From The Archives

The Arrington House

Lewellyn’s son Benjamin was born in 1828, and inherited the house when Lewellyn died in 1860. Benjamin became a successful farmer, owning over 4000 acres. In 1861 Benjamin enlisted in the Confederate Army (Co. I, 15th NC Infantry) and in 1863 when his term of service expired, he returned home and married Rebecca Pitts, and together they raised three children, Samuel (b. 1875), Cornelia (b. 1881) and Henry (b. 1888). Son Henry inherited the house and upon his death in 1959 it was sold outside of the Arrington family and occupied by a series of renters.

By the 1970’s it had fallen into a state of disrepair and became unoccupied until it was purchased in 1990 by Bob and Emily Hyatt. The Hyatts moved the house and the plantation office (a separate structure) to a new location about a mile away (also on Sandy Creek) and began an extensive and careful restoration of the house, joining the old plantation office to the north end of the main house to serve as a bedroom. They then purchased two other nearby structures, a pre-1850 farmhouse and a 19th century log cabin, and moved them both to the property. The log cabin was attached to the south end of the house and turned into a library/study, and the farmhouse was placed nearby, and the two rooms on the first floor of the farmhouse semi-restored. Emily Hyatt is a nationally-known weaver who has been featured in Time and Southern Living magazines, and she used this pre-1850 farmhouse as her studio, and as a place to demonstrate her weaving to groups of schoolchildren who came out to learn about early weaving techniques.

The house today is in a wonderful state of preservation, and combines all the charm and personality of a house that has sheltered many generations of families, with all modern systems, i.e., plumbing, wiring, heat pumps, etc.. There are two fully-functioning fireplaces and a high-efficiency Jotul woodstove. The main part of the house is heated and cooled by a state of the art Trane heat pump (rated 14 SEER), installed August, 2008. It is located on a beautiful and rolling tract of approximately 50 acres (with about 1/3 cleared) and the longest property line (almost 1/2 mile—about 2000 ft) is pristine Sandy Creek, which has been declared an “outstanding resource water zone” (the state's highest ranking) due to its exceptional cleanliness and the fact that two endangered species of mussels are found there. Mink, beavers, otters and bobcats have all been spotted around the creek, and deer, wild turkeys and even the occasional bald eagle are a common sight around the property. Landscaping includes a fenced-in herb and perennial garden.

The property is located off of a state-maintained gravel road and is exceptionally quiet and secluded, yet is within an easy 50 minute commute to downtown Raleigh (using Highway 64) and is 20 minutes from Rocky Mount.

Rooms include a large central hallway measuring 17'3" x 7'9". Living room is 19'5" x 17'3" and includes a working fireplace and permanent staircase to the second floor. Across the center hall is a formal dining room that measures 19'2" x 17'4" also with a working fireplace and a staircase to the second-floor bedroom and bath area also. The kitchen and family room measures 46'3" x 23'4" and was originally the back porch of the main structure. The first floor bedroom measures 11'9x15'4 with a full bath off hallway. This part of the structure was originally the plantation office and was moved to this property and attached to the house during the 1992 restoration.

A separate laundry and pantry can be found just off the back hallway before entering the kitchen. Beside it is a spacious office and/or entertaining room, suitable for guests or a family gathering, including a wet bar.

The log cabin room is adjacent; it measures 19'8" x 19'2" and has an outside exit on the right side of the house (easy access outside to the herb garden or the pre-1850 farmhouse, partially renovated, which is also included on the property). The main house boasts a second master bedroom. This room measures 20' x 16'2" with private bath. There is a total of four bedrooms and three full baths featured in this home, with all baths updated in 2008.

The views are spectacular, and each room offers many different views of natural animal habitat. With the acreage available, this property could be used as a horse farm or even a small winery.