Oxford Historic District Walking Tour (Main Street District) Preview

Richard H. Thornton Library (210 Main Street)

This property was the orginal location of the Herndon Hunt Mansion. Dr. Henry Clay Herndon was a physician and owner of Herndon Bank.

214 Main Street

Dr. C White House - Oxford Baptist Church parsonage for 75 years. In 2011 it was purchased by the Dalton family and converted to a Bed & Breakfast. It sold in 2015 and is now a single family home. Located just south of the library, this triple-A-roofed I-house has vinyl siding, two-over-two wood-sash windows, and two interior brick chimneys in the gable ends. The entrance, obscured by a storm door, has multi-light, Craftsman-style sidelights and a matching three-part transom. It is sheltered by a full-width, hip-roofed porch supported by paneled square columns with a matchstick railing and has a projecting gabled bay at the entrance.

216 Main Street

Herndon-White-Sharp House -- this parcel was part of the Rhodes Herndon plantation and was once an outbuilding - if you can imagine this as an "outbuilding". The oldest part of this house is constructed of pegged timbers and beaded weatherboards. It has undergone many improvements and renovations over the years. One prominent feature of the Colonial Revival style is the double windows on the first floor with singles windows above. The use of shutters also is common in CR.

207 Main Street

This brick bungalow was built by William Henry Fleming - Fleming Tobacco Warehouse.

John G. Hall House (221 Main Street)

John G Hall House. Located at the northeast corner of Main and High streets, this imposing, two-story, truncated-hip-roofed Neoclassical-style house is one of the most impressive in the district. The house is three bays wide and triple-pile with plain weatherboards, one-over-one wood-sash windows, a replacement asphalt-shingled roof, and two interior brick chimneys. The house was constructed in 1913 by John Green (1856-1932) and Helen Cannady Hall (1878-1926). Hall opened a drug store on Main Street to the north in 1879. The Halls left the spacious dwelling to their children, who converted it into apartments in the late 1930s. Sold in 1986 by their son, Sam, the house has been converted back into a single-family dwelling.

Samuel Watkins House (301 Main Street)

Has a mansard roof with patterned slate tiles. This style is a Europeon style found during Napoleon III reign (1852-1870).

312 Main Street

Hester-Harris House. The two-story, hip-roofed, Colonial Revival-style house is three bays wide and double-pile. It has a distinctive brick exterior that includes concrete quoins, modeled to look like stone, and concrete lintels and sills on the one-over-one wood-sash windows. The house was built for attorney John Hester and his wife, Pearl, around 1916. The contractor is thought to have been Samuel Laker. In the early 1940s, it was bought by J. P. Harris and his wife, Mattie B. Harris.

316 Main Street

Dr. GS Watkins - This home is known locally as the "Blood Done Sign My Name" house as it was occupied by the Teel family from 1965-1972 who were written about in Tim Tyson's book by that name. The book tells the story of a piece of Oxford's unpleasant history. I prefer to focus on the unique metal sculptures that adorn the property.

Watkins-Harris House (112 West Front Street)

This home was the conveyed to Rev, Robert Devin in 1884and was established as the First Baptist Church in Oxford.

132 West Front Street

Murray-Johnson House - built in 1913 and was occupied by the editor of the Oxford Public Ledger for many years - Mr. Tom Johnson.

129 West Front Street

Titus Grandy House - Mr. Grandy owned a great deal of property located behind this home (Grandy Mansion). In 1890 the Oxford Public Ledger reported that Mr. Grandy would be selling off lots of 50x150 of his property however the 3 acre lot containing the mansion is "well worth over $7500" has "8 large rooms, a basement and outbuildings".

Outlaw Hunt House (119 West Front Street)

Mr Hunt was a partner in the family lumber business and hs wife was a noted portrait painter. He built the sun room on th right side as her art studio because of the excellent light it provided her. The home also boasts considerably beautiful woodwork and panel work inlaid with burlap. This home is one of many where a former occupant refuses to depart and often is sensed by the owner - sights and smells.

Franklin Hancock Jr. House (103 West Front Street)

Originally built on this lot were homes occupied by several Confederate soldiers, however in 1914 the land was purchased by Franklin Hancock Jr, and he constructed this Dutch Colonial style home. Mr. Hancock was a Congressman. This home still remains in the Hancock family.

104 E. Front Street

Thad G Stem House - Built by the parents of Thad Stem the noted author from Oxford. The elder Stem was an attorney and Mayor of Oxford. The younger was the author of more than a dozen books and awarded the NC Gold Medal for Literature Award in 1974.

Sidney Cutts House (201 E. Front Street)

The property was purchased for a home in 10928 but the home was not completed until 1931. Of course we all know what prolific event in US History occurred in that time? The Great Depression, which gound have played a role in its delayed completion. The home was built by Walter Crews for Mr. Sidney Cutss and his family. Mr. Currs was one of the area's more prominent tobacco auctioneers. The unique features of the house are the Tudor Revival styling with steep hipped roofs, the broken brick exterior and the clay pots that top the chimneys. Inside there is a beautiflul solid marble mantle that I was told was brought over from France following World War II. The house has a ghost, but always just friendly reminders.

Mary Hunt Parker House (202 E. Front Street)

This is one of the oldest homes in Oxford and one of only 3 surviving 19th century homes made from brick. The Italianate features are seen in the decorative brackets around the porch, tall narrow windows with curved tops.

208 E. Front Street

Medford-Washington House - This home was also built by Walter Crews in 1926. The Mediterranean flavor features the rounded arches around the front porch, two Tuscan columns and front glass doors instead of windows. The unique tan wire cut bricks is also unique. Next door the Washington's son built a companion house of similar construction.

315 Raleigh Street

Beverly S Royster House - This is the home of General Beverly Royster. He was an attorney in Oxford and a Mason. He was a major patron of the Oxford Orphanage. This home was built for $7800 around 1900. By today's cost that would be $227,000.Steep pitched hipped roof, 4 large chimneys and dormers, a truncate corner tower and bay and porte cochere.

Oxford Female Academy (307 Raleigh Street)

This is one of four original structres that made up Oxford Female Seminary. It began as a coed seminary established in 1811. In 1871 it became solely female when it merged with the Oxford Baptist Female College. The four buildings stretched down Raleigh Street and were connected by one long porch. The school closed in the mid 1920's and became private residences. Across from teh Smeinary was a large park area which on he original map of Oxford was noted as "The Greens".

Mary Hargrove House (300 Raleigh Street)

Queen Anne Style - a very popular style in Oxford from 1880-1910. These homes feature ornamental woodwork commonly called "gingerbread" details particularly around the verandas.

James M. Currin House (213 High Street)

Beautiful historic home. Featuring rounded porches with turrets, decorative slate rook, ornamental motifs, original interior light fixtures, and a conservatory!

Robert G. Lassiter House (221 Gilliam Street)

This neo-classical style home was a popular design from 1895-1950. Recognized by its Ionic columns, dentils, and wide frieze bands and still with the old hitching posts street side.

Marcellus Lanier House (220 Gilliam Street)

One of few pre-Civil War homes in Oxford. There are no reported battles in or around Oxford the Granville Grays took over 1500 from the county into battle. They led the attack and captured Fort Macon from the Union in 1862. It is not ahrd for me to visualize life before and during the war from the verandah of this grand home.

Bransford Ballou House (125 Gilliam Street)

This house is very unique because as history tells it, the home began when they purchased the 18th century original courthouse moved it to this property and built this grand Colonial Revival around it. Mr. Ballou was a prominent tobacco businessman. It also features Ionic colums and tthe fan and sidelights that encircle the main door and provided light to the entry way.

Oxford Presbyterian Church (121 Gilliam Street)

115 East Spring Street

Augustus Hall House - Mr. Hall was a druggist. His son John Greene Hall opened Hall's Drug Store which operated downtown for over 100 years.

Kingsbury-Young-Yancey House (111 East Spring Street)

This home is another one of our pre-Civil War homes. The lot was originally bought by the Granville County Sherriff, Lt. Colonel Maurice Smith in 1812 and remained undeveloped until Russell Kingsbury bought it in 1845 and over the next 10 years built the home as we see it today.

Thomas White Jr. House (203 Main Street)

Built for less than $4000. He used a variety of seven different sidings including shingles, German siding, T&G in geometric patterns. The porch has decorative balusters, spindles, medallions and brackets. Two Tiffany glass panels, believed to be originals imported from Europe, frame the entry door. riginally lighted by kerosene fixtures, the electricity was installed around 1920 and still has the solid brass switches that were installed. This home was saved through the HPC efforts and the City's demolition by neglect ordinance which requires the owners to make a plan for repairs.

Oxford Baptist Church (147 Main Street)