Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1939-03-25
BY EMMETT ATKINS, JR.

| lina'S most beautiful and most his
toric homes are to be included in
the North Carolina Garden Clubs
Second Annual Spring Fortnight
and Pilgrimage, scheduled for April
o-23 this year. Twenty-Five towns
| throughout the State are participant
ing in the tour, which will be the
| most ambitious and most complete
event the Garden Club has ever
| sponsored.
Extending from Wilmington, Bath
and other towns along the eastern
coast as far west as Gastonia and
Mount Holly, the Garden Pilgrim
age will visit the outstanding flow
e1 gardens in the state and will in
clude as we'll many historic planta-
tlons and homes that have never be-
lore been opened to the public
Many of these homes are more
than century old and are intimate
~ tied up with incidents of North
Cardinals Revolutionary and Civil
War periods. Some few of them
are still owned and occupied by
descendants of the builders while
others have been restored and furn-
ished with objects of historical in
terest. Some of them, like the Cen
eral. Johnston Headquarters House
| near Durham, are open to the pub
lie the year round
One Of the most interesting his
toric homes included on the timer
| airy Of the Garden Club Tour is the
Jacob StieWalt house, near Concord.
a model of architectural perfection
ct the neo-classic design. The house
was built in 1920 and is now being
restored by descendants of the orr
glnal owner. The StieWalt home
contained at one time the first pipe
| organ ever made in America, built
by Jacob Stiewalt soon after he
built the house. The organ is now
at Davidson College, but will soon
be returned to the Stiewalt house
and placed in the corner where it
originally stood.
Another interesting old home in
cluded in the Concord tour is Crosse
dale" near the home of Mrs. Bax-
ter Craighead Davidson, built in
| 1870 by Archibald Frew. It has es-
pecially interesting mantels and
friezes and is said to be the oldest
frame house in the Piedmont Sec
ton of the State. The Concord
/, Garden Club is also sponsoring two
! other houses in it's tour, although
they are located near Morganton, in
Burke County. They are Greek
side" built in 1900 by Thomas C
Watson, and Quaker Meadows"
built in 1872 by Captain Charles Nc
DoWel. Former Governor Zeb
Vance and Miss Harriet Epsey were
married in the drawing room of this
house.
! The Lexington Garden Club is in
Guiding in its tour "Cooleemee Plan
tation" and the plantation house, a
beautiful old southern home of pre-
Revolutionary origin
The Gastonia Garden Club has in
| cluded "Ingleside," plantation
nome located between Gastonia and
! Lincolnton, built in 1917. Several
interesting homes dating back to the
civil War period are included in the
Jarboro Garden Club Tour. Among
these are ''Bracebridge Hail." built
In 1926; "The Barracks, built in
1852; "Rozalia", "Hilma", "Saverna"
"Merrimede" and others.
For the first time the town of
Eath, founded in 17O5, oldest town in
| North Carolina and early Colonial
capital of the state, is participating
IL the Garden Club fortnight. The
most interesting place in Bath is
st Thomas Episcopal Church, built
it, 1884 and still in regular use. It
is the oldest church building now
standing in North Carolina. The
church is believed to have been built
with bricks brought over as ballast
in British sailing vessels, as Bath
was once the leading port of entry
| il North Carolina. A visit to one of
the Dutch bulb farms at Terra will
be included in the Bath Garden
tour
At Fayetteville, members of the
Garden Club encourage will have an
opportunity to visit the quaint old
Mackelham House, built IN 1888 or
1889. Owned by members of the
family for four generations, the
house is now occupied by Mr.. and
Mrs. Edwin R. Mackelhan. The
house was originally built as 3
Tavern, owned and operated by one
Dolphin Davis. The following adver-
tisement appeared in the Fayetteville
Gazette of Sept. IA, 1889:
"The subscriber begs leave to in