The Homestead

The Homestead was the home of Dr. William R. Holt, one of antebellum North Carolina’s most versatile and talented men, with interests in medicine, agriculture, education, religion, transportation, and manufacturing. In May 1865, when Dr. Holt learned that Federal forces were approaching Lexington, he left to secure his plantation, Linwood, while his wife, Louisa Holt, remained here with their children. Union Gen. H. Judson Kilpatrick and the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry soon arrived in Lexington to patrol the county and establish order as Reconstruction began in the South. To safeguard her home from possible destruction, Mrs. Holt offered it to Kilpatrick as his headquarters. His staff officers immediately placed a United States flag at the gate and posted sentries around the house., Although very little is recorded about the Federal army’s actions while in Lexington, family traditions indicate that the house remained undamaged and that Mrs. Holt and her children were treated considerately. Even so, iron brackets remain today on the door of the girl’s bedroom, evidence of Mrs. Holt’s determination to safeguard them during the two months Kilpatrick’s men occupied the house. When Kilpatrick departed, he gave the family some gold and sugar. He also gave daughter Amelia Holt a black pony that she named Kilpatrick., (Sidebar): , Dr. William R. Holt constructed The Homestead in 1834 as a wedding present for his second wife, Louisa Hogan Holt. The house is a sophisticated example of Greek Revival architecture. Although Dr. Holt remained a practicing physician through the Civil War, he devoted most of his time and energy to his plantation, Linwood, southwest of Lexington, where he was noted for experiments in “scientific agriculture.” Holt was a founding member and president of the North Carolina Agricultural Society. The Homestead remained in the possession of Holt descendants until 1982.