Sketch of the west facing side of Benjamin |
The Allison-Deaver House reflects the lives of two men and
two builders—Benjamin Allison and William Deaver—and the evolution of a house
over two centuries. This week’s column
takes a look at the house during the Allison era.
Benjamin Allison was born in the 1770s in Maryland. He moved to the Old Fort area of Western
North Carolina with his extended family in the 1780s. Allison married Margaret Wood around
1793.
As previously mentioned Benjamin Allison purchased property
along Ben Davidson’s River in what was Buncombe County in 1813.
Allison built an 1100 square foot wood frame house in the
Federal-style. The house had three-rooms
on both the first and second floors, central doors, between two windows on the
main floor and two windows on the second
floor on both the west and east sides.
Floor plan of the main floor of the original
Plan drawn by |
Today the smallest room on the main floor retains the
original beaded sheathing and original window surround. Other original elements within the house
include the second-floor joists, exterior beaded weatherboarding, and a pattern
board at the cornice of the southwest corner.
Evidence shows there were one-story porches on both sides of
the house. The west side porch was
larger though. Originally the property
on the west side was at the level of the porch. The house would have faced the Boylston Turnpike. The old roadbed is still visible to
the west.
Floor plan of the second floor of the Allison home.
Plan drawn by Angela Patane. |
The Allison’s lived in the home for about 15 years. Here they raised a large family, at least ten
children survived to adulthood. As
adults several of the Allison children moved west into a part of Haywood County
that is today Jackson County. Benjamin
and Margaret joined them in 1830 when Allison sold the property to William
Deaver.
Next week Picturing
the Past will feature
the expansion of the home during the
Deaver era.
Photographs
and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina
Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the NC Room during regular
library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see
additional photographs. For more information, comments or suggestions
contact Marcy at [email protected] or
828-884-3151 X242.