Sloan-Davidson House
(ca. 1820 & 1890)
A portion of the Sloan-Davidson House, one of Fourth Ward’s few original homes, dates back to 1820.
314 West 8th Street, Charlotte NC 28202
One of the few houses in Charlotte’s Fourth Ward that remains at its original site of construction, the Sloan-Davidson House dates back to 1820, at least in part. It is believed that the dining room and kitchen initially constituted a two-room cottage or building that was subsequently enlarged in 1890. One neighborhood legend suggests that the first structure was actually built as a shelter for the construction workers who built the Overcarsh House located at 326 West 8th Street on the opposite end of the block.
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With the 1890 expansion, the small building was reimagined as a Folk Victorian House. Subsequent renovations in the 1970s replaced several of the Folk Victorian exterior features with the more decorative detailing of the Queen Anne style, including the complex tripped roof with cross gables.
The earliest deed to the property is dated February 18, 1801, and reflects John Sloan’s purchase of the 48-acre property from Robert Sloan. In 1836, E. D. B. Sloan purchased twenty acres of that property for $260.20. By the time of the next sale in 1847, between E. D. B. Sloan and R. F. Davidson, the property was broken into squares and lots, indicating that the Fourth Ward neighborhood had already been blocked out. Among the squares bought by Davidson was number 66, the block in which this property is located. Davidson's purchase of twenty-one acres cost $300.
Daniel H. Byerly purchased the parcel containing the Sloan-Davidson House from Davidson in 1854 for $200. The property remained in the Byerly family until the end of the nineteenth century, after which the house changed hands several times and experienced the same physical decline as much of the Fourth Ward neighborhood. In 1976, Berryhill Preservation, Inc. – a local foundation created to salvage and restore the Fourth Ward area during a period of residential flight from Charlotte’s center city to suburbia – acquired the Sloan-Davidson House. Christopher and Pam Geiger purchased the neglected house from Berryhill Preservation in 1977 for $13,000. The house has since been extensively renovated and stands renewed as does the rest of the Fourth Ward neighborhood.