The Lucas Mansion, also known as the Hiddenite Center, is a historic home located at

Hiddenite Hiddenite is a pale-to-emerald green variety of spodumene that is sometimes used as a gemstone. The first specimens of the hiddenite variety of spodumene were recovered about 1879 near the tiny settlement of White Plains, west of Stony Point, A ...

Alexander County, North Carolina Alexander County is a county established in the U.S. state of North Carolina in 1847. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,444. Its county seat is Taylorsville. Alexander County is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton, NC Metropol ...

. It was built about 1900, and is a three-story, frame Queen Anne style dwelling. It features a two-story wraparound porch. It was enlarged to its present size by 1928. Local tradition says the house was enlarged twice by raising the existing floor and building a new floor beneath or between the existing floors. The house roughly follows a cruciform plan, though the plan varies from floor to floor. It was owned by James Paul Lucas, a South Carolina native and international diamond merchant. 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 1982. In 1981, Eileen Sharpe and R.Y Sharpe purchased the mansion and established the Hiddenite Center. The Hiddenite Center has restored the first floor of the Lucas Mansion with period furnishings and a collection of local gemstones and minerals. The second floor is used as a regional art gallery and includes a gift shop. The third floor features a large collection of dolls on display.

References

External links

Hiddenite Center website
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Queen Anne architecture in North Carolina Houses completed in 1900 Houses in Alexander County, North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Alexander County, North Carolina Museums in Alexander County, North Carolina {{AlexanderCountyNC-NRHP-stub