W. T. McCoy House
(ca. 1910)
Designed by prominent Charlotte architect C. C. Hook, the McCoy House was the home of successful furniture vendor William T. McCoy.
429 E Kingston Ave, Charlotte, NC 28203
William T. McCoy bought his East Kingston Avenue home from Edward Dilworth Latta’s Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company in April 1910 as part of the development of Dilworth, Charlotte’s first streetcar suburb, from 250 acres of farmland just southeast of the city. Constructed by the R. N. Hunter Company, the W. T. McCoy House was based upon architectural designs created by the firm of Hook and Rogers. Charles Christian Hook (1870-1938), Charlotte’s first resident architect and a principle of that firm, designed several Dilworth houses for Latta’s company.
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Born in Camden, South Carolina, William McCoy (1876-1933) came to Charlotte in 1895. Four years later, he started his own furniture business, W. T. McCoy and Company at 209-211 South Tryon Street. The business flourished and soon became one of the area’s best known furniture stores, enabling he and his wife, the former Willie Beckton, to purchase their Dilworth home. The business’ success also allowed William to construct a new and larger store in 1923 at 423-425 South Tryon to accommodate the expanding trade. In 1928, the McCoy family moved from their Kingston home to a house at 1125 Queens Road. Active in business, civic, and church affairs, William was a founding member of the Greater Charlotte Club (the predecessor of the Chamber of Commerce), president of both the Charlotte Merchants Association and the Southern Furniture Dealers Association, and a director of the National Furniture Dealers Association. Because of failing health, however, William was forced to retire and liquidate the business in 1931.
Mrs. McCoy and their two surviving daughters owned kept the Kingston house and rented it to various tenants until 1936, when Mrs. McCoy retained the American Trust Company to manage the property. In 1969, after a series of tenants, the W. T. McCoy House was sold to John and Sally Howie, who converted the house into a duplex. After a second series of tenants, John Geer and Gary Benner purchased the property and restored it.
C. C. Hook, designer of the W. T. McCoy House, is remembered as one of North Carolina’s most prolific early twentieth-century architects. A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, he graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, before moving to Charlotte in 1890. In addition to his work in Dilworth, Hook’s Charlotte commissions included Charlotte City Hall, the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Fire Station No. 6, the Carolina Theater, the Charlotte Women’s Club, and such notable private residences as the Duke Mansion, the VanLandingham Estate, and the William Henry Belk House. Hook also designed numerous collegiate buildings across the state, including at UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University, St. Mary’s College, Queens College, and Duke University.