coordinates | 36.68851, -79.86569 (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 88002180.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16825753
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.