Edmund Burke Hopson House

35.906899, -78.887218

4363
Durham
NC
Cross Street
Year built
1915
Year demolished
2012
Architectural style
Construction type
Neighborhood
Use
Building Type
Local ID
154141
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This was the home of Edmund Burke Hopson and his wife Eula O'Briant Hopson. They passed away in 1967 and 1965 respectively.  The property, which extended from S. Alston Ave. to T.W. Alexander Dr. was sold to Sumitomo Electric in 1983. In 2008, the 40 acres along S. Alston Ave. was sold to Southeastern Freight Lines of South Carolina.  Many assumed the house was gone until the land was cleared in October of 2012. The house is to be demolished in mid November, 2012 to make way for the new Southeastern Freight Lines Terminal.

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Comments

Do you have a picture of the house?

Yes.  I was having trouble getting them downsized, but hopefully they will be okay now.

This is great - thanks for adding this. Under "Location," could you click to put a pin on the map exactly where this is? I can't tell from the Google aerial.

GK

Ok - think I found it on the county aerials.

In reply to by gary

You've got the location right. Thanks.... I'd done that, but it must have gotten lost with my changes.

I found this place while walking through the woods back in 2009. I was amazed at what good shape it was in for having been abandoned for so long. There were catalogs from the 1960s in the living room and jars in the cupboards. I'm really sad to see it go.

I've got some shots from before the forest was cleared, I'll see if I can round them up.

Thanks, pkimw01 for the images. Are there any interior pictures of the place? I would have had to stick my head (and camera) inside...but you are probably a nice person and didn't do so :-)

I am a very nice person... and that did not in any way prevent me from taking a little self-guided tour! It was pretty obvious that this place had not been lived in for a very long time. These are all from 2009-10, when the encroaching forest was intact. There are more in my flickr set here: flickr dot com/photos/avius/sets/72157622075727734/

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There were still some jars with recognizable food inside.

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One of the few places where the water had gotten in; I think a wood-burning stove was in this corner of the kitchen:

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One of the bedrooms, with papers and clothing strewn all over:

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Some local WWII propaganda that was in the pile of debris above:

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Wow - those are fantastic. Thanks so much for adding them.

GK

In reply to by gary

Thanks! It's not often I have much to contribute here, since most of the things I find have already been more extensively documented already. Happy to help!

I do think you are nice pkimw01...and an awesome photographer. Thanks for the images!

Great pictures. I took 55 pictures of this house, inside, outside, property and out buildings. I wasn't sure if there was a limit. I'll upload more. I'm working on getting a picture of this house when the Hopsons lived there. There aren't many old empty houses between Lowe's Grove, Apex, Hwy 55 and Jordan Lake that I haven't been in. I've been taking pictures and trying to stay ahead of the developers tearing down the old houses for the last 10 years or so.

Old outhouse.

Image removed.

 

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Front left support

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Corner of tobacco barn

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Wagon wheel used to support central back porch

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Looking east from the rear of the house, Sumitomo Electric on T.W. Alexander Drive can

be seen on the adjoining tract of land.

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All things considered, the house is in incredibly intact condition! Even the curtains haven't become tattered, even with no glass left in the windows, etc!
No one lived there in 45 years! Incredible. Must have been a well built house if it survived so well.

Looking back again at how neat this house is. Some of the pictures have a Grant Wood-American Gothic flavor; the front gable with its stepped windows is reminiscent of the painting's lancet window.

I drive down S. Alston many days on my way to work, past the Southeastern Freight terminal that must be where this beautiful home once stood.  Thanks for the great photos of this house. Does anyone have more information about Lowes Grove? Was it part of Durham or a separate town?

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