Oxford, NC Historic Preservation Commission
Self-Guided Walking tour of Historic Oxford, NC
Main Street and College Street Districts
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Historic Walking Tour Historic Oxford, NC Self-Guided Walking Tour
Experience over 200 Historical Properties and 200+ years of History
See how the passing years influenced architectural styles in this quaint small town of Granville County.
1. Granville County Courthouse (101 Main St.) Built 1838-1840, this Greek Revival structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Samuel Benton, a county clerk of court at that time, had the first permanent courthouse established on his land and the town of Oxford grew up around it, profiting Benton in the process.
Main Street Historic District
2. Herndon-White-Sharpe House (216 Main St.) This I-House / Italianate structure, built in 1872, stands on part of the once extensive Oxford plantation of Rhodes Herndon. According to local legend, its front block and one-story rear ell were originally part of the plantation’s large compliment of outbuildings.
3. Cannady Family House (304 Main St.) This one story Victorian cottage, built in the 1880s in Queen Anne style, has had few changes over the years. It once had a picket fence which served to protect lawns and dwellings from horses, cows and pigs that sometimes could be found wandering through town
4. Outlaw Hunt House (119 W. Front St.) Built in 1920, this Arts and Crafts Bungalow is richly and fancifully finished inside. Mrs. Hunt was a local portrait painter of note.
5. Franklin W. Hancock, Sr. House (103 W. Front St.) Built about1914, this Dutch Colonial Revival Style house has the hallmark gambrel roof projecting well out over the front façade and accented by three shed roofed dormers. The front elevation is flanked by two side porches. Franklin W. Hancock, III, who served in the state Senate purchased the house in 1947 after his grandfather’s death.
6. Sidney Cutts House (201 E. Front St.) A steeply pitched irregular roofline and wall surface transform this small cottage into the most complete example of Tudor Revival in Oxford. This house was built by contractor Walter Crews about 1931.
7. Medford-Washington House (208 E. Front St.) This Mediterranean Period Revival Bungalow was built by contractor Walter Crews in 1926. Its deep, cool front porch is entered through an arcade of round arches and Tuscan columns. Tan wire cut bricks contribute to its cool appearance.
8. Beverly S. Royster House (315 Raleigh St.) Standing well back on its lot at the head of Front St., this Chateauesque / Colonial Revival house was that of a prominent attorney and mason. The porch originally wrapped around the house, according to a photograph found inSouthern Colonial Homes, a book of Raleigh architect, Charles W. Barrett’s work.
9. (former) Oxford Female Seminary (307 Raleigh St.) Of the four large frame buildings which once housed the Oxford Female Seminary, only part of one remains. This two-story tall, two-room deep, frame structure is now used as a residence. The Seminary had its roots in the Male and Female Academies which were given land adjoining the courthouse in 1811, the year Oxford was laid out.
10. Robert G. Lassiter House (221 Gilliam St.) Built in 1908, this Neo-Classical Revival structure has an impressive grand front portico, and many classical features both inside and out. The rear sunporches, added in 1920, once looked out upon a fine Italian garden (see top of next column).
11. Bransford Ballou House (125 Gilliam St.) This Colonial Revival house was built between 1904-1915 on the site of a former tobacco warehouse. According to local tradition, the house has part of an eighteenth century Granville County Courthouse as part of its structure.
College Street Historic District
12. Taylor-McClanahan-Smith House (203 College St.) One of Oxford’s oldest residences, this house was built in the 1820s in Georgian / transitional / Federal style. Now an expansive structure, the house was originally two stories tall and three bays across. Two bays were added to the south side of the house and the rear ell was built in 1929.
13. Hundley-White House “The Villa” (208 College St.) This French Second Empire structure was built in 1889, with slate shingled mansard roof covering this two-story brick house and its three-story central tower. The Villa was run as a tourist home from about 1934 until about 1955.
14. C. D. Ray House (404 College St.) was built in 1911 by C. D. Ray who was in the lumber business. Looming up from the rear of one of College Street’s more spacious front lawns, the full façade, two-story portico of this house is the most dramatic example of Neo-Classical Revival style in Oxford. Tuscan columns form a dominating portico. A balustrade rings the entirety of the flat roof.
15. Hundley-Cannady House (517 College St.) The Eastlake decorative style was liberally applied to both the exterior and interior of this two-and –a-half-story frame house. Built in the 1880s, molded and incised boards, laid in geometric and chevron patterns, adorn the bayed surface of the house.
16. Abner N. Jones House (419 College St.) Built in 1857 in Greek Revival style, this spacious double-pile structure is three bays wide and capped by a low hipped roof. It was originally served by four exterior end chimneys, now consolidated to two.
17. C. G. Credle School (223 College St.) A graded school serving 200 pupils was built at this site in 1901. Replaced in 1911 by the present Colonial Revival / Neo-Classical style brick building, The monumental front portico is formed of paired, two-story tall columns and a triangular pediment. Credle School is the oldest building still housing an operating school in North Carolina today.
18. Erwin-Baird House (209 College St.). Built in 1902, this two and a half story house has a polygonal tower, a Queen Anne style motif little seen in Oxford, rising from the center of its stepped-back façade.
Sponsored by Oxford's HPC (Historic Preservation Commission)
Experience over 200 Historical Properties and 200+ years of History
See how the passing years influenced architectural styles in this quaint small town of Granville County.
1. Granville County Courthouse (101 Main St.) Built 1838-1840, this Greek Revival structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Samuel Benton, a county clerk of court at that time, had the first permanent courthouse established on his land and the town of Oxford grew up around it, profiting Benton in the process.
Main Street Historic District
2. Herndon-White-Sharpe House (216 Main St.) This I-House / Italianate structure, built in 1872, stands on part of the once extensive Oxford plantation of Rhodes Herndon. According to local legend, its front block and one-story rear ell were originally part of the plantation’s large compliment of outbuildings.
3. Cannady Family House (304 Main St.) This one story Victorian cottage, built in the 1880s in Queen Anne style, has had few changes over the years. It once had a picket fence which served to protect lawns and dwellings from horses, cows and pigs that sometimes could be found wandering through town
4. Outlaw Hunt House (119 W. Front St.) Built in 1920, this Arts and Crafts Bungalow is richly and fancifully finished inside. Mrs. Hunt was a local portrait painter of note.
5. Franklin W. Hancock, Sr. House (103 W. Front St.) Built about1914, this Dutch Colonial Revival Style house has the hallmark gambrel roof projecting well out over the front façade and accented by three shed roofed dormers. The front elevation is flanked by two side porches. Franklin W. Hancock, III, who served in the state Senate purchased the house in 1947 after his grandfather’s death.
6. Sidney Cutts House (201 E. Front St.) A steeply pitched irregular roofline and wall surface transform this small cottage into the most complete example of Tudor Revival in Oxford. This house was built by contractor Walter Crews about 1931.
7. Medford-Washington House (208 E. Front St.) This Mediterranean Period Revival Bungalow was built by contractor Walter Crews in 1926. Its deep, cool front porch is entered through an arcade of round arches and Tuscan columns. Tan wire cut bricks contribute to its cool appearance.
8. Beverly S. Royster House (315 Raleigh St.) Standing well back on its lot at the head of Front St., this Chateauesque / Colonial Revival house was that of a prominent attorney and mason. The porch originally wrapped around the house, according to a photograph found inSouthern Colonial Homes, a book of Raleigh architect, Charles W. Barrett’s work.
9. (former) Oxford Female Seminary (307 Raleigh St.) Of the four large frame buildings which once housed the Oxford Female Seminary, only part of one remains. This two-story tall, two-room deep, frame structure is now used as a residence. The Seminary had its roots in the Male and Female Academies which were given land adjoining the courthouse in 1811, the year Oxford was laid out.
10. Robert G. Lassiter House (221 Gilliam St.) Built in 1908, this Neo-Classical Revival structure has an impressive grand front portico, and many classical features both inside and out. The rear sunporches, added in 1920, once looked out upon a fine Italian garden (see top of next column).
11. Bransford Ballou House (125 Gilliam St.) This Colonial Revival house was built between 1904-1915 on the site of a former tobacco warehouse. According to local tradition, the house has part of an eighteenth century Granville County Courthouse as part of its structure.
College Street Historic District
12. Taylor-McClanahan-Smith House (203 College St.) One of Oxford’s oldest residences, this house was built in the 1820s in Georgian / transitional / Federal style. Now an expansive structure, the house was originally two stories tall and three bays across. Two bays were added to the south side of the house and the rear ell was built in 1929.
13. Hundley-White House “The Villa” (208 College St.) This French Second Empire structure was built in 1889, with slate shingled mansard roof covering this two-story brick house and its three-story central tower. The Villa was run as a tourist home from about 1934 until about 1955.
14. C. D. Ray House (404 College St.) was built in 1911 by C. D. Ray who was in the lumber business. Looming up from the rear of one of College Street’s more spacious front lawns, the full façade, two-story portico of this house is the most dramatic example of Neo-Classical Revival style in Oxford. Tuscan columns form a dominating portico. A balustrade rings the entirety of the flat roof.
15. Hundley-Cannady House (517 College St.) The Eastlake decorative style was liberally applied to both the exterior and interior of this two-and –a-half-story frame house. Built in the 1880s, molded and incised boards, laid in geometric and chevron patterns, adorn the bayed surface of the house.
16. Abner N. Jones House (419 College St.) Built in 1857 in Greek Revival style, this spacious double-pile structure is three bays wide and capped by a low hipped roof. It was originally served by four exterior end chimneys, now consolidated to two.
17. C. G. Credle School (223 College St.) A graded school serving 200 pupils was built at this site in 1901. Replaced in 1911 by the present Colonial Revival / Neo-Classical style brick building, The monumental front portico is formed of paired, two-story tall columns and a triangular pediment. Credle School is the oldest building still housing an operating school in North Carolina today.
18. Erwin-Baird House (209 College St.). Built in 1902, this two and a half story house has a polygonal tower, a Queen Anne style motif little seen in Oxford, rising from the center of its stepped-back façade.
Sponsored by Oxford's HPC (Historic Preservation Commission)