Harry T. and Minnie L. Davis House ~ 1937
aka: The McNew House
Contributing Building
1937
This one-story, Craftsman-style house has a brick foundation, German siding, a hipped roof with exposed rafter ends and a brick chimney rising from the roof ridge. Front-facing gables project from either end of the four-bay façade. One of the gables covers a slightly projecting wing at the south end of the house. The other gable projects from the northwest corner of the house,
sheltering a corner entrance porch. A smaller gable, whose south slope aligns with the south slope of the larger gable, projects slightly to emphasize the entrance, which is actually not directly in line with the smaller gable but set on the south side wall of the porch. The porch has capped posts with paneled shafts, and beneath the smaller gable is a segmental-arched opening.
Windows are six-over-six sash. Harry and Minnie Davis appear to have been the first owners of the house, purchasing the property in March 1937 and selling it 1944. The longest-term owner was Eugenia Park McNew, who purchased the house in 1948 and lived here until 1991. Her father, Eugene K. McNew, lived with her. He was the principal of Old Town School when it was a high school, and she was a teacher at Mineral Springs High School. (TR, CD, HOC)
~LAWP
Shed ~ Ca. 1937
Contributing Building
Located along the south property line behind the house, a frame shed has a brick foundation, German siding, a shed roof that slopes downward from south to north, and a two-panel door on the west side.
~ LAWP
block / lot(s)
1873 / 024, 025, 026, 027, 028, and 029
owner ~ purchase date
Lettie Billings ~ no date listed
Claud C Billings ~ 7/9/1923 (lot 27 only)
O W Baynes ~ 5/5/1928 (all lots 24 - 29)
Lillian Minish Harrington ~ 5/14/1928
S J Croft and w/Kathleen G ~ 5/15/1928 (lots 28 and 29 only)
Guerny P Hood (Bank of Stokes Co) ~ 6/29/1932 (lists) (lots 24 - 27 only)
S C Ogburn ~ 6/?/1936 (from Bank of Stokes - lots 24 - 27 only)
R T Davis ~ 8/17/1936 (lots 24 - 27 only)
Harry T Davis and w/Minnie L ~ 3/9/1937 (lots 24 - 27 only)
R T Davis ~ 11/14/1938 (lots 28 & 29 only)
Harry T Davis and w/Minnie L ~ 8/19/1940 (lots 28 & 29 only)
E A Hutchins and w/Irene I ~ 1/3/1944 (all lots 24 - 29 from now on)
D T Joyner and w/Sarah L ~ 3/22/1947
Eugenia Park McNew ~ 5/7/1948
Wesley A Lackey and Glenda B Lackey ~ 12/23/1991
Last updated: July 2021
History
What a charming bungalow style cottage. It screams character inside and out!
This is absolutely my favorite house on Harmon and one of my favs in Oak Crest. In 1948 this house was purchased by Eugenia McNew. Her father, E K McNew, the well known principal of Old Town School (when it was a high school) lived with her. She was a school teacher at Mineral Springs High School.
Ms McNew pretty much kept to herself and was very reclusive, but was very nice and fun to talk to if you ever saw her. I remember her well and thought very highly of her.
Her mother was killed in a car accident when Eugenia was very small. Since Mr McNew never remarried and they had no other family in the area, it was only the two of them.
Eugenia loved the outdoors. She liked to hunt and fish and was an excellent markswoman from what I have been told.
Eugenia and her father looked very much alike. I have posted a photo of him in the Vintage Photos section. Imagine him with shoulder length brown hair (pulled back in the front) and glasses and you have Eugenia. She was even named after her father, Eugene.
When she could no longer look after herself, she went to a nursing home and the house was sold. Mr Lackey from across the street (139 harmon) purchased the house in 1991.
The reason I love this house is because, first of all, its very charming. Everything about it is original. Nothing has been changed. Original floor plan, rope and pulley windows, exterior siding, hardwood floors, plumbing fixtures, lighting, exterior rock wall along driveway, beautiful corner lot, and original curb from when Harmon was a boulevard style street.
This house would be an excellent restoration project. It is a true original and one of a kind. To a historic preservationist, it's a dream. This is vintage Oak Crest at its finest!
This is the original curb and gutter from when Harmon was a boulevard style street.
Harmon was originally designed as a boulevard. It had a center median with grass and trees. When the residents requested that the street be paved, the city would only agree to pave one side of it. So, instead, they took up the median and paved that area, giving the residents on each side of the street the portion of the old boulevard for an extended front yard. The evidence of the old road is still present as curbs, walls, and sidewalks that stop short of the present street.
~ KTS