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The John Duckworth House

South Caldwell Street in Brevard is the site for the most
prominent example of Queen Anne style architecture in Transylvania County. The
John Duckworth House, built in 1905 by a prominent businessman and local real
estate agent, highlights many distinctive features of the architectural style
popular from 1880-1910. Asymmetry, a (near) wrap-around porch, numerous gables,
and a turret all show elements of the Queen Anne style. Ornate details were
also characteristic of this style, which can be seen in the wood trim that ends
in finials on the corners of the porch. The variety of textures and materials
used on the façade, such as the German siding covering the first two floors and
the decorative scallop and diamond-shaped wood shingles that cover the attic and
front tower, are also a hallmark of the Queen Anne style.

The John Duckworth House’s Center Hall and Stairs


This
special style, which was popularized by Queen Victoria, harkens back to English
architecture of the early 1700s. Inside, the John Duckworth House has plaster
walls with vertical panel wainscoting and molded plate-rail, chair-rail, and
baseboards. On the fireplaces are fancy stock mantels with beveled glass
mirrors and carved overmantels with glazed tile facings. The door and window
surrounds are molded, with bullseye corner blocks, and the stairs are
embellished with an ornate turned-spindle balustrade and carved newel. All
these picturesque interior and exterior features give Queen Anne homes that
classic storybook quality.

A note about the John Duckworth House in the Transylvania Times, Sept. 23, 1904


John
Duckworth, a native of Brevard and one time owner of Duckworth Drug Co. at the
location of what is O.P. Taylor’s today (formerly Long’s Drug), supervised the
building of this house for himself. 
He
later lost it through a mortgage foreclosure, and the house went on to be owned
by the Franklin family, who made several changes, including the addition of a
north room and opening the center hall behind the front stairs. Mary Sue
Thorne, who at times kept boarders, owned the home from 1946 until 1995. 
Over
one hundred years later, this large, lovely Victorian frame house is still
unquestionably one of the finest in Brevard.

Photographs
and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina
Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was co-written by Anne-Monique
Ransdell and Laura Gardner. 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 NC Room staff at [email protected] or call
(828) 884-1820.

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(828) 884-3151

212 S Gaston St, Brevard, NC 28712