Ayr Mount is a Federal style
plantation house
A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...
located east of
Hillsborough, in
Orange County, North Carolina
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.
Orange County is included in the Durham–Chapel Hill, NC Metrop ...
, the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
.
In 1799, William Kirkland (born in
Ayr, Scotland
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
) bought 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.
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
William Few Jr. (June 8, 1748 – July 16, 1828) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, politician and jurist. He represented the U.S. state of Georgia at the Constitutional Convention and signed the U.S. Constitution. Few and James Gunn w ...
, 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 . It is owned and operated by Classical American Homes Preservation Trust.
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."
References
External links
- Ayr Mount website- Classical American Homes Preservation Trust*
Federal architecture in North Carolina
Historic American Buildings Survey in North Carolina
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina
Houses in Orange County, North Carolina
Hillsborough, North Carolina
Historic house museums in North Carolina
Plantation houses in North Carolina
Museums in Orange County, North Carolina
Houses completed in 1815
National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, North Carolina
Richard Jenrette
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