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Historic Home
Bedrooms: 4
Baths: 2
Square Feet: 2874 |
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313 W. Noble St
Louisburg, NC
Subdivision: Historic District
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Patterson Noble Baker House
The Patterson-Noble-Baker house was built around 1820 and is one of the original plantation homes in Louisburg. The property dates to around 1785 and original deeds suggest that it was a principal dwelling for one of the town’s founders. Young Patterson, the first clerk of Court of Franklin County built the present house in the mid 1820s. It was located directly in front of, and connected to, the original Georgian cottage, now destroyed. Richard Noble, for whom the street is named, was the owner from 1843 through the late 1860s. In the spring of 1865 the front yard was also home to a General Wood, union army general who set up camp just weeks after the surrender of the confederate army. George Baker, who owned the Franklin Courier Newspaper, owned the house from the 1870s until 1907. While in Baker's possession, the land in front of the house was parceled, and Baker Square was established. Around 1920 the original Georgian cottage was torn down and a new rear ell was attached to the back of the house. It was at that point that electrical and plumbing were first added and the original nine over nine windows were replaced with new nine over one sash. Additionally, the front gable was constructed to alleviate water problems on the front porch balcony.
  The main house is a one room deep, two-story, asymmetrical, central hall plan. It was built at the beginning of the Greek-Revival movement so, though many of the details are Greek-Revival, the house possesses definite Federal style influences. The home is nearly one hundred percent original and with the exception of the ceilings and the parlor walls, the plaster has been painstakingly repaired. Downstairs moldings include wide baseboards, heavily molded casing with matching rosettes, flat paneled wainscot in the entry foyer, and chair rails in three of the four main rooms. Lower mantels are of the highest form and are similar to mantels done by Gamaliel Jones and Jacob Holt. They have paired, fluted, Doric columns carrying a heavy entablature with a fluted horizontal scroll and a large mantel shelf. All floors are original wide board, heart-pine, the central hall being hand-painted with a border and flower motif to replicate the original floor patterns found under three topcoats of later floor paint. A small, faintly visible section has been left untouched under the stair. A bordered floor treatment continues up the steps to the second floor.
 The upstairs houses two bedrooms divided by a central hall. From this level you are able to exit an exterior door to a balcony above the front porch. The treatment of the second floor is predominantly Federal with plain beaded door and window casings with simple backbands and beaded baseboards. Similarly, the mantels are of Federal design with simple flat pilasters supporting paired panels and a simple mantel shelf. Attic access for storage above the new wing is granted through a down-sized opening that used to connect the front house to the original Georgian cottage. One of the most striking features of this house is found in the southern bedroom. It is here that elaborate hand-painted floor patterns were discovered after stripping the floors, and these have been replicated to match the original. A North Carolina History and Archives field representative referred to this floor painting as the earliest example of this type of treatment he had ever seen. Due to its importance, all of the original paint remains in tact within the closet of the room, to allow further historical research to be done if desired.
The rear section of the house was constructed in the early 1920s and has been extensively remodeled to fit the needs of a modern family. It is basically of Craftsman style treatment in detail, and connects via the central hall, and through the master bedroom. The master bath is accessed through the rear of the master bedroom and it is designed with function, comfort and understated elegance in mind. The bathroom features heart-pine floors, pedestal sink and matching toilet, custom mirror, skylights, recessed can lighting, and a fully tiled double shower. Unusual for a house this age is the roomy walk-in closet located just off the master bath. It features heart-pine floors and many storage options provided by built-in cabinets and clothes rods.
Access to the rest of the "new section" is granted through the rear of the central hall (through what is supposedly the largest door in Franklin County). A second full bath and laundry room are located off of the hall extension. The bathroom features travertine and polished limestone floor, pedestal sink, and cast-iron bathtub with full tile surround. The rest of the 1920s section sports an open floor plan. A large living area with built-in entertainment center is open to a spacious eat-in kitchen. The kitchen has hand-crafted custom cabinetry, heart-pine countertops, Jenn-Aire downdraft cook top in the large island, and all stainless-steel appliances. Floor materials are Berber carpeting in the family room and ceramic tile in the kitchen and connecting butler pantry. Trim details in these spaces include large baseboards, casings with backbands, two-piece crown molding, tongue and groove wainscot and ceilings, a colonnaded room divider, and custom-made bay window facing the back yard. Other features include skylights, recessed can lighting, built-in kitchen desk, wood stove, and a cozy office.
All around this house offers the best of old and new. All systems are modernized with a 200 amp electrical breaker panel, copper plumbing, and a Trane gas pack/AC downstairs and new heat pump upstairs. Though the majority of work has been completed on the inside of this house, there are exterior grounds features that are still in need of restoration. The most important of these is the grand entrance promenade featuring three sets of hand-cut granite steps, from a quarry located adjacent the property, still remaining in the front yard, but covered by years of backfill. The homeowners have researched historic planting of the period and will gladly provide the new owners with a list of their findings. In 2006, new exterior paint, fencing around courtyard and shaker-style cabinet doors was added.
Not only is this wonderful home a rare find, it also offers the best of both worlds with an in-town location and the feeling of country living. The town of Louisburg was founded in 1779 and is in the county of Franklin. It is the county seat, and a tight-knit community of approximately 6,000. Situated on the picturesque Tar River, the town is located 23 miles north of the Capital City of Raleigh.
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