Dortch House is a historic home located in Dortches, North Carolina,

Nash County, North Carolina Nash County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,970. Its county seat is Nashville. Nash County is now a part of the Rocky Mount, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, instead of the ...

. It was built about 1803, by William Dortch, and is a

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

-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 window Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

s. 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. The back section of the house was a free standing federal farm house that was close by the house. It was built around 1779. There was a log kitchen out back of the Dortch House which burned down (date?). At that time, the federal farm house was moved up to the Dortch house and connected. Sometimes in 1942, the family who owned the home remodeled the entire back section of the house using a mix of new and old timber. In keeping with the exterior of the front house, the weatherboard around the back section of the house was specially milled to match the front of the house. There is deterioration on the outside of the house and some less inside. The house sits on the Halifax Road and the old Red Oak Road. The Old Halifax Road was an old Stagecoach road that ran from near Elm City, NC and Halifax, NC. Halifax, NC is a Historical Site which is a State Park. The Halifax Stagecoach Road was a major road through the area. Halifax, NC was a political site where people met, including George Washington, to hammer out parts of the Constitution. The Dortch House, one of the finest Federal farmhouses in the state according to Thomas T. Waterman. The house has been vacant for several years now, in disrepair. The house was purchased by an individual in 2020 and is undergoing rehabbing. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1972.

References

External links

* Historic American Buildings Survey in North Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Federal architecture in North Carolina Houses completed in 1810 Houses in Nash County, North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Nash County, North Carolina {{NashCountyNC-NRHP-stub