Chinqua Penn Plantation is an English manor home in Reidsville, North Carolina in Rockingham County, North Carolina, United States, (about 25 miles north of Greensboro). It is a private residence and was closed to the public in 2012. The home was built by Thomas Jefferson Penn ("Jeff", 1875–1946) and Margaret Beatrice Shoellkopf Penn ("Betsy", 1881–1965) in the 1920s. The name "Chinqua Penn" was

derived Derive may refer to: * Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments * ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism *Dérive, a psychogeographical concept See also * *Derivation (disambiguatio ...

from the chinquapin, a species of

American chestnut The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in genus Castanea, the American chestnut produces burred fruit with edible nuts. ...

that was once plentiful in the area. Chinqua Penn Plantation ranks high among North Carolina's finest well-preserved early 20th century homes, including

Reynolda House The Reynolda House Museum of American Art displays a premiere collection of United States, American art ranging from the colonial period to the present. Built in 1917 by Katharine Smith Reynolds and her husband R. J. Reynolds, founder of the R. J ...

, and Duke Mansion.

History

After inheriting a portion of the Penn family tobacco interests, they relocated from Penn's Store,

Patrick County, Virginia Patrick County is a county located on the central southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,608. Its county seat is Stuart. It is located within both the rolling hills and valleys of the Pie ...

to North Carolina; Jeff Penn then augmented his fortune in stocks and bonds during the depression. He also operated a dairy husbandry and raised Holstein cattle. In later years he raised Black Angus. The Penn Tobacco Company was later purchased in 1911 by

American Tobacco Company The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members of ...

, the

Duke family Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

behemoth that made Lucky Strike cigarettes. The coats-of-arms above the picture window show the Penn family crest, as well as that of the Spencer family of Spencer, Virginia, to whom the Penns were related. Betsy's father was

Arthur Schoellkopf Arthur Schoellkopf (June 13, 1856 – February 3, 1913) was an American industrial leader who helped develop the hydroelectric resources of Niagara Falls and served as the fifth Mayor of Niagara Falls, New York. Early life Arthur Schoellkopf was b ...

, chairman of the board of directors of Niagara Falls Power Company and

Mayor of Niagara Falls, New York The office of mayor of Niagara Falls, New York is currently held by Robert Restaino. Prior to the establishment of the mayorship, the highest official in Niagara Falls was known as the "village president" and was held by Peter A. Porter in 1878. ...

. Betsy Penn survived Jeff by nearly twenty years, during which time she became increasingly involved in philanthropic and community activities. She created the Betsy-Jeff Penn

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...

Educational Center on part of the estate. Most of the furnishings and art, showcasing 30 countries, were placed by the Penns. The house and related buildings, and ultimately the internal furnishings, were given into the trusteeship of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

System in 1965. Because of high costs, N.C. State University closed the site to tours. Three years later Calvin Phelps, the founder of Renegade

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

Company, in August 2006, acquired the estate, claiming he intended to build a replica in Davie County. He decided to have a second home nearby and operate the site as a tourist attraction. But Phelps used funds from his tobacco company, which was successful for a while due to being exempt from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement which required a $5 per carton surcharge on

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

s. He could sell his cigarettes more cheaply until the government began requiring exempt tobacco companies to pay "

escrow An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party (the stakeholder or escrow agent) receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties, with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transacti ...

" fees. Later, needed to finance his debt, Phelps obtained a

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...

backed by his companies. Bank of Granite, which had lent him money, cut him off. Federal agents seized the property and assets on September 28, 2010, as part of an ongoing

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

proceeding. In September 2011, a bankruptcy trustee took over, and an order filed December 12 said a bankruptcy judge would require that all items in the house be sold at

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

in April 2012. The two-day auction took place at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina, April 25 and 26, 2012, was conducted by Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd. and Iron Horse Auction Company, Inc. , and raised approximately US$3.4 Million. In August 2012, the Museum and Archives of Rockingham County was expected to open, and certain items acquired at the auction were expected to be displayed. On September 18, 2013, Chinqua Penn went into

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mortg ...

. SunTrust Bank bought the property from Phelps for $1.4 million. Though SunTrust wanted $1.9 million, the property sold for considerably less to a private buyer. The house and gardens were once open for tours, and the plantation offered tours through March 17, 2012. Farmland adjoining the property is still operated as an experimental agricultural station by

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

References

External links

Records of the Penn and Spencer families
{{Authority control Houses in Rockingham County, North Carolina English-American culture in North Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Historic house museums in North Carolina Museums in Rockingham County, North Carolina Houses completed in 1923 Tobacco plantations in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Rockingham County, North Carolina Schoellkopf family Plantation houses in North Carolina