Ayr Mount | |
Location | St. Mary's Rd., Hillsborough, North Carolina |
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Coordinates | 36°4′37″N79°5′30″W / 36.07694°N 79.09167°W |
Area | 8 acres (3.2 ha) |
Built | c. 1815 |
Architectural style | Greek Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 71000606 [1] |
Added to NRHP | August 26, 1971 |
Ayr Mount is a Federal style plantation house located east of Hillsborough, in Orange County, North Carolina, the United States of America.
In 1799, William Kirkland (born in Ayr, Scotland) bought 500 acres (2.0 km2) east of Hillsborough. Circa 1815, he had a home built for himself, his wife, Margaret, and their children, a brick dwelling with a two-story, three-bay main block flanked by one-story, two-bay wings. A full-width front porch, added about 1894, was removed sometime after 1971 and replaced with a facsimile of the original porch. [2]
Mrs. Samuel (Emily) Kirkland, the last of four generations of Kirklands to occupy the house, lived there until 1985.
The property had gone through several owners prior to Kirkland's purchase of the property, the most well-known being William Few, Jr., whose father, William Few, Sr., had a house built on the property c. 1764.
Today, Ayr Mount is a publicly accessible historic site located on 265 acres (1.07 km2). It is owned and operated by Classical American Homes Preservation Trust. [3] The home has been furnished with Federal period antiques and decorative art, including some original Kirkland furnishings. Ayr Mount features guided house tours and the one-mile (1.6 km) hiking trail the "Poet's Walk."
Orange County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 148,696. Its county seat is Hillsborough.
The town of Hillsborough is the county seat of Orange County, North Carolina, United States and is located along the Eno River. The population was 6,087 in 2010, but it grew rapidly to 9,660 by 2020.
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The Dodd-Hinsdale House was built in 1879 for the family of the Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, city mayor. It was constructed in the Italianate style, with some Second Empire embellishments.
The Nash-Hooper House, also known as the William Hooper House, is a historic house at 118 West Tryon Street in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Built in 1772 by American Revolutionary War general Francis Nash, it was home from 1782–1790 to Founding Father William Hooper, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. It is the only known home of Hooper's to survive, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971. It is located in the Hillsborough Historic District; it is a private residence, and is not normally open to the public.
William Whedbee Kirkland was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was the only former US Marine to serve as a Confederate general.
Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site is a historic site in Union County, South Carolina, that preserves the home of William H. Gist (1807-1874), the 68th governor of South Carolina. Gist helped instigate a Secession Convention in South Carolina, which led to the creation of the Ordinance of Secession that preceded the Civil War.
Hillsborough Historic District is a national historic district located at Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. The district encompasses 529 contributing buildings, 9 contributing sites, 13 contributing structures, and 2 contributing objects in the central business district and surrounding residential sections of Hillsborough. The district includes buildings dating to the late-18th and early-20th century and includes notable examples of Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate style architecture. Located in the district are the separately listed Burwell School, Eagle Lodge, Hazel-Nash House, Heartsease, Montrose, Nash Law Office, Nash-Hooper House, Old Orange County Courthouse, Poplar Hill, Ruffin-Roulhac House, Sans Souci, and St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and Churchyard. Other notable buildings include Seven Hearths, the Presbyterian Church (1815-1816), Methodist Church (1859-1860), First Baptist Church (1862-1870), Twin Chimneys, and the Berry Brick House.
St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and Churchyard is a historic Episcopal church located on St. Mary's Road, Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. The first three bays of the Gothic Revival-style brick church were built between 1825 and 1826, and its rear was extended by another bay in 1868. It features a square entrance tower built in 1830, which was rebuilt in 1850. The tower has a pyramidal spire and lancet windows.
Coor-Gaston House, also known as the Judge William Gaston House, is a historic home located at New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina. It was built in 1774, as determined by dendrochronology, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, "L"-plan, Georgian style frame dwelling with a gable roof. It features a two-tier porch enclosed by Chinese trellis railings and supported by Doric order pillars. It was the home of Congressman and jurist William Gaston (1778-1844).
Person Place, also known as Prudence Person House, is a historic home located at Louisburg, Franklin County, North Carolina. It consists of a large two-story, three bay, Federal style main block built about 1789, with a 1+1⁄2-story, three bay Georgian wing. The front facade features a small three bay pedimented porch supported by four wooden Doric order columns. It also has two brick chimneys with concave shoulders.
Dortch House is a historic home located in Dortches, North Carolina, Nash County, North Carolina. It was built about 1803, by William Dortch, and is a Federal-style frame dwelling that consists of a two-story, three-bay, main block covered by a gable roof and a one-story rear wing. It is sheathed in weatherboard and features a one-story full-width front porch and Palladian windows. The house was purchased by Henry Griffin in 1899 from the Dortch family and remained in the Griffin family until 2020. The one-story full-width front porch was added by the Griffin family sometimes before the 1910s. A one-bay portico with columns was the original porch to the house.
Sans Souci is a historic home located at Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. It was built about 1813, as two-story, three bay, frame dwelling with a gable roof and set on a brick foundation. Later additions included 1+1⁄2-story flanking wings added in the Federal period and a Greek Revival shed addition built in the mid-19th century across the rear of the main block and the east wing. Also on the property are the contributing kitchen, office, and servant's quarters.
Hazel-Nash House, also known as the Hasell-Nash House, is a historic home located at Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. It was built about 1820, and consists of a two-story, three bay, pedimented central block flanked by a pair of pedimented single-story wings. The front facade features a single-story porch supported by Ionic order columns and a central Palladian window. Its design is probably based on Robert Morris (1703–1754) plate 37 of his Rural Architecture..
Heartsease is a historic home located at Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. It was built about 1770, and consists of a 1+1⁄2-story, three-bay, central block dating to the late 18th century, with an early 19th-century 1+1⁄2-story east wing, and two-story pedimented west wing added in the late 19th century. It is topped by a gable roof and features a shed porch whose roof supported by plain Tuscan order posts. It is believed that Heartsease served as the pre-Revolutionary home of Thomas Burke, North Carolina's third governor and a member of the Constitutional Convention.
Ruffin-Roulhac House, also known as Little Hawfields, is a historic home located at Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina, United States. It was built about 1820, and is a 1+1⁄2-story, five bay, frame dwelling including a two-room addition built about 1830. It is topped by a gable roof, is sheathed in weatherboard, and has a one-bay 20th century replacement porch. The interior has Federal, Greek Revival, and Victorian style design elements. It was the home of jurist Thomas Ruffin (1787–1870) from after the end of the American Civil War until his death in 1870.
Moorefields is a historic plantation home located near Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. It was built about 1785, and consists of a two-story central block, three bays wide, with flanking one-bay wings in the Federal style. The house features a shed porch with turned wooden posts. It was built by soldier and judge Alfred Moore (1755-1810).
Eagle Lodge is a historic Masonic lodge building located at Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. It was built in 1823, and two-story, three bay, square brick building in the Greek Revival style. It has a low hipped roof with heavy box cornice and a one-story pedimented porch with Ionic order columns.
Nash Law Office is a historic office building located at Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. It was built in 1801, and is a small one-story, frame building with a gable roof and low brick foundation. It has a brick exterior end chimney and a small one-story wing added in 1865. The building housed the law office of jurist Frederick Nash (1781-1858). Following his death it housed a school and was purchased by the Hillsborough Historical Society in 1970.
Old Orange County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located at Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. It was built in 1845, and is a two-story, Greek Revival style, temple-form brick structure. It replaced Dickerson Chapel as the county's courthouse. The front facade features a Doric order tetrastyle pedimented portico and two-stage clock tower. The building served as the seat of Orange County's government until 1954, when a new building was completed.
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