Funderburk-Plaxco House
(ca. 1880)
The Funderburk-Plaxco House is a lasting symbol of the local prominence of the Ellison James Funderburk family for more than a century in Matthews.
316 East Matthews Street, Matthews, NC 28105
Ellison James (E.J.) Funderburk (1836-1916) was the patriarch of one of the most important families in Matthews in the late 19th century. One of the first four town commissioners elected after the town’s incorporation in 1879, Funderburk was a prosperous cotton farmer, landowner, and businessman who also had a hand in starting one of the first schools and the first bank in Matthews. He and his wife Selia Anne Funderburk raised all eleven of their children in the Funderburk-Plaxco House; three of his sons also became leading citizens of Matthews. As evidence of the family’s significance, by 1909, Matthews had four general stores (three of which operated one or more cotton gins), a drug store, a bank, a grist mill, a blacksmith shop, a livery stable, a hotel, and one of the first high schools built in North Carolina. E.J. Funderburk or one of his sons had a stake in almost all of these ventures. Present-day Matthews still bears many signs of the Funderburk family legacy.
Property Quick Links
In 1878, E.J. acquired land on which he eventually operated the E.J. Funderburk General Merchandise Store, presently at 165 North Trade Street. In 1898, he deeded the property to his son Benjamin DeWitt (B.D.) Funderburk, where B.D. and his brothers Thomas Lee Funderburk and Ellison Albertus Morgan Funderburk erected in 1901 a one-story brick building that served as a general store, presently at 159 North Trade Street. The Funderburk Brothers General Store sold dry goods, coal, fertilizer, and other farm supplies to the community. In 1909, E.J. deeded more property near the stores to his sons, where they constructed a two-story brick structure and expanded their offerings to include groceries and the town’s first bank. The family operated the Bank of Matthews until 1976 when it merged with BB&T. The Funderburk family also operated a cotton gin and a cotton-buying business in town, as well as a grist mill, blacksmith shop, and livery stable.
Selia resided in the Funderburk-Plaxco House until her death in 1927. At some point following E.J.’s death, the house was rolled to its current location from across the street on pine logs stripped of their bark, pulled by a team of mules. After Selia’s death, Thomas L. Funderburk lived in the home with his wife and children until he passed away in 1940. His sons left Matthews that same year to fight in World War II. Upon their return in 1945, the three men transferred the house to their uncle B.D. and his wife Sallie, who in turn passed it on in 1950 to their daughter Louise Funderburk Plaxco and her husband Boyce, then the co-managers of the Funderburk Brothers Store. The house passed to Louise and Boyce’s children in 1973 and was ultimately acquired by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission for preservation. Although the Commission has since transferred the property to new owners, the Funderburk-Plaxco House continues to be protected thanks to preservation covenants that remain in effect for subsequent owners.
One of the oldest homes still standing in Matthews, the Funderburk-Plaxco House – with its interesting combination of both Italianate and Craftsman architectural elements – remained in the Funderburk family for more than 130 years.