The Midway Plantation House and Outbuildings are a set of historic buildings constructed in the mid-19th century in present-day Knightdale,

Wake County, North Carolina Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

, as part of a forced-labor farm. The two-story

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 ...

was built in 1848 about west of present-day Knightdale, along the wagon trail that would eventually become

U.S. Route 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

. It was built by Charles Lewis Hinton, a farmer, enslaver, and

state treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

, as a wedding gift for his son, David, and daughter-in-law, Mary Boddie Carr (sister of Governor

Elias Carr Elias Carr (February 25, 1839 – July 22, 1900) was an American planter, lawyer, and politician who served as the 48th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1893 to 1897. A building on the campus of the University of North Carolina a ...

). David and Mary's daughter, the anti-suffragist

Mary Hilliard Hinton Mary Hilliard Hinton (June 7, 1869 – January 6, 1961) was an American painter, historian, clubwoman, and anti-suffragist. She was a leader in North Carolina's Anti-suffragism, anti-suffragist movement and an outspoken white supremacist, co-fou ...

, was born here. It was named for its position halfway between two other Hinton family properties:

Beaver Dam A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers to create a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way t ...

and The Oaks. Other structures on the site included a

carriage house A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack. In Great Britain the farm building was called a cart shed. These typically were open f ...

, kitchen,

smokehouse A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with t ...

, potato house, well house, ice house, cotton gin, loom house, doll house, office, school, two stables, and several slave quarters. Of these, only the kitchen, school, office, and carriage and doll houses remain. In June 2005, the house and surviving outbuildings were moved about north to make way for a large shopping center. The move and Hinton family history are documented by Hinton descendant and film critic Godfrey Cheshire in '' Moving Midway'' (2007). 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 2007.

References

Plantation houses in North Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Greek Revival houses in North Carolina Houses completed in 1848 Houses in Wake County, North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Wake County, North Carolina Cotton plantations in the United States Slave cabins and quarters in the United States {{WakeCountyNC-NRHP-stub

See also

References