Houses on National Register of Historic Places

Gray Hall

Gray Hall was actually given its name in the early 1980s by its then-owners Colonel and Mrs. John Collison. Before that it was named the Gray-Brownlow-Willcox House, representing the three ownerships from the time the house was built. An early example of a Federal-style temple form, Gray Hall is situated on a knoll at the end of a long drive, just east of Medoc Mountain. The house was built circa 1820 by Reverend Joseph Gray. Little is known about Reverend Gray, who 13 years later sold the house to Tippoo Brownlow in 1833. Brownlow was best known as an educator who operated an academy for young women in a small schoolhouse, which was called “La Valle.” When Mr. Brownlow purchased Gray Hall in 1833, he moved the schoolhouse to its new location next to Gray Hall and used Gray Hall as the main building. Brownlow and his wife paid $2,500 for the house and 604 acres. The school closed by 1850 and Brownlow was forced to sell the property in 1851 to Thomas Willcox for $1,750. Thomas Willcox was a successful farmer, who grew cotton, tobacco, corn and hay. Willcox died in 1877 and for the next 130 years Gray Hall remained in the Willcox family and the land continued to be farmed. In 1981, Colonel and Mrs. John Collison purchased Gray Hall from the Willcox family and spent the next 10 years restoring it. Julie and Kjell Bo purchased the house in 2005, after it was completely restored.

Enfield Graded School

The 1950 Enfield Graded School is an excellent local example of a post-World War II school constructed on a larger scale and offering a broader curriculum than earlier local schools. Designed by prominent Raleigh architect Frank B. Simpson, with the assistance of designer Eugene Savage, the impressive two-story masonry Colonial Revival-style building was built to replace the town’s outdated and deteriorated 1917 “graded” school. The school’s design, however, harkened back to the consolidation era’s consensus that public education was vital to community development and the school building should be a reflection of that ideal. The school building was recently turned into senior housing. A one-story concrete block gymnasium, which needs massive renovation, with brick veneer exterior walls is located west of the west wing of the high school and faces southeast toward Branch Street. The gable-front building rests on a concrete slab and measures seventy-six feet across the front, one-hundred-and twenty-seven feet in length, and eighty-two feet across the rear. A 1953 one-story rear addition measures approximately ninety-seven feet in width by thirty-one feet, five inches deep. Three sets of double-leaf doors under four-light transoms are centrally located on the gymnasium’s facade and are flanked on either side by three small window openings. The flat metal breezeway from the main school building connects to a slightly higher flat metal canopy suspended over the doors. The words “Enfield Cougars” and the head of a cougar are painted over the front entrances.

Historic Designation:

Ten sites in Enfield are on the National Register of Historic Places: Gray Hall; Whitaker's Chapel; Branch Grove; Myrtle Lawn; Strawberry Hill; Bellamy's Mill; The Cellars; The Parker House; Enfield Graded School and Shell Castle. All of these historic places have their unique and colorful history, but there are many more homes and businesses in Enfield that deserve preservation and restoration. That's one of the reasons EEDRC is pursuing designation of a Historic District. Currently Heather Slane, who has been working with the National Register since 2005, has been commissioned to prepare Enfield's nomination.

Current Enfield Sites on National Register

Houses on National Register of Historic Places

Historic Designation:

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