Architectural Snowflakes

By Beth Yarbrough

The men who built houses in the late 1800's had their work cut out for them - literally. The intricate and ornate scroll work and turnings of houses built in the Queen Anne, Italianate, Second Empire and Victorian modes were about as labor intensive as they come.

While many of the builders followed popular pattern books of the day, many others simply winged it. The resulting structures are like beautiful snowflakes in that regard - no two of them exactly alike.

The small town of Scotland Neck in Halifax County, North Carolina caught a lucky break during those days by way of a builder named H.G. Jones. He advertised "Brackets of all styles, Fancy Scroll work of all descriptions", but his best advertisement, it seems to me, was the work itself.

A good bit of Mr. Jones' craftsmanship still can be seen today in Scotland Neck. If you find yourself passing through Eastern North Carolina, take a few minutes and drive around some of the early small towns and enjoy. A lot of the old houses remain.

Photos by Beth Yarbrough.