Johnson Street Historic District

High Point City, Guilford County, NC

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The Johnson Street Historic District represents the best-preserved section of Johnson Place, High Point's first major "streetcar suburb," which was laid out by developer R. Homer Wheeler in 1907. During the 1910s and 1920s the four tree-lined blocks of Johnson Street were the premier location for the residences of the men who managed High Point's burgeoning furniture and hosiery industries. The handsome but unpretentious Bungalow, Four Square, Colonial, and Victorian style houses held not only mill owners, but also many civic leaders, including the publishers of the city's newspaper, the founders of the city's hospital, and many politicians. Children raised on Johnson Street often made their mark far from the city, including New York Times music critic and author, J. G. Briggs, Olympic medalist Harry Williamson and four-star Army general Maxwell Thurman.

The first-time visitor to Johnson Street first notices the trees, the yards, and the lines of porches. The 1900s, 1910s and early 1920s were the heyday of the porch in America. Every new residence, it seemed had a broad cool front veranda. In that era before air conditioning, the porch was a breezy outdoor living room, where the family sat and visited with neighbors on summer evenings. Children loved porches, too, for they were an outdoor playground even when it rained. Beginning in the 1920s tastes changed and porches got smaller and smaller until by the Ranch house era of the 1950s they disappeared.

Next, the Johnson Street visitor notices the houses attached to those porches. Most of the dwellings have two floors, with the upper one sometimes squeezed under the roof in what architectural historians call a "one-and-a-half-story" arrangement. Gable roofs and hip roofs predominate. Exterior walls are often simple overlapping weatherboard, also known as clapboard. Sometimes wood shingles or horizontally grooved "novelty" or "German" siding are used. About a quarter of the dwellings are covered in red brick.

Johnson Street residences reflect the major architectural trends of the era. High Point had no professional architects at this time, so most designs were likely created by local contractors, inspired by nationally published books and magazines, and refined in collaboration with homeowners. Johnson Street houses are a blend of architectural styles, but the predominant flavor is post-Victorian.

Homes in the District — Historic Name, House Number, Approx. Year Built and Last Sale/Asking Price. [Note, asking and last sale prices per zillow.com, accessed April, 2014]

Historic NameStreet AddressYear
Built
Asking/
Sold Price ‡
Last Sold/
For Sale
J. R. Agnew House900 Johnson St.ca. 1953$57,0001987
Ferd Ecker House901 Johnson St.ca. 1953
Bullard House902 Johnson St.ca. 1953$106,0002005
Eshelman House905 Johnson St.ca. 1910$182,0002006
C. D. White House906 Johnson St.ca. 1949
Robt. & Jesse Brockett House907 Johnson St.ca. 1912$143,0002006
H. D. Sears House908 Johnson St.ca. 1914
H. E. Marsh, Jr. House909 Johnson St.ca. 1926
King-Hedrick House910 Johnson St.ca. 1932$190,0002012
John R. Peacock House911 Johnson St.ca. 1926$122,5001993
Vernon W. Idol House912 Johnson St.ca. 1949$124,5002005
Dunbar-Whitener House1001 Johnson St.ca. 1919$212,5002000
J. Gurney Briggs House1003 Johnson St.ca. 1920
Alpheus H. Idol House1004 Johnson St.ca. 1925
Rental House1005 Johnson St.ca. 1923$8,0001976
David L. Bouldin House1006 Johnson St.ca. 1923$249,9002014
Robert H. Walker House1007 Johnson St.ca. 1921$125,0002007
Burnett-McCain House1008 Johnson St.ca. 1912$235,0002011
C. B. Vestal House1009 Johnson St.ca. 1912demolished1982
Carter Dalton House1013 Johnson St.ca. 1914$302,5002008
Charles C. Barnhart House1100 Johnson St.ca. 1913$194,0002004
Dr. Albert Carl Jones House1101 Johnson St.ca. 1924$72,0001978
C. C. Swain House1102 Johnson St.ca. 1924$135,5002014
Louise Johnson Diffee House1103 Johnson St.ca. 1913
Cornelius H. Willard House1104 Johnson St.ca. 1954
Roy E. Carr House1105 Johnson St.ca. 1946
Lewis E. Teague House1106 Johnson St.ca. 1925
Chappel-Hargett House1107 Johnson St.ca. 1915$234,0002008
Thurman-McEwen House1108 Johnson St.ca. 1920$45,0001985
White House1109 Johnson St.ca. 1912$97,7001993
Mrs. C. H. Baker House1110 Johnson St.ca. 1915
McClave-Folger House1111 Johnson St.ca. 1912
W. B. Griffin House1112 Johnson St.ca. 1915
Dr. Frederick R. Taylor House1113 Johnson St.ca. 1915$181,0002000
Diffendal-Burris House1200 Johnson St.ca. 1922
Overaker House1201 Johnson St.ca. 1912$179,0002014
Anne Peele-Cora White House1202 Johnson St.ca. 1920
Williamson House1203 Johnson St.ca. 1915$95,0001994
C. C. Robbins House1204 Johnson St.ca. 1913$128,0002013
W. T. Taylor House1205 Johnson St.ca. 1914$66,5001990
Harrison-Mann House1206 Johnson St.ca. 1916$123,5002008
Dallas Zollifoffer House1207 Johnson St.ca. 1912
Charles D. Ellis House1208 Johnson St.ca. 1948$143,0002009
Blake-Rawley House1209 Johnson St.ca. 1915

‡ Note: asking & last-sale prices, www.zillow.com, accessed 4/18/2014.

  1. Thomas W. Hancchett, consultant, Sarah Wilson and members of the Johnson/Hamilton Homeowners Association for the City of High Point, Johnson Street Historic District, High Point, North Carolina, 1987, www.highpointnc.gov, accessed April, 2014.

Nearby Neighborhoods

Street Names
Johnson Street


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