Henderson-King House
(ca. 1903)
An early 1970s move from Sharon Amity Road saved the Folk Victorian Henderson-King House from imminent demolition.
4723 Stafford Cir, Charlotte, NC 28211
The circa 1903 vernacular Henderson-King House represents a folk interpretation of Queen Anne architecture, a style popular throughout the U.S. during the last years of the nineteenth and very early twentieth centuries. Such interpretations, often dependent upon ornamentation applied to a traditional building form, are referred to as Folk Victorian. The resemblance of the Henderson-King House to a Queen Anne dwelling is found not only in its ornamentation but also in its irregular building form. The house is unusual in that its design reflects very urban tastes for a rural farmhouse and was likely intended to show the elevated status of its original owner.
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The property was once part of a 174-acre tract of land purchased in 1895 by Samuel D. Faulkner at a court sale (for settlement of debt) from John E. Oates and Margaret L. Barringer, the widow of Confederate brigadier general Rufus Barringer. Very little is known of Faulkner other than that by 1911, he was residing on the then largely rural Providence Road. In the last years of the nineteenth century, Faulkner made several real estate purchases totaling over 500 acres and additional purchases after the turn of the century, indicating his substantial wealth. Faulkner sold the property in 1902 to Walter P. and Elizabeth N. Myers. A former traveling salesman, Walter Myers turned to farming in the early 1900s. It is unclear whether Faulkner or the Myers built the house. Given the house’s urban character, the fact that Walter and Elizabeth had previously lived within the Charlotte city limits, and the social prominence of the Myers family – Elizabeth (an alumnae of the Presbyterian College for Women, later Queens College) once donated a large sum of money to her alma mater – it is believed that Walter and Elizabeth built the house.
Between 1911 and 1971, the house and property changed hands several times. Its most notable owner – Charles Philo Henderson (1854-1934) – was a descendant of some of the early settlers of Mecklenburg County, who arrived here around 1749. Charles was a member of Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery. He and his family held the property for nearly forty years. It then passed to the four children of Charles and his wife Ammie upon Ammie’s death in 1938. Daughter Lillie W. Henderson lived in the house until 1971, even though most of the land had been sold to Construction Materials Company in 1953. The land was later acquired by Mecklenburg Builders, Inc., who subdivided the property into the Sherwood Forest development. In 1971, the Joppa Masonic Lodge purchased the Henderson-King House and the remaining five-acre parcel on which it sat.
The Lodge intended to demolish the house to construct a new facility for their organization, but a nearby neighbor in Sherwood Forest intervened, purchasing and moving the house to its current location circa 1972. Originally situated on Sharon Amity Road a short distance directly north of the present homesite, the property is part of the original farm purchased by Samuel Faulkner. First built to face Sharon Amity Road to the north, the move included a reorientation of the house, turning it 180 degrees to face Stafford Circle to the south.