Tanglewood was built in 1835. It is located on 4.25 acres in Clayton, North Carolina. Tanglewood was built and occupied by four generations of the Tomlinson Family. This federal/greek revival style home was built for Bernice Harris Tomlinson upon his marriage to Elizabeth Walton. The initials of their son, John Harris Tomlinson, can be found in a brick on the house. Other names are etched into a window on the house. The property has multiple outbuildings. $85,000
From the Preservation North Carolina listing:
Built and occupied by over four generations of the Tomlinson Family, Tanglewood is one of the finest intact farm complexes in Johnston County. This spacious ‘L-shaped’ Federal/Greek Revival house was built for Bernice Harris Tomlinson upon his marriage to Elizabeth Walton in 1835. The original two-story front and rear ell each have large double-shouldered chimneys, tall 9-over-6 windows, a wide central entry hall with fine woodgrained wainscoting and winder stair, and a rear service stair that provided access to the rear portion of the second floor until additional access and flow was added in the 1890s. The initials of John Harris Tomlinson, Bernice’s son, can be found in one of the chimney bricks on the southeast side. Likewise, a few names with dates can be found in the southeast parlor window. The northwest parlor features tall plaster cornices and ceiling medallion, and excellent faux woodgraining on the doors and wainscot.
The house was enlarged in the 1870s by son John Harris, and again in the early 20th-century by grandson William David, resulting in a wide wrap-around porch, several wings and more “modern” outbuildings like car garages.
This early farmstead sits on 4.25 acres with a collection of outbuildings ranging from an 1830s gable storage building, an early 1830s smokehouse and a later 1870s smokehouse, a c.1879 kitchen/dining room (now attached by a porch), a few early 20th-century sheds, garages, bell tower, a caretaker’s cottage, and a c.1910 13-stall mule barn – the only one left in Johnston County. Some of the early landscape features remain, including a grove of mature shade trees shrubs planted as a wedding gift in 1861 to John Harris and Susan Wall Tomlinson.
The house will require a complete rehabilitation including structural/foundation work on the kitchen addition, some structural repair in a connector hallway, masonry work on the early double-shouldered chimneys, and new mechanical systems.
Tanglewood is not yet listed in the National Register of Historic Places; however, it has been placed on the Study List which is the first step. If listed, it would become eligible for historic rehabilitation tax credits. Additional land will be included (to total 4.25+/- acres) which should include the riding area and pastures closest to the barn. The surrounding land is under contract by a developer who, according to the family, is likely planning a neighborhood of larger houses on large lots (all on private septic).
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