Open House Tour at Highland Mill Village Historic District

For Immediate Release:

In October, 2020 the High Point Preservation Society acquired a house in the Highland Mill Village with the aim of illustrating one way to do a rehabilitation of a home. With financial assistance from a grant from the 1772 Foundation and additional assistance from the Southwest Renewal Foundation of High Point and the Marion Stedman Covington Foundation, the goal was to show the charm, versatility and livability of the modest mill house.  Comprising only 630 square feet of space, the 110 year-old home is not considered a “tiny house” but has a convenient and efficient floor plan for couples and singles of any age. The house will be sold and the grant funds reinvested in another project.

We invite the community to tour this refurbished home on:

Friday, December 16 from 11-4
Saturday, December 17 from 11-4
Sunday, December 18 from 1-4

1112 Textile Place
High Point, NC 27260

Parking is on Textile Place. Please be considerate of our neighbors when parking and do not block driveways.

Admission is free with donations welcome and appreciated.

Mill houses in High Point can be found for under $100,000 with many clustered within the Highland Mill Village National Register Historic District.  The historic district designation allows owners to apply for Historic Preservation Rehabilitation Tax Credits. The entire Highland Mill Village was recognized by the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in themes of industry, community planning, and architecture in May 2014. Highland Mill Village opened in 1913 as one of the first planned neighborhoods in the city.  It contained efficient houses that were necessary to attract workers for the cotton mill.  The village included a church and community buildings.  Workers homes were rented from the company and featured simple frame construction, running water and large backyards for vegetable gardens.

The house at 1112 Textile Place was built by Highland Cotton Mill around 1912 and features a forward facing gable that is flanked by a front porch with turned porch posts.  The front door opens into a comfortable room featuring high beadboard ceilings with capped window and door moldings.  Another room to the left features an original closet.  Behind this room is an eat-in kitchen.  An efficient bathroom was added in 1930.  Elsie Mae Hight McLeoud purchased this home from the Mill in 1955 and lived here with her mother-in-law and two children.

Another goal of the project was to demonstrate the rehabilitation of an historic home as an example of affordable housing.  This project was not your TV style project. Instead, practical decisions were made to retain the original floor plan, to expose the high ceilings and charming beadboard ceilings and to re-instate the original turned porch posts that were lost decades ago.  Two original windows were retained with storm windows, though all other historic windows were replaced ages ago.

Many of the decisions that drove this affordable preservation project are common sense savings measures: “Repair, Don’t Replace”, and “If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It!” Many preservationists feel that substantial “gut jobs” can result in unnecessary loss of old timber and crafted details.

These preservation partners helped make this project a success:  Beeson Hardware, Marsh Kitchen, R.K. Woodgeard Home Repairs, Affinity Pain/Benjamin Moore, and the Habitat for Humanity Restore, as well as over 1,000 hours of volunteer service from members of the High Point Preservation Society in the form of painting, cleaning, carpentry, yard work, deck repair and many other improvements.

For additional information:

Benjamin Briggs: 410-547-3176

Coralle Cowan: 619-977-8415

Holly Davis: 972-207-2399