The Last Victorian House Standing on S. Church Street
Imagine South Church Street when beautiful Victorian homes lined one of Rocky Mount’s most desirable residential avenues. Front porches, decorative woodwork, steep gables, and families who believed in the future of their growing city.
One by one, those houses disappeared.
But one remains.
The Summerlin House at 430 South Church Street has survived for more than 130 years. The first time I approached it with my camera, the owner appeared on the porch and called out, “Do you want to buy it?”
I had already fallen in love with the house.
Tuesday’s Main Street blog tells the story of this remarkable survivor, the neighborhood we have lost, and the opportunity we still have to save a beautiful piece of Rocky Mount’s architectural history.
We cannot bring back the houses that are gone. But we can save the one that remains.
Stepheny Forgue Houghtlin grew up in Evanston, IL. and is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. She is an author of two novels: The Greening of a Heart and Facing East. She lives, writes and gardens in NC. Visit her: Stephenyhoughtlin.com
View all posts by Stepheny Forgue Houghtlin
