Mabonsie
(ca. 1935)
Bonnie and Johnsie Shelton’s Mabonsie log building was once an isolated rural weekend getaway from the bustle of Concord Road.
312 S Thompson St, Davidson, NC 28036
The Shelton Sister House, also known as Mabonsie, was constructed as a rural weekend getaway for sisters Bonnie Kathleen and Mary Johnston “Johnsie” Shelton, two of the six children of Robert William Shelton (1858-1919) and his wife Minnie Johnston Shelton (1866-1938). As a successful businessman and merchant in Davidson, Robert Shelton was an initial investor in the Linden Cotton Factory and owned a local livery stable. He served on the Davidson town commission and one term as the town’s mayor. The Sheltons inherited sizable landholdings in and around Davidson, primarily along South Main Street and Concord Road, from Minnie’s father James Sidney Johnston. The Shelton family lived in a stylish Queen Anne home with an octagonal tower at 426 Concord Road.
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Both Bonnie (1896-1955) and Johnsie (1892-1983) worked as teachers at several area schools over their careers. Educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and New York’s Columbia University, Bonnie primarily taught second grade, ultimately becoming the second-grade teacher at the Davidson School. Bad eyesight prompted Johnsie to pursue other careers including as a private nurse for a local family and as the housemother for Pi Kappa Alpha and Phi Kappa Phi fraternities at Davidson College. Neither sister married and they live together in the family’s Concord Road home all their lives.
Much of Davidson’s growth in the late 1800s and early 1900s resulted from Robert and Minnie Shelton selling off portions of the Johnston family property for development. After Robert’s death, Minnie continued to support the family by selling off family land, including auctioning off properties on south Concord Road for development for homes for the growing Davidson College faculty. Daughter Bonnie acquired some of that land, including the five-acre Thompson Street parcel where the Shelton sisters built the idyllic Mabonsie, so named to reference “Momma,” “Bonnie,” and “Johnsie.” Unlike the chaotic rapid development of the Concord Road corridor, the pasturelands beyond Concord Road, including Thompson Street, were well-suited for a more bucolic residential setting.
The log Mabonsie is an outstanding example of the Rustic Revival architectural style, especially for Mecklenburg County where – despite a renaissance of log construction in the early 20th century – few structures of its type remain. The Depression prompted a flurry of Rustic Revival style log buildings sponsored by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Work Progress Administration due to the lower construction costs, the relatively few resources needed for such buildings, and the many job opportunities that such construction provided. Logs used in the construction of Mabonsie were harvested from the property and hauled into place by mules and horses. The house features several personal touches reflective of the sisters, including the chimney and associated Mabonsie name plate crafted from shells and stone rubble gathered by Bonnie and Johnsie on their vacations. Subsequent residents of Mabonsie included former Davidson professor and North Carolina governor Jim Martin and former Davidson College football coach Dave Roberts.