The Last Victorian House Standing on Church Street

I have been thinking about a photograph I have never seen. It would show South Church Street in Rocky Mount when beautiful Victorian houses stood along what was once one of the city’s most desirable residential avenues. Imagine the front porches, decorative woodwork, tall windows, steep gables, and handsome rooflines of houses built by families who believed in Rocky Mount’s future.

Almost all of those houses have disappeared.

But one remains.

The Summerlin House at 430 South Church Street, built around 1895, stands as the last residential survivor of that remarkable period. Historical records identify it by its former address, 416 South Church Street.

According to the National Register of Historic Places documentation, Church Street was once an elite residential avenue, lined with the substantial homes of prominent Rocky Mount citizens. During the great growth of the 1890s, when the railroad and tobacco market were transforming the city, these houses reflected the prosperity and confidence of the people who built them.

Today, we must use our imaginations to picture that neighborhood. One by one, its houses disappeared, taking with them the architectural character of an entire street. The Summerlin House, with its Queen Anne Victorian details, ornamental porch, decorative shingles, and beautiful proportions, is all that remains of that residential world.

Its walls have sheltered more than 130 years of Rocky Mount life. Farmers, railroad employees, boarding-house guests, and the Summerlin family, whose name the house still bears, have all been part of its story. Inside are reminders of the craftsmen who built it, including Victorian mantels, decorative woodwork, and a handsome staircase.

I have created an imagined view of Church Street as it might once have looked, with the Summerlin House standing among neighboring Victorian homes. It is not a historical photograph, but an invitation to see what has been lost and appreciate what we still have.

An imagined view of South Church Street during Rocky Mount’s Victorian era, inspired by the surviving Summerlin House and historical descriptions of the neighborhood. Architectural interpretation, not a historical photograph.

And here is where my own story with the house begins.

The first time I parked along Church Street and walked toward the Summerlin House with my phone camera, its owner, Celeste Beatty, appeared on the front porch and called out, “Do you want to buy it?”

I had come only to take photographs, but I had already fallen in love with the house.

Since that first encounter, I have come to know more about its history and the challenges of preserving it. Celeste understands what the house deserves and has worked toward its restoration. But there is a pressing need that cannot wait indefinitely.

If a medical team were called upon to perform triage on the Summerlin House, I suspect their diagnosis would be immediate. A new roof would be the first priority, and this patient would be rushed straight to surgery.

The complications of securing approval for that roof have delayed the treatment. Meanwhile, this grand old lady of Church Street waits for the care that will give her a future.

So I find myself returning to Celeste’s unexpected question on that first visit.

“Do you want to buy it?”

I cannot speak for Celeste’s present plans, but I can pass along the spirit of her invitation. If you find yourself falling in love with the Summerlin House as I did, consider what it would mean to become part of its future. Ask about its possibilities. Find out whether ownership might be one of them. Or help connect this house with someone who has the resources, knowledge, and determination to preserve it.

We cannot bring back the beautiful Victorian houses that once stood along Church Street.

But we can save the one that remains.

Surely there is someone who will look at this house and see not simply the work it needs, but the extraordinary opportunity it represents.

— Stepheny Houghtlin

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About the House Biography Series

I created the House Biography Series out of my love for Rocky Mount’s architectural history and a belief that every historic house has a story worth preserving. Through photographs, architectural details, research, and reflections, each biography introduces readers to the people, craftsmanship, and history that give these houses their meaning.

The Summerlin House at 430 South Church Street is one of the houses featured in this growing collection. My hope is that these biographies will encourage others to look again at the old houses we pass every day, recognize what they contribute to Rocky Mount’s character, and care about what happens to them.

After all, we cannot save what we have not learned to value.