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Harmony Hall
East King Street, Kinston,
NC,
USA
Latitude & Longitude:
35° 15' 31.1148",
-77° 34' 49.134"
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North Carolina State
Historical Marker |
Marker Text: "Office of Secretary of State during Revolution. Later owned by Richard Caswell & sons. Altered in nineteenth century." The town of Kingston, in the colony of North Carolina, was established in 1762 after William Heritage donated land for the town. Heritage, a prominent New Bern attorney, became an integral part of the town’s development and served as a trustee during its early stages of growth. After the town was created, a map was drawn to lay out lots and a group of commissioners were selected to supervise development. Under their direction, the town grew at a moderate pace and soon many new houses had been built.
One of the first houses constructed in the new town is now known as Harmony Hall. The first section of the frame home was constructed during the last quarter of the eighteenth century and has seen several additions and changes as subsequent owners lived in the structure. The name Harmony Hall was added to the house in the twentieth century and was, until that time, known as the Peebles House. The Peebles family lived in the house longer than any other. Richard Caswell, the first governor of the state of North Carolina, owned the house although there is some question as to whether he lived in the house or used it for business or state purposes.
The home was acquired by the Lenoir County Historical Association and restored to reflect occupation of the house over its long history. Harmony Hall opened as a historic house museum and offices for the Historical Association in 1984 and can be toured today.
References:
Jerry L. Cross, “The Peebles House in Kinston: A Research Report for the Structure Restored as ‘Harmony Hall’” (1990), research report in Research Branch Library, Office of Archives and History
Dedication Festivities: Harmony Hall, May 17-18, 1984, commemorative pamphlet
Catherine Bishir and Michael Southern, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Eastern North Carolina (1996)
Martha Dreyer and Kenneth Hill, Kinston’s Architecture, 1762-1930: An Inventory and History (1981)
Harmony Hall Website:
http://www.historicalpreservationgroup.org/HistAssoc/HarHall/index.html
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Harmony Hall Historical Marker Location Map, Kinston, North Carolina
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