Bartlett Yancey House History

Bartlett Yancey (19 Feb. 1785 - 30 Aug. 1828), one of Caswell County’s most noted citizens, built this dwelling between 1806—when he settled at “Caswell Court House” to practice law and married Ann Graves—and 1814, the date of death of a son whose grave is the earliest interment in the family cemetery near the house.

The Bartlett Yancey House, the result of three stages of nineteenth century construction, is composed of a Federal cottage built early in the century, a two-story L-shaped Greek Revival block added to the front of the original house in 1856, and a Victorian overlay of front and side porches added late in the century.

The north (front) facade and the east side are obscured by the Greek revival addition. The rear center bay, which is currently the kitchen, was originally open as a recessed porch, with walls covered with wide flush horizontal sheathing. Some of the original exterior fabric remains: beaded siding, nine-over-nine sash windows, four-pane gable casement windows, molded architraves, boxed molded cornices with pattern boards, and beaded raking cornices. The west chimney, the only original chimney intact, has double-stepped shoulders with a freestanding stack and molded cap; the brick is laid in random Flemish bond, with glazed headers forming vertical bands. The east side had two chimneys: the smaller rear chimney, laid in one-to-five common bond, has now been replaced; the larger front chimney is an 1856 replacement. A frame basement bulkhead projects from the west side.

The interior hall-and-parlor plan of the Federal cottage has several interesting variations. The enclosed stair in the inside rear corner of the smaller east room was at one time accessible from the west room as well. Originally there were two rear shed rooms which opened off the recessed porch, which was reached through a door from the west room. The east shed room could also be reached by a door from the east room.

The house, which occupies a spacious setting west of Yanceyville, is surrounded by the original smokehouse, a Federal period law office, and a six-room tobacco pack barn constructed of solid oak walls.

East of the house is the Yancey family graveyard, enclosed by an ornate cast-iron fence.

Historical Significance: The Federal cottage in which Bartlett Yancey lived throughout his short, brilliant political career, the interesting mid-nineteenth century addition to the cottage, and his law office form a monument to this prominent Caswell County native, who is buried in the family cemetery on the site. The interior plan of the original house and the vernacular woodwork of the addition— by the noted local cabinetmaker Thomas Day—are of strong local architectural significance.

The original dwelling, though small, is solidly built and one of the few remaining examples in the county of a Federal cottage with interior finish equal to that of large Federal plantation houses. The unique floor plan, which originally consisted of a hall-and-parlor and an enclosed stair which could be entered from either room and a rear-recessed central porch opening into shed rooms, is of particular interest. The 1856 Greek Revival addition is noteworthy for the individuality and awkward vitality of its woodwork which was crafted by Thomas Day, one of North Carolina’s most famous cabinetmakers.

Portions from the National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form dated September 13, 1973.