W. D. Beaty House
(ca. 1880)
The W. D. Beaty House was part of the sizable landholdings of the Beaty family in the late 1800s and much of the twentieth century.
2400 Park Ln, Charlotte, NC 28214
William D. Beaty (1838-1905) was the second son of landowner James M. Beaty (1800-1889). James owned 632 acres on three separate tracts and at least three dwelling houses when he died in 1889. As his share of the estate, W. D. received a 64.5-acre tract along the Catawba River that included a house in which he may never have resided. W. D. married Mary E. Kinkaide in 1869, and together they had at least six children. In 1891, W. D. purchased another 98.5 acres in 1891 for $1,500. The Park Lane house was most likely standing on that property at the time, as the deed W. D. received in that transaction expressly referenced a “homestead.”
Property Quick Links
In 1905, W. D. Beaty passed away, leaving the Beaty House and the accompanying land to his wife Mary. Family tradition tells of a former mine on the property; however, it is not known if gold or any other mineral was ever extracted from the site. After Mary’s death, the couple’s son James C. Beaty took possession of the residence and the land. He married Margaret Harris (“Hattie”) McConnell in 1897, and together they had twelve children, at least eight of whom lived to maturity. James was a farmer, and grew cotton, corn, and other crops on the land. In his later years, he ran a telephone switchboard out of the house, presumably serving the Paw Creek and Berryhill areas. He died in 1923 of Bright's Disease.
Hattie Beaty continued living in the house for nearly seven years. Around 1930, she traveled to Michigan to be with a daughter, Isabell, who was living there with her husband Lawrence Otis Dawley. While there, Hattie met and married Joseph F. Forrest in 1931. She returned a few years later, without Joseph, and resumed occupancy of the W. D. Beaty House. During the 1920s and 1930s, son James Fredrick Beaty also resided in the house. At least two of his six children were born in the house (in 1926 and 1932), however, he never held title to it. When Hattie died in 1942, several of her heirs sold off their portions of the land, resulting in the development of a small subdivision around the W. D. Beaty House.
The circa 1880 W. D. Beaty house is architecturally significant as representing a late 19th century interpretation of the National Folk (post-railroad) house form. The two story I-house has elaborate Folk Victorian details such as cornice returns, brackets, and flat jigsaw-cut trim. The interior details such as the curved stair are examples of a high level of local craftsmanship. The property is of similar construction to several 1880s houses in Gaston County by builder Lawson Henderson Stowe.