Davidson in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Chairman Blake House
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 11, 2023
1. Chairman Blake House Marker
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
c. 1860
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Architecture. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1860.
Location. 35° 29.867′ N, 80° 50.891′ W. Marker is in Davidson, North Carolina, in Mecklenburg County. It is on Chairman Blake Lane east of South Main Street (North Carolina Highway 115), on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 318 Chairman Blake Ln, Davidson NC 28036, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Piedmont and in Greater Charlotte. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Joseph Knox Building, 1922 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Davidson 1901 Fire (about 500 feet away); Davidson Town Well (about 600 feet away); X-Ray Experiments (about 700 feet away); Davidson Veterans Monument (about 700 feet away); Helper Hotel (approx. 0.2 miles away); Davidson College (approx. 0.2 miles away); With These Hands: A Memorial to the Enslaved and Exploited, 2025 (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Davidson.
Another marker is no longer nearby.
this page online
Regarding Chairman Blake House. Excerpt from the National Register nomination:
The ca. 1860 Chairman Blake House is locally significant in Davidson, North Carolina because it is a rare surviving dwelling from the mid-nineteenth century in this small Piedmont town and because it is the most pronounced and least altered example of the Greek Revival style among Davidson's domestic architecture. The Chairman Blake House was a faculty residence at Davidson College, a Presbyterian school of higher learning for young men founded in 1837 and the reason for the town's existence. The home of various faculty members for more than a century, the house gained its name from Professor John Rennie Blake (1825-1900), who is believed locally to have occupied the house throughout his tenure at Davidson College, 1861-1885. Blake, who taught natural philosophy and astronomy, is largely credited with the survival of Davidson College immediately after the Civil War, when his strong determination and commitment convinced the trustees to move forward with the college when they had been debating its closure for lack of funds. After Blake's retirement in 1885, the college continued to rent the house, mostly to faculty but also to some non-faculty,throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century and through most of the twentieth. The design of the one-and-a-half-story, weatherboarded frame house embodies many of the distinctive characteristics of the Greek Revival style, including symmetry of design, a pedimented side-gable roof with boxed and molded eaves, a pedimented front porch with classical posts, a front door with sidelights and fransom, a center-hall plan, a simple but gracefial stair, a double parlor separated by sliding pocket doors, and chaste post-and-lintel mantels.Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 11, 20232. Chairman Blake House Marker
Also see . . . Chairman Blake House (PDF). National Register nomination for the house, which was listed in 2004. (Prepared by Laura A. W. Phillips; via National Archives) (Submitted on December 4, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
A Souvenir of Prof. J.R. Blake and His Friends (1878) via Google Books (Public Domain)
3. James Rennie Blake (1825-1900)
He was Chairman of the Faculty (similar to acting president) of Davidson College from 1871 to 1877.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 4, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 425 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 4, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
