The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1883-11-03
KERNER'S FOLLY. "
REMARK ABLE AND ECCENTRIC
PIECE OF ARCHITECTIR
The Dwelling Designed and Construct
ed by the Artist who Paints Black
wells Durham Bull on n II Creation.
Special CbrresT,oad<Aee Of n.

hERNERSNILLE, y. T.. Noy- <l.-Aery
few towns in Christendom. 10 matter how
Insignificant in size or importance. do not
I boast of some particular attraction. some
piece of wisdom or folly bordering on the
mysterious, TO be shown 10 the visitor " no
may stumble across the place. Every ham
let has its oft repeated ghost story. hanI /
ed house. mv-terious parsonage or cal
tradition of SOME kind, which posse s~ing z
undoubted Importance TO the native 10 his
mind, must. as matter Of course be equal
ly as interesting To the new conner No
tourist ever visited Danbury. In Stokes
county. for instance, but he was at once
told of the imam who fell out Of Danbury
and broke his neck, !" the place being stu
ated on such a steep ridge. No soiourner
in Salem departs from this quaint old town
without having tarried awhile among the
majestic cedars of the Moravian graveyard
or seen the room in the old hotel that was
occupied by George Washington. No
stranger goes To Hillsboro but his atten-
ton is directed to the town clock and the
sidewalks which owe their existence TO the
enterprise of Lord Cornwalls, aud so it is
with the pilgrim who stops awhile in New
Berne. He is shown the communion SER
vice given Christ church by George the
Third, bearing his coat-of-arms, and he
sees the old Academy whose bricks were
brought over from England, and so on and
so on.
The place from which write, n btistling
little town Of five hundred inhabitants
and a manufacturing place of coming i'm
pOrtance, possesses ii thing OF singular at
traction at once pointed out as worthy
of inspection. All THE CHRONICLES
| readers, OF course, are familiar with the
mammoth pictures of the Durham Bull
in flaming colors, decorating every other
large rock, wall, fence, and old clubhouse
IN creation. The artist who originated the
| 1nci iSrno IS hos
ments and plies the paint brush in trans
cribing them on the places where they are
to give valuable advice to users Of the
weed, is named J. Gilmer kerner, but bet
ter known to fame as Reuben Rink
Besides being genius Of no ordinary
rank he is an oddity in some other particu-
| lars. He owns dwelling in Kernersyille.
| and such a dwelling, that it is a remarka-
BILE specimen OF architecture. This it is
about which propose to write. TO des-
cribe accurately its peculiar workmanship.
its eccentric design, or correctly to enum-
merate its mysterious ramifications is be-
| yOnd the power of the ordinary humani-
| ty engaged in journalism. A personal
visit is neccessary-it is indeed worthy Of
| ito appreciate it.
Standing alone in a rough weed-2rOwn
, field, is seen brick building of striking
| appearance, three stories in height, and all
| out OF proportion in exterior design. The
| pile is surmounted by four Gothic roofs,
| painfully sharp and crossing each other at
| right angles, cupola (or rather an open
! porch with rail all around) being situated
at the intersection. This elevation made
accessible by step ladders on each sile of
the precipitOus roofs, commands magnfi-
! cent view of the country round about Far
away in the blue distance Pilot Mounrai
with its sharp pinnacle, stands OFT boldly
against the horizon. SauratOwn noun
| tain, spur of the Blue Ridge, is also seen.
The landscape is very picturesque, and
takes in faint glimpse of Winston. High
Point and Greensboro, while the train
on the North Carolina Railroad can be
seen winding itself along like tiny snake.
But to the house itself. To stand off
some distance and view it, the behoider is
impressed with the Gothic sharpness and
old world quaintness that turks around
every door and window. and draws a closer
attention to the very bricks of which il is
built. They are large and out of proper
| ton, and were made to order at a brick
yard in Kernersville. The windows are
all very narrow, none less than five feet
high and one and half wide, and are
| capped by keystone of baked clay The
doors are all equally as narrow, and meant
to admit only one person at a time.
Entering one Of these contracted portals /
find myself within an apartment mea Mt for
an office. Through another narrow door. I
through the entire length of the building,
and provided on one side with places for a
buggy and wagon, while on the other side
are nicely arranged stalls for five horses
and two cows, every means of thorough
ventilation being thoughtfully provided.
Over the stalls is place arranged to keep
the hay and prOvender for the ANIMALS On
this same floor, and leading from the office.
| is Kitchen containing brick oven and also
an OLD fashioned Dutch oven arranged to
heat the room above Convenient to the
cook room is an ice house. so constructed
that the heat from the adjoining room will
| have no effect on its contents There is.
close at hand, smoke house, a cellar, a
pantry, fruit room, and very conve-
nently arranged wood room accessible to
the passage way, where the man with the
wood can drive IN and remove his load
standing in the wagon, and pass out at the
other end. In close proximity to the boilers
of the kitchen is bath room intended to
be provided with both warm and cold
water.
Between the office and the kitchen. into
q very small space is squeezed a winding
stairway leading to the TWO upper stories
The balasters are of black walnut beaufi
fully worked Ascending these stairs am
shown into room Immediately above the
kitchen. This is the dining hall, and is
connected with the room below by means
of dumb waiter. This and the kitchen.
one on top OF the other, Ohc pitch of the
office being equal to both,) constitute the
height of the first story, from which we
ascend 10 the second. On both sides of the
| landing are doors entering bed chambers of
very liberal proportions, one above the
| dining hall, and one above the Office
Right in froDt of me is door leading into
large spacious chamber, which is situated
over the passage way and the stalls for the
animals
understand it is the proprietor's idea to
Ut this room up as libary and art gallary,
! having billiard table, and other devices
for passing an evening pleasantly On the
third story there is another large room
covering the entire area of the plat which
is intended to be used as a studio, and
general working room. There are four
long windows one at each side situated at
the ends of the four sharp pointed roofs
Trere are four triangular openings in addi-