Carrier Houses - Details and History

255 North Main St.
Rutherfordton, NC 28139
Dan and Lynn Hegeman
Owners and Resident Innkeepers

828-287-4222
800-835-7071
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET

A Little History of our Homes - Then and Now

Index

Original Builder

Carrier-Ward House (left house in picture)

Carrier-McBrayer House (right house in picture)

. Harvey Dewey Carrier

Tinsmith/Carpenter Harvey Dewey Carrier came to Rutherfordton, North Carolina in 1822, seeking a better climate for his asthma. Two of the five homes he is known to have built are side by side on Main Street. His residence, now registered as the Carrier-McBrayer house, was built around 1835.

In 1879, Carrier built a home for his youngest child, Margaret, as a wedding gift for her marriage to Kinchen J. Carpenter. This is now registered as the Carrier-Ward house.

These National Register homes have been refurbished in the likeness of the original houses that were built by Mr. Carrier.

The Carrier-McBrayer house has three guest bedrooms and is the residence of the proprietors, Dan and Lynn Hegeman.

The Carrier-Ward house contains five guest bedrooms and is also available for meetings, receptions, anniversaries, reunions, and other formal gatherings.

The Great Room can accommodate up to 30 seated guests and catering can be arranged. Each house has a guest parlor and fully equipped kitchen and dining room.

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Carrier-Ward House
circa 1879

Carrier-Ward House
(pictured left)

This is a two-story, weather boarded, side gabled Queen Anne style house with front projecting wing. The dominant feature of the house is the three story square tower with pyramidal roof rising at the junction of the main block and front wing, forming the central bay of a three bay facade. The tower has a wide frieze of vertical boards and molded brackets.

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The tower window in the second story is four-over-one with molded hood and above it, under the roof of the tower, is a round headed window with four-over-four panes.

The entrance door is double leaf with round etched glass panels above wood panels and protected by a double leaf screen door with spindles and cutouts. Two other identical doors exist on front of each bay.

There are many other architectural features, which make this house a landmark in the community.

Carrier-McBrayer House
(pictured right)

This is a weather boarded transitional Federal/Greek Revival house with two-story ell, overlaid with Victorian detailing on the exterior and dating back to circa 1835.

The house retains a transitional interior, but changes were made to the facade, including a second story porch with latticework and weather board railing, bay windows and gables with truss work.

These changes were made about 1879, when Mr. Carrier constructed the Victorian Carrier-Ward House next door.

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Carrier-McBrayer House
circa 1835

Both homes are two of Rutherfordton's oldest dwellings, with the Carrier-Ward House the most high styled Victorian house.