1609 Fayetteville Street – Gatling-Hill House

The Hills are the longest occupants and owners of 1609 Fayetteville Street. Alice and Isaac Hill moved into the house around 1933. Alice was born on December 7, 1891, to David and Bethana Bernington. She was married to Isaac Hill, the son of Isaac and Matilda Hill. Isaac was a deacon of the Burning Bush Holiness Church of Faison, North Carolina, where the couple lived before moving to Durham. While in Durham, Alice was a domestic worker and Isaac was a gardener. They had three sons: Earl F. Hill, Bruce A. Hill, and Henry A. Hill. Alice passed away in 1940, with her husband following ten years later.

All three sons went on to pursue a career in education. Earl F. Hill graduated from Fayetteville State Teachers College and also attended classes at Shaw University and NC Central University. He worked as a teacher in Durham County for 36 years, and was a part of Durham County’s Teachers Association and the National Education Association. He was a member of the White Rock Baptist Church up until his death on February 11, 1973.

Bruce A. Hill graduated from North Carolina College in 1930 with a Bachelor of Science degree, in 1943 with a Master of Arts in Education, and again in 1957 with a Master of Science degree. For 45 years, he worked as a teacher across various counties in North Carolina, retiring in 1975 after teaching in Durham County. He was married to Willie Blanche Baker Hill, and the couple had two children: a daughter named Alice Lorraine Hill, named after his mother, and a son, Bruce A. Hill Jr. Willie and Bruce met after Willie began working at her alma mater, Shaw University, as a librarian. They were married in 1948, and Willie moved into the home at 1609 Fayetteville Street. While living in Durham, she attended North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central University), where she received her M.A. in Library Science. She then worked as a librarian at Hillside High School for 30 years. Their daughter Alice would go on to earn recognition for her academics at Virginia State College, where she graduated in 1977. 

Henry A. Hill received both undergraduate and graduate degrees from NC Central University and also studied at Columbia University. He was a member of St. Joseph A.M.E Church and began his teaching career in 1935. While Henry served as the principal of Hickstown School, he was accused of assaulting a 13-year-old student in 1953; he retired from his career in education later that same year. Henry passed away in 1974, having still lived at 1609 Fayetteville. 

As of 2026, the home is in good, stable condition.

From the 2010 National Register of Historic Places application for Stokesdale: 

This two-story, hip-roofed house is three bays wide and double-pile with a projecting, two-story, hip-roofed bay on the north elevation with a one-story, shed-roofed block behind it. The house has a brick foundation, vinyl siding, and an interior brick chimney. It retains two-over-two, double-hung wood sash windows and a fifteen-light French front door. There are two replacement vents in the gabled front dormer. The hip-roofed front porch extends across the façade (including the projecting bay on the north side) and is supported by aluminum-wrapped tapered posts on brick piers. There is a two-story, hip-roofed rear ell on the southeast corner with a shed-roofed porch behind it. The site slopes to the rear to reveal an exposed basement. The earliest known occupant is Hattie L. Livas (clerk, N C Mutual Life Insurance Company) in 1930.