Davenport House (Creswell, North Carolina) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Davenport House
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 Location in North Carolina
Location in the United States
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| Location | VA 1143 (Mount Tabor Rd. and VA 1146 (Mount Tabor Road-Backwoods, near Creswell, North Carolina |
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| Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
| Built | c. 1815 |
| Architectural style | One-room coastal cottage |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000932 |
| Added to NRHP | September 5, 2007 |
The Davenport House is a very old home located in Creswell, North Carolina. It was built around 1815. This historic house is a great example of what homes looked like a long time ago. Today, it is a museum where you can learn about life in the early 1800s.
Discovering the Davenport House
The Davenport House is a special kind of home called a "coastal cottage." It is made from heavy timber, which means it has strong wooden beams. The house has one main room and a porch built right into the house. There is also a small room at the back. The roof has a unique shape, sloping down in a broken line.
This style of house is very rare now. Not many like it have survived over the years. The Davenport House is the oldest home in its area that you can visit. It was once part of the property of Daniel Davenport. He was an important person who represented Washington County in the North Carolina Senate. His daughter, Asenath Davenport, is thought to have built the house.
Life at the Homestead
The Davenport House sits on a piece of land that is about one acre big. This whole area is called a homestead. Besides the main house, there are several other old buildings. These include a smokehouse, a corn crib, and a loom house. These buildings were moved to their current spots.
There are also five other structures that were built later. These include a chicken coop, a well house, an outhouse, and two sheds. What's interesting is that the Davenport House never had modern plumbing or heating. It also never had electricity. People lived in this house without these things until 1975!
On the property, you can find the graves of the last three people who lived in the house. These were Susan Ann and Armistead Davenport, along with their daughter Harriet Ann Davenport.
Saving History
In 1995, the Davenport House was given to the Historical Society of Washington County. The only condition was that they had to fix it up. The society worked hard to restore the house. They repaired the roof and the chimney. They also fixed the outside walls and the inside parts of the house.
After all the hard work, the homestead opened as a museum in 1999. Inside, you can see furniture and items that show what life was like for families in the late 1700s. Some items are replicas, meaning they are copies, while others are original pieces.
The Davenport House was recognized as a very important historical place in 2007. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes buildings and sites that are important to the history of the United States. However, the other small buildings on the property are not part of this special listing.
