COMING SOON!

SAFE Day – Saturday, June 13th from 10am to 2pm

Additional photos will be posted after the SAFE Day with showings to begin shortly thereafter.

Architectural and Historical Information

The Zachariah Winborne Evans House was constructed on a portion of a large farm that had been in the family for three generations. The house was erected by Evans in 1883-84 and evolved in three general stages. Originally a traditional two-story, single-pile, center-hall I-house, it was later expanded to the front into a large two-story, T-plan around 1917. Z. W. Evans was a prominent farmer, merchant, and lumberman.  He served as a Chowan County Commissioner for nearly 30 years, as the county treasurer for 20 years, and as postmaster of the Cisco office from 1891 until 1907.  His grandfather founded the Evans Methodist Church in 1826, and Z. W. Evans was a member of the State Board of Missions of the Methodist Church. Near the end of his life, Evans was known for his wealth and generosity.

The present appearance of the house dates from the 1917 expansion designed by architect Walter Stone Pardee (1853-1925) of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pardee’s eldest son, Harvey Sabin Pardee, married Clarissa Belle, daughter of the Evans in August of 1910.  This may have led to the stylish expansion plans given the architect’s likely familiarity and possible admiration of Frank Lloyd Wright. The sophisticated protruding battered cornices below the deep exterior eaves and the uncluttered treatment of the Colonial Revival woodwork inside might be an echo of Wright’s influence. Important features include a spacious porch with roof balustrade that wraps around Pardee’s projecting front block, and banded chimney capitals. The open floor plan features a transverse entrance hall defined by a column screen, unique among the county’s farmhouses. The home contains two parlors, an immense dining room, a sunroom lined with bookcases, a rear service stair, a large pantry, and six bedrooms. The property also includes five outbuildings.

The property requires a comprehensive rehabilitation including stabilization and reconstruction of portions of the front of the house, significant structural repairs to the floor system, plus interior repairs and updates to systems where necessary. There was a fire in one room that caused, at minimum, smoke damage that will need to be remediated. Additionally, several of the outbuildings require immediate stabilization efforts.  The house was surveyed by the North Carolina Historic Preservation Office with no further action taken.

Area Information

The Evans House is 10 miles north of historic Edenton, “the prettiest small town in the South” and Chowan County seat, on the Albemarle Sound and approximately 60 miles from the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area. Located along the shores of the Albemarle Sound and Edenton Bay, the town is a picturesque architectural masterpiece with hundreds of 18th century homes.  The charming waterfront town offers an abundance of historical landmarks, local delicacies, and rich cultural experiences. North Carolina’s beautifully preserved first Colonial capital was also home to the first political action by women in our country’s history.  The major ocean beaches in North Carolina and Virginia are about 1 1/2 to 2 hours away.

Documentary image from 2004.