Crabtree-Hilburn House

04.04.11

Originally part of the Cheek Farm, subdivided in 1905

1930: Robert A Crabtree
1944: Silas B. Lea
1950: Fred E Hilburn, Norton W. Hilburn
1957: Norton Hilburn, Bill Poole, Ernest Pegram

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35.983089,-78.881101

(The information below in italics is from the Preservation Durham Plaque Application for the Crabtree-Hilburn House)

The house at 1808 Angier Avenue was built around 1910 for Robert Arthur "Cooch" Crabtree and his wife, Rose or Rosa Brown Crabtree. The builder is unknown. The property along Angier Avenue and the railway line between Plum and Clay Streets was subdivided into building lots by H. A. Foushee in 1905. See the "Cheek Land" map in Plat Book 5A, page 29 in the Durham County Registry. At the time, the area lay outside the incorporated limits of the City of Durham in what was then known as the unincorporated "Village of East Durham." At the turn of the twentieth century, the area was growing quickly with the construction and expansion of large textile factories such as the Durham Hosiery Company, the Golden Belt Manufacturing Company, and the Durham Cotton Manufacturing Company. The demand for new housing was acute. The intersection of Driver Avenue and Angier Avenue became the business hub for the community. 

Foushee's lots sold quickly. Many were bought by speculators as investments. In September, 1905, Annie R. Fanning bought lots 16 and 17 on Angier Avenue. Mrs. Fanning was married to Fred Fanning, manager of Durham Hosiery Mills. The Fannings lived on Angier Avenue not far from Foushee's development. Less than a year later, in May, 1906, Annie Fanning traded the Angier Avenue lots with Julia Sasser for property Mrs. Sasser owned on Dillard Street. Julia Sasser, the widow of L. L. Sasser, was a very astute speculator in Durham real estate at the time. 

In July, 1909, Mrs. Sasser sold lot 17 of the Foushee subdivision to Robert Arthur Crabtree for $425.00. Although deeds then as now usually only recite a symbolic amount of money as the necessary consideration, Mrs. Sasser's deed to Mr. Crabtree appears to have recited the full amount he paid for the property. The $425 figure tends to indicate that the lot was vacant at the time of the transaction. While $425 might have purchased a small house and lot in Durham in 1909, the amount would not have purchased a spacious middle class house on a desirable lot. According to the 1909-1910 edition of Hill's Durham Directory, in 1909, R. A. Crabtree and his family lived on Driver Avenue. By the time the 1911-1912 edition of the directory was published, however, R. A. Crabtree had moved to Angier Avenue. This tends to indicate that Crabtree built the house at 1808 shortly after he purchased the lot from Julia Sasser. 

The house is shown in the 1913 Sanborn Insurance Maps of Durham, the first set of maps that reach so far east along Angier Avenue. The map shows a one-story frame structure with a front-facing bay window on the right side of the porch. This was a common Victorian Transitional form in the early years of the twentieth century and is entirely consistent with the essential plan of the house as it exists today. The same 1913 map shows other houses in the area with the same bay window. The very tall ceiling heights in the downstairs rooms are also consistent with better houses built in the late Victorian styles. The current craftsman style elevation of the house, is not entirely consistent with the information on the map or the dominant residential styles of the time. This indicates that sometime fairly early in the history of the house its roofline may have been changed to include large shed dormers to create more living area upstairs. The tapered and fluted box-columns supporting the porch may be original, but are more consistent with craftsman and period revival houses built in the 1920s than with houses erected twenty years earlier. American residential architecture was in a state of transition in 1910 and houses which display a mixture of old and new elements are not unusual during the period. 

The house has been much altered over time as the needs of its occupants changed. Information from city directories indicate that for many years the house contained three distinct dwelling units and the applicant found what appeared to be four kitchen spaces when he purchased the property. Precise identification and dating of the modifications that have been made is difficult. The plan of the first floor is original. A central hallway running the depth of the main body of the structure divides the house. On either side of the hall are two large chambers. These were originally heated by fireplaces served by flues in internally located chimneys - a typical arrangement for residential structures until central heating became increasingly commonplace in the years following the First World War. The walls on this level were originally clad with planks with butted joints covered with doped cheese cloth and wallpaper. Today the walls are covered with a mixture of materials including bead-board which are not original. Here and there, however, original woodwork and other elements do survive. These include six-panel doors, some casework, and fireplace surrounds. These survivals are consistent with a 1910 construction date. Many original one-over-one windows also survive at this level. 

The house has always had living space enclosed within the roof. The tall staircase and its newel are original and consistent with Victorian tastes. The current upstairs space is divided into four principal rooms and a bath. The unusual layout and mixture of materials at this level support the theory that the house was enlarged at some point by adding space upstairs. Here the walls are also clad with wood, but unlike the walls downstairs, the boards upstairs have tongue-and-groove joints. The windows in the upstairs shed dormer differ from the windows downstairs. They are stock sash six-over- one windows organized symmetrically with a single window in the center flanked by paired windows on either side. 

The exterior of the house is currently clad with aluminum siding mimicking broad claps. The decorative granite stone work along the porch foundation, porch piers, and the entry stair was an expensive element that may be original or may have been added later if the house was modified in the 1920s. The mortar joints are finished with a bull-nose rake. The reminder of the house original rested on brick piers with no curtain wall. The spaces between the piers at the perimeter have been filled in with concrete blocks. The wide oak front door with its large single paned window is original. It is flanked by floor- to-ceiling sidelights. The chimney tops as they emerge from the roof are not original. They vary in form and materials. This may support the idea that the roof was raised or modified or it may simply reflect damage and repair over time. The rafter tails are exposed and the overhang is supported by simple undersized knee brackets in the craftsman style. The house originally had an extension to the rear; however, today the rear of the house is accreted with additions and alterations. 

Robert Arthur Crabtree was born in Wake County, but lived most of his life in Durham. Records list him as "R. A.," "Arthur," "Robert," or "Cooch." Sources do not agree regarding the year of his birth. His death certificate and his World War I draft registration indicate that he was born on May 29, 1878. His grave marker in Maplewood Cemetery recites his birth date as May 29, 1877. His father was William H. Crabtree, a veteran of the Confederate army. According to the 1880 U. S. Census, William H. Crabtree, his wife, Araminta Crabtree, and their sons, William, Clarence, and Arthur, lived in White Oak near New Hill. They were farmers. William Henderson Crabtree died in 1885. Because a fire destroyed most of the 1890 census records, R. A. Crabtree's next appearance in the census records is in 1900. In that year he is shown as a boarder in the Durham home of Emma Gurley. Mrs. Gurley was his brother's, Clarence Crabtree's, mother-in-law. Clarence also resided in the Gurley home with his wife, Carrie Gurley Crabtree. The census records that Clarence Crabtree was a druggist and that Arthur Crabtree was a druggist clerk. 

According to his North Carolina Marriage Certificate, R. A. Crabtree married Rosa B. Brown on February 27, 1901 in East Durham. Strangely, the certificate lists his parents as "not known." He was 24 and she was 21 years old. According to his 1918 draft registration card, Robert Arthur Crabtree was tall, had a medium build, blue eyes, and light hair. The applicant possesses a studio photograph of R. A. Crabtree and his brother Clarence. It was made about 1900. The men wear respectable suits and R. A. Crabtree sports a full head of wavy light hair. Also pictured are their sister, Leena Crabtree, and Clarence's wife, Carrie.

 
The Crabtree brothers founded Crabtree Pharmacy at the turn of the twentieth century in a frame building at the corner of Driver Avenue and what was then called Macadamized Road. The street was soon tied into Angier Avenue and renamed. From city directory entries, it appears that in the first decade of the century, R. A. and Clarence Crabtree worked at the pharmacy together. City directories indicate that at some point during the middle 1910s, Clarence left the business and went into real estate. Clarence Crabtree was a member of the Durham County Board of Commissioners for a time in the 1920s. He and his wife, Carrie continued to live in East Durham. They lived for a time at 910 Angier Avenue, closer to town. That house was demolished some time ago.

Later, the Clarence Crabtrees resided at 1514 Angier Avenue. That house, too, has been demolished. 
During the 1910s and 1920s, city directories usually list R. A. Crabtree as either the manager or clerk at Crabtree Pharmacy. He does not appear to have owned the business; however in 1928, he is listed as its proprietor. In most years, a Mr. J. R. King is shown as the proprietor. The original frame building was replaced with a larger brick structure on the same site. The business was more than a dispensary. It included a newsstand, lunch counter and soda fountain, and retail space for sundries and notions. It functioned as the hub for the bustling community. East Durham was incorporated into the City of Durham in 1925, but the area functioned socially and economically as a separate village for another 50 years. 

During the years of the Great Depression, R. A. Crabtree continued to work as the pharmacist or druggist at Crabtree Pharmacy. His brother, Clarence, presumably in response to a depressed real estate market, returned to work at the pharmacy for a time before becoming the druggist at Holloway Street Pharmacy. R. A. Crabtree retired during the war years. He died at home at 1808 Angier Avenue on the first day of June, 1945. According to his obituary in the June 2, 1945, edition of the Durham Morning Herald, he had been in declining health for a number of years and was critically ill for two months preceding his death. His North Carolina Death Certificate records the cause of his death as chronic nephritis complicated by chronic myocarditis - a condition the newspaper referred to quaintly as a "complication of diseases." He is buried in the Crabtree-Couch family plot in Maplewood Cemetery. 

R. A. Crabtree's wife, Rosa Brown Crabtree, was born on July 28, 1882. Although her marriage certificate and early city directories record her name as Rosa, she is later listed as "Rose." She continued to live at 1808 Angier Avenue after her husband's death until 1953. In that year she sold the house and moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Catherine and Troy Couch, at their home at 2111 Pershing Street. She died on November 17, 1956. Her North Carolina Death Certificate records the cause of her death as congestive heart failure. Rose Crabtree is buried in Maplewood Cemetery next to her husband. Her brief obituary in the November 18, 1956 edition of the Durham Morning Herald states that she was a native of Chatham County and attended Chatham County schools. She lived in Durham for more than fifty years. She and Robert Arthur Crabtree were members of Angier Avenue Baptist Church. They raised a son, R. A. Crabtree, Jr., and a daughter, Catherine Crabtree (later Couch) at the home they created at 1808 Angier Avenue. 

The 1950s began a new era for the house at 1808 Angier Avenue - an era of multi-unit occupancy dominated by a single family. In 1953, the house was acquired by Norton Hilburn and his wife, Catherine Poole Hilburn. Hilburn was a bus driver during the period when Duke Power Company operated Durham's bus system under an agreement with the city. The Hilburns were childless and they shared their large home with relatives. From 1953 through 1955, Norton Hilburn's brother, Fred Hilburn also lived in the house. In 1956, Catherine Hilburn's brother, Bill Poole, and his wife, Alma moved in to the house and then, in 1958, Catherine's sister, Mae Poole Pegram, and her husband Ernest F. Pegram also moved into the house. These three families, related by their connection to the three Poole siblings, would occupy the house for nearly forty years. At some point, probably in the late 1950s, the house was physically divided into three separate dwelling units - one for each of the families. Later city directories identify the units as "A," "B," and "C." The applicant has eliminated the division and is in the process of restoring the house into a single-family dwelling. 

Norton Woodrow Hilburn was born on January 17, 1915, in Brunswick County, North Carolina, but lived in Durham most of his life. The 1930 U. S. Census lists his father, Michael Hilburn, as a "topper" in a hosiery mill. In that year the family lived on Elliott Street in the Cleveland-Holloway neighborhood. According to enlistment records, Norton Hilburn joined the army soon after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and served throughout World War II at home and overseas. He was 6'1" tall and weighed 185 pounds when he signed up. He completed four years of high school. After the war he became a city bus driver and worked for Duke Power in that capacity for 25 years. North Carolina Death Indexes indicate that Norton Hilburn died on April 28, 1987. He was survived by his wife, Catherine "Teeny" Hilburn. See his obituary in the April 29, 1987 edition of the Durham Morning Herald. Catherine Hilburn survived her husband by little more than a year. She died on November 28, 1988. She was 65. According to her obituary in the November 29, 1988, edition of the Durham Morning Herald, she had suffered a long illness. Like her husband she had lived in Durham most of her life. She was homemaker. The Hilburns are buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park. 

Bill Henry Poole was born on June 15, 1926. He married Alma Lea Poole in 1945 according to their North Carolina marriage certificate. In 1956, when the Pooles moved into 1808 Angier Avenue with Bill's sister and brother-in-law, he was a listed as a "huckster" (meaning salesman) in the city directory. Throughout the 1960s, Bill Poole worked as a mechanic or "grease man" at Stephenson-Wilson, Durham's Pontiac dealership (located on West Main Street opposite the tobacco warehouses which are now Brightleaf Square - a parking lot occupies the place now). In the 1970s, he went to work at Country Grocery which he may also have owned. The last occupation recorded in the city directories for Bill Poole was B & B Food Mart from 1979 to 1986. 

City directory entries indicate that the Pooles raised several children at 1808 Angier Avenue including Billy Poole, Barbara Poole, and Candice Poole. Alma Poole died on April 30, 1991. Bill and their children lived on in the house until 1996. Bill Poole died on January 2, 2005, according to the U. S. Social Security Death Index. He and Alma are buried at Woodlawn Memorial Garden.

Ernest Franklin Pegram was born in Harnett County on May 19, 1917. His family moved to Durham when he was young. He is shown as a mill worker in the 1938 city directory. In the 1940 U. S. Census, he is shown as a truck driver for a coal company. By that time he was married to Mae Poole Pegram, sister to Catherine Hilburn and Bill Poole. Pegram's 1940 draft registration card indicates that he was 6'1" tall and had blonde hair and blue eyes. The Pegrams joined the Hilburns and the Poole's at 1808 Angier Avenue in 1958. At the time, Earnest Pegram was vice president of Citizen's Coal and Oil Company at the corner of Ramseur and Rowland Streets downtown. In the mid-1960s, city directories indicate that he worked as a clerk in the office of McGhee Coal Company. In the late 1970s, Pegram worked at Country Grocery with his brother- in-law, Bill Poole. He retired soon after that. 

According to the North Carolina Death Index, Earnest Pegram died on February 7, 1984. His wife, Mae Poole Pegram continued to live at 1808 Angier Avenue until her death on March 25, 1988. Like the Hilburns and the Pooles, the Pegrams are buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park. 

When Catherine Hilburn died in 1988, 1808 Angier Avenue passed to her nieces, Candice and Barbara Poole. In 1996, they sold the property to the Mount Temple Holy Church of God which, in turn, sold the property to Chris Evans three months later. Chris Evans appears to have purchased the property for investment purposes. There is no evidence that he ever lived there. Evans lost the property in foreclosure in 2005. During the period of his ownership, the property was occupied by a number of tenants. During this period, the reliability of city directory entries is poor and during many years there are no listings for one or more of the units. A Kathie B. Guy lived in the house from 2002 until 2005. The directories at this time no longer indicate an occupation and further biographical information for Ms. Guy could not be located. 

The applicant, August Bruce Canepa, and his son, Jason Canepa, bought 1808 Angier in 2006 and has made it their home. The house was in poor condition when the applicant acquired it and he has begun the laborious process of restoring the house to a single family home. The applicant came to Durham from the northeastern part of the country. During his lifetime he has operated a Good Humor Ice Cream truck in New York City and worked in the ice cream and beverage business in Maryland. He was for a time a crisis prevention counselor in Cape Cod. Applicant has also operated an antiques and salvage business. Since coming to Durham he has been semi-retired.