National Register of Historic Places

Oakland

Airlie, Halifax County, North Carolina
Listed
July 1, 1973
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
73001346

About this property

Oakland is a historic plantation house located at Airlie, Halifax County, North Carolina. It was built in 1823, and is a two-story, three bay by three bay, Federal-style frame dwelling. It has a temple-form and pedimented gable front facade. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Despite Oakland being under Thorne Family ownership for most of its existence, the property was sold to and used by Mark Harwell Pettway for at least 16 years. Page 6 of Oakland's National Register of Historic Places "nominee form" states: "In 1836, Mrs Mary K. Williams sold to Mark Petway for $4,500 the tract: "known by the name of Oakland Plantation," save the burial ground at the end of the garden now enclosed with rock", which was retained by her as a burial ground". Mark H. Pettway (born about 1792, per U.S. 1850 census) was a planter born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia and raised in Halifax County, NC. The 1830 census recorded M.H. Pettway in the "2nd Regiment" of Halifax County, NC with a total of 89 enslaved persons. The 1840 census recorded Pettway in Halifax County, NC with a total of 36 enslaved persons. M.H. Pettway brought, sold and used enslaved persons who worked on Oakland Plantation, as debt collateral many times throughout his career, as a career man in the elite "planter society" of Virginia and the Carolinas. Oakland plantation is referenced in an 1848 Deed of Trust (recorded in Halifax County Register of Deeds in Book 32, Page 423), where Pettway used 54 enslaved African-Americans, as part of collateral for debts secured by John B. Williams of Warren County, NC for $1. The Deed of Trust reads: "These presents that Mark H. Pettway for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar..paid by John B. Williams of Warren County, NC at therefore the signing and sealing of these presents..is hearby acknowledged..have granted, bargained, sold..unto John B. Williams..two tracts or parcels of lands and premises lying and being in Halifax County, NC. The one tract lying on the Rail Road to Weldon..the other tract of land called Oakland where said Pettway did divide estimated at 700 acres together with..crop of corn, stock of..cattle..plantation utensils..together with the following negro slaves (which are now on the Oakland plantation) namly Hannah, Chany, John, Jim, Susan, Ally, Wyatt, Lydia, Ellen, Barbara, Suny, Sallyann, Jane, Fanny, Amanda, George, Airy, Sidney, William, Louisa, Louvenia, Robert, Daniel, Louisa, Patsey, Allen, Emiline, Mariah, Penny, Cromwell, Mary, Laing, Booker, Caroline, Antoinette, Moses, Tinnah, Isaac, David, Sally Anne, Isaiah, Austin, Zackariah, Charlotte, Pleasant, Tempey, Elizabeth (Pleasant's child), Susan, Booker, Joe, Polly, Matilda, Mary, Worley and Primus". M.H Pettway is named in over 50 legally binding agreements regarding enslaved persons, including bills of sale and deeds of trusts, recorded in Halifax county.

Location

Airlie, Halifax County, North Carolina
36.33681, -77.88443

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Edmunds-Heptinstall House
Industrial
3.6 mi
White Rock Plantation
Industrial
3.6 mi
Bethesda Methodist Protestant Church
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5 mi
Gray-Brownlow-Wilcox House
Industrial
5.5 mi
Matthews Place
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6.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Oakland listed on the National Register?

Oakland was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 1, 1973.

What type of historic resource is Oakland?

Oakland is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Oakland?

The period of significance for Oakland is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Oakland?

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