Comments on: Raleigh’s Own Castle

By: M.A.K. Jenkins

M.A.K. Jenkins — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 04:04:52 +0000

I came to Raleigh in 1949 from Greenville, NC to attend Ferree School of Art on Martin St. I lived at Mrs. Lupton’s on Halifax St. My room was on the 3rd floor on the front of the house. She also served meals there. I think almost all the old big houses on that street were rooming houses. I was there for about 3 years.

Every morning, I walked to art school passing the old state capital, down Fayetteville St to Martin also passing Jean’s , Mc Joseph’s, California Cafe, Ambassador Theater, and Eckard’s. At Eckard’s you could order a cheese “toast tight”. Hummm…

I grew to love Raleigh and all the old buildings. I never left this town. (Now age 82) Thanks for this web site and all the memories! ( I found it about 2 weeks ago.)

By: Raleigh Boy

Raleigh Boy — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:20:29 +0000

Thanks for that link Andrew. Also, I was at the Meredith College-Mansion Park site last weekend taking pics of the state gov’t parking lot makeover going on there — another one of the brick piers had been taken out (there are now six left, and they are in pretty bad shape) — any evidence of the old driveways had been completely obliterated.

By: Andrew Edmonds

Andrew Edmonds — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:43:15 +0000

Anne Sams, you can read about the history and significance of the Carleigh Mills from the National Register nomination form, here:

http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/nr/WA3891.pdf

In addition to the old Baptist Female/Meredith College/hotel/government building, the block at Edenton and Blount also was home to the old Faircloth Hall, which was razed around 1990.

If you go the the Wake County iMaps web mapping site [http://maps.raleighnc.gov/imapsraleigh/index.html] you can see the building on aerials as late as 1988. You can also see the curved driveways that entered the property between the brick piers — the driveways were only paved over in the last couple of years.

By: Anne Sams

Anne Sams — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:00:20 +0000

I wonder, do you have a link/website about the Caraleigh Textile Mills? My grandparents worked there in the early 1900s.
Thank you!

By: CLAUDE COVINGTON

CLAUDE COVINGTON — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:35:08 +0000

WHAT A GREAT SITE YOU HAVE HERE !! MY SISTER, WHO LIVES IN GARNER JUST INTRODUCED YOUR SITE TO ME AND I EMMEDIATELY SIGNED UP… I HAVE BEEN GONE FROM THE RALEIGH AREA SINCE 1954.. I AM NOW 83 YEARS OLD.. IN THE LATE 40′S I WORKED AT CAROLINA RIM AND WHEEL ON SOUTH BLOUNT, IN THE 50′S I WORKED FOR WILLIAM DANIELS AT “WILLIAM DANIELS CAMERA SHOP” IN HIS SIR WALTER PHOTO DEPARTMENT.. THEN MY WIFE GOT HOMESICK AND WE MOVED BACK TO MISSOURI… I STILL MISS NORTH CAROLINA AND RALEIGH !! I AM IN NORTH FLORIDA NOW….I VISITED RALEIGH NEXT IN 1996, HOW IT HAD CHANGED !! I WAS LAST IN RALEIGH IN 2001.. GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN… KEEP UP YOUR GREAT WORK !! I LOVE ALL YOUR STORIES AND PICTURES

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:51:54 +0000

Thank you Raleigh Boy! My grandfather spent most of his childhood there with his aunt and uncle and I would like to learn more about it. They were likely the people your father knew, though I believe they were actually brother and sister, not married. I really appreciate your help!

By: Raleigh Boy

Raleigh Boy — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 02:19:55 +0000

Rebecca — One of the best sources I know of for info on historic Raleigh houses is “North Carolina’s Capital: Raleigh” by Elizabeth Culbertson Waugh. There is quite a bit of info on the Dortch house in there. Any local library should have a copy. If you have any specific questions about the house you’d like answered, then perhaps I can help, but Mrs. Waugh’s book would THE ultimate authority.

This link will take you to some photos and architectural drawings made of the Dortch house in the late 1950s. The originals are housed in NC State University’s Special Collections division of the DH Hill Library.

http://images.lib.ncsu.edu:8180/luna/servlet/view/search?q=IsPartOf=%22Built%20Heritage%20of%20North%20Carolina:%20Historic%20Architecture%20in%20the%20Old%20North%20State%22%20AND%20%20Subject=%22Dortch%20House%20%28Raleigh%2C%20N.C.%29%22%20LIMIT:SCDRLUNA-VC~102~3

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:22:00 +0000

Do any of you have any more information on the Dortch house? This was my grandfather’s family’s house.

By: Raleigh Girl

Raleigh Girl — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:40:07 +0000

Lucky you…getting to see the Dortch place up close and personal. Since I didn’t live in the neighborhood, I really couldn’t keep the street names straight—except for Blount St.; I had that one down pat. Thanks for giving me the location of the house; I knew it was somewhere near the Gov’s Mansion. I certainly recall the iron fence surrounding the property and remember wondering why that house had a yard so much larger than the remaining homes in the area. I’m surprised to learn that the house was still occupied in the early 1960′s. From what I could see of it from the street, it looked pretty run down. Every time we approached the block where it sat, my dad would say wistfully “There’s the old Dortch place….”. And then one day it was gone. I plan to go by that block tomorrow for old time’s sake.

By: Raleigh Boy

Raleigh Boy — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:35:47 +0000

Yes, I have a memory of the “Dortch Place.” Back in the early ’60s my Dad knew Mr. Dortch and his wife, and he took me there once when he visited them. The house was built about 1855 and sat in the center of the block bounded by Jones, Blount, Lane and Wilmington streets. Later houses were built along the Blount St. side in the early 1900s, but the rest of the block comprised the “yard” of the Dortch house. A black iron fence surrounded it along the Jones, Lane and Wilmington sides. A long gravel driveway led up to the house. I remember the wraparound porches which encircled it on three sides. Enormous oaks stood in the expansive yard. The house was torn down around 1962 and the archives and history building was built on that block in 1967. Today, you can still see two of the big oak trees behind the A&H building.