Grace Hall Plantation - A Brief History

Grace Hall Plantation

     I would like to start out by saying, all of the information I'm about to put out there is from the previous owners grandchildren, friends and leaders of our local historical society. However, most of what I'm about to write, is not in historical documents. McDowell county is a difficult historical area. 

The house would have originally been included in Burke County, which puts Grace Hall in a grey area. 

With that said, I hope you enjoy the knowledge that I have been given about our home.

 

Grace hall, which we lovingly named after the long term owners Grace and Obie Laughridge, has a very interesting history. We will start with what is believed to be her beginning. The original plot of land was massive, extending to the rivers on all sides. It is believed the land was purchased from The Carson's, who were a very prominent family, in the late 1700's. The first phase of the house was believed to have been built around 1797. Now, when I say "phase", we believe the home was built in 3 different phases. The first being the far back of the house, which is now our kitchen and breakfast room. The second phase we believe was done shortly after this, it includes the 1st floor, which is currently the dining room, living room, laundry and master suite. The third phase, is believed to be the extravagant front that makes her what she is today, and the top floor. This includes 4 bedrooms, and the guest bathroom. We believe this part was completed some time 

just after the civil war. 

    When we were pursuing the house, we originally had a standard home inspector come out to take a look around, because the listing for the home said it was built in 1940. He basically told us he had never seen a 1940's house that looked the way this one did, and didn't quite know what to make of it. We were immediately put off by this and decided to hire an inspector who specialized in historic homes (At this point we had already gotten wind that the house was MUCH older than the date on the listing). The inspector came, and we were blown away. He walked my husband through the house after the inspection and showed him all the little details that proved this was not a 1940's home. The biggest clues were in the basement. First, the support beam is completely hand hewn, a home in the 1940's most likely would have had a main beam cut with a piece of machinery. Second was the bricks, which the inspector said were well over a century old. After gaining the knowledge we have now, we believe, with agreement from local historians, that the 1940 date probably comes from the first time a lean was made against the home.. After multiple foreclosures, a remodeling company purchased the home and did a complete renovation in 2017. Due to extensive damage all of the floors were replaced with new hardwoods, which breaks my heart on a daily basis. However, all of the moldings, doors, and fireplace mantels are original and I adore every. single. detail.  

The first person on property is believed to have been Capt. John Connelly, who served under Col. Mcdowell in the Revolutionary war. His grandson, Dr. Joseph Newland, who we believe to have built the main part of the house, and named the house “Macon homeplace”, practiced medicine in Marion until 1873. In 1860, his son, William Calhoun Newland was born on the property, he would go on to become the 11th Lt. Governor of NC, and, in 1913, the town of Newland, NC would be named in his honor. In 1884 the home and land was sold to Silas Proctor, their family graveyard is still directly across from our home. After that, the home and partial land was sold to TJ Gibbs, in 1908. Sometime after this the home went to John Connolly, Grace Laughridge's Father. She would inherit the home in 1940. Grace and Obie and many of their children and grandchildren called Grace Hall home. Three different generations were married right on the front porch. This home was loved, and loved in, you can almost feel it resonate within it's walls. 

    My husband and I consider ourselves infinitely blessed to call Grace Hall home, even more so that her history was not documented, if it was, we probably would have never gotten the chance to live here. I could write a book about the stories we have heard and our experiences here, but I'll save that for another day. 

xoxo, 

Shelby C.