From The Archives

Significant historic home in prime location in popular Triangle towns

This well preserved two and one half story side-gabled brick house is the only surviving of the three original Wake Forest College buildings constructed in 1837 by Hillsborough architect/builder John Berry. The common-bond brick walls, three bays wide and deep, feature 9-over-9 sash windows with louvered wood shutters. A wide wooden cornice board continues across the gable ends, with wide eave returns. Each gable end is finished in stucco and has a Palladian window with a center 6-over-6 sash. The roof has slate shingles, and two interiors chimneys project from the rear slope of the roof.

The front entrance and entrance porch were rebuilt circa 1960 using columns from another house of the same era to approximate the original structures that were removed in the 1880’s. Architect William H. Deitrick of Raleigh was the rehabilitation architect. The single door has sidelights and a pilastered surround with a molded lintel. The pedimented entrance porch has Doric columns.

The original brick structure has an unusual transverse stair hall and a center hall that separates the two formal rooms on the first floor. To the rear is a one-story frame addition containing a kitchen, bedroom and bath as well as a rear foyer. The addition was made in the late 1800’s. The original kitchen was housed in an outbuilding just behind the home. It is still in place along with the barn, smoke house, servant’s quarters and the well.

The house originally had a matching residence called the North Brick House on E. North Avenue. It was demolished in 1936. The South Brick house was built by the Rev. Amos J. Battle, and purchased soon afterward by Wake Forest College for use as faculty housing. The college sold it in 1855 into private hands. The Gill family lived there from about 1885 until 1949 when Dr. Edgar Folk, a professor at Wake Forest College, and his wife, Minta Holding Folk, purchased it. Both were prominent citizens of Wake Forest with rich family histories and many years of service to the community. Their son, Dr. Edgar E. Folk III and his wife, Patricia, are the current owners.
At times the home provided boarding for both faculty and students. The third floor, divided into two rooms and an entry, bears evidence of student life with notes made on the wood walls. The most well known student-boarder, Arnold Palmer, slept on the second floor.

The home is a substantial building with exterior and supporting walls which are about 18” thick. The interior walls and high ceilings boast the original plaster and all five fireplaces have been unaltered with their original mantles intact. Those in the formal rooms are trimmed in marble. Heart of pine floors throughout are original and in excellent condition.

The grounds are comprised of two separate lots totaling 1.17 acres. Mature hardwoods grace the lawns.

The home sits directly across from the Baptist Southeastern Theological Seminary in the heart of Wake Forest’s Historic District. It is thus eligible for rehabilitation tax credits. The city of Wake Forest, located 35 minutes from downtown Raleigh, has begun an ambitious plan to increase business and tourism. The Renaissance Plan includes possible use of historic buildings in the area as businesses.

(See Plans at www.wakeforestnc.gov/Residents/PlanningZoning_Plans

While downtown Wake Forest maintains the look and charm of a small southern town, the city itself is one of the fastest growing in North Carolina. The weather is rather mild year round, but with four distinct seasons. It is less than a 30 minute drive to Research Triangle Park and RDU International, one of the lowest-cost airports to fly from on the east coast. With proximity to a multitude of cultural activities, world-class medical care and top-rated schools and universities, as well as the beach and the mountains, Wake Forest is a marvelous place to live and do business.