A Mid-Modern Masterpiece: Remembering George Harrell’s Rocky Mount Legacy, S.S. Toler -The I. Jesse Dowdy Residence

One of Rocky Mount’s hidden gems and the most important surviving example of Mid-Modern residential architecture in town.

But what makes this home truly special is the man who designed it, George Foster Harrell, FAIA; a nationally respected architect who spent his boyhood in Rocky Mount.

Harrell spent his formative years in Rocky Mount, and though no full record remains of his early schooling or mentors, it’s clear that Rocky Mount helped shape him, and he returned the favor. The I. Jesse Dowdy Residence was not just another commission; it was a personal contribution to the place where his roots ran deep.

This wasn’t a one-time design job. Harrell came back more than a decade after its completion to create an addition in 1966. That return visit suggests a continued affection, for the client, for the land, and for the town where his earliest chapters were written.

In a community often associated with traditional Southern architectural styles, the Dowdy House offered something else: modern vision, executed with purpose.

It’s proof that bold design, flood-resilient siting, and quality materials could live harmoniously within our cityscape. And it tells us something even more important: that greatness doesn’t always grow in big cities. Sometimes, it begins beside a river.

Commissioned in 1952 and completed in 1954, the Dowdy Residence sits on 2.6 wooded acres above the Tar River. Built by S. S. Toler and Son, the project brought together some of the most skilled hands and minds available. The landscape was shaped by Edwin Gilbert Thurlow, engineering was handled by E. L. Hunley.

The house was designed to withstand flooding. Even during Hurricane Floyd in 1999, when other homes nearby were devastated, the Dowdy house held firm. (Its swimming pool, unfortunately, did not fare as well.)

Its features reflect the refined warmth and precision of mid-century Modernism: radiant heat floors (since replaced), cypress and oak paneling, bamboo flooring, hidden closets, multiple fireplaces, and a breathtaking flagstone terrace overlooking the river.

The six-inch stacked Georgia stone walls give the home both visual gravitas and real durability.

It passed from Dowdy to Cash W. Haggerty Sr. in 1973, was on the market from 2008–2012, and has recently been listed again in 2025. Through all those years, its presence has remained quiet, dignified, and deeply important to Rocky Mount’s architectural story.

While George Harrell provided the visionary design, the Dowdy House’s realization wouldn’t have been possible without the craftsmanship of Samuel Sanders Toler, founder of S. S. Toler & Son.

Toler was one of Rocky Mount’s most trusted builders, known for the precision and pride he brought to his projects, from commercial landmarks like the Masonic Temple and Ricks Hotel to a fine home in the Westhaven Historic District, and other established neighborhoods.

If you’ve ever admired the sturdy, gracious homes on those tree-lined streets, you’ve likely seen Toler’s quiet legacy. His firm helped shape the face of mid-century Rocky Mount with a consistency of workmanship that still holds up today. In the Dowdy House, Toler’s skill met Harrell’s modernist vision, and together they created something rare and lasting.

Preservation doesn’t only belong to grand downtown banks or ornate Victorian homes. Sometimes it belongs to the quiet masterpiece tucked behind a tree-lined drive, where vision and craftsmanship came together to create something enduring.

The Dowdy House stands as a testament to possibility, what happens when a hometown boy makes good and gives something beautiful back. George Harrell went on to shape the skylines of Dallas and beyond, including the Republic National Bank complex and the Fairmont Hotel.

But the story we claim is the one rooted in this soil, by this river, where one of Rocky Mount’s sons helped show what was possible.

Preservation is more than nostalgia, it’s stewardship. The Dowdy House reminds us that a community’s greatness is often hidden in plain sight. It stands as a modernist memory, whispering back to us that beauty, resilience, and innovation are part of Rocky Mount’s story.

With thanks to those whose memories and research made this post possible, especially Norman Chambliss, Nancy Liipfert, Theresa Harrell, Edwin Williamson, others who’ve helped preserve the story of George Harrell and the Dowdy House. I’m grateful their efforts allow us to bring Rocky Mount’s past to light.