National Register of Historic Places

O'Brien, William Thomas, House

Durham, Durham County, North Carolina
Listed
August 8, 1985
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
85001777

About this property

William Thomas O'Brien House is a historic home in Durham, Durham County, North Carolina. It was built about 1890, and is a two-story, Gothic Revival style frame dwelling. It has a center hall plan and features a one-story wraparound porch, an original embossed tin shingle roof, and projecting bays. It was the home of William Thomas O'Brien, who perfected the Bonsack machine for the W. Duke Sons & Company. The house originally sat on a large tract of land that extended to Rome Street. The property included a servants' house, a smokehouse, and a chicken coop. The house, located down the street from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and Immaculata Catholic School, played a significant role in Durham's Catholic community. O'Brien, who was Catholic, invited a priest to perform masses in the home until Immaculate Conception was constructed in 1906 on West Chapel Hill Street, on land that O'Brien deeded to the Church. After O'Brien's death in 1907, his wife moved to South Duke Street. In 1919, a carpenter and interior decorator named Edward J. Long lived in the house. Located in the Burch Avenue Historic District, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Location

820 Wilkerson Ave.
Durham, Durham County, North Carolina
36.00188, -78.91506

Categories

INDUSTRYARCHITECTURE
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

Smith Warehouse
Industrial
0 mi
Clark and Sorrell Garage
Industrial
0.1 mi
Burch Avenue Historic District
Industrial
0.2 mi
Watts and Yuille Warehouses
Industrial
0.3 mi
Powe House
Industrial
0.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was O'Brien, William Thomas, House listed on the National Register?

O'Brien, William Thomas, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 8, 1985.

What type of historic resource is O'Brien, William Thomas, House?

O'Brien, William Thomas, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for O'Brien, William Thomas, House?

The period of significance for O'Brien, William Thomas, House is recorded as the industrial era.

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