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| Early Photo - Heritage Room Collection |
1710 Waxhaw Road
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| Contemporary Photo - Victorian Crow's Nest |
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| Contemporary Photo - Victorian Crow's Nest |
Waxhaw-Weddington Rds. Historic District
National Register 1988
“The second oldest house in the historic district is Crow's Nest, a handsome late example of the Queen Anne style built early in the 20th century by Fetnah Heath Crow, the widow of William Crow. Master millwright William Crow [abt 1819-1884], a native of Lincoln County, North Carolina, lived with his family in the Waxhaw area just east of the Union county border with Lancaster County, South Carolina. Although Crow's second wife Fetnah Heath (1836-1909) was born in Union county, her father was one of a large family of Heaths who migrated from Lancaster to Union County in the mid to late 19th century.
William Crow owned several tracts of land in Union County, one of which he deeded to his wife in 1883. After her husband's death the following year, Mrs. Crow is said to have moved her family (consisting of three surviving sons, John James., Robert D. and Edward Wilson, and a widowed stepdaughter, Maggie Sturdivant) to this property, which was located west of the town of Monroe on the waters of Bearskin Creek. The house which they occupied apparently burned shortly after the turn of the century, and Crow's Nest was erected to replace it. Neither the builder nor an architect has been identified for the house; however, in style, form and a number of design features, it is similar to the nearby Heath House, which predates it by several years.
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| Crow Bros. circa 1890 - Heritage Room Collection |
“The oldest of Mrs. Crow's surviving sons, John James [1863-1942 married Alice Virginia Shute], lived with his family on Franklin Street in Monroe, while the two younger sons remained at Crow's Nest with their mother. Shortly after their move from Waxhaw to the outskirts of Monroe, the three brothers formed a business under the name of Crow Brothers. The mercantile firm was multifaceted, as the brothers acted as cotton buyers and handled commercial fertilizers and farm supplies. The firm was dissolved in 1920, although John and Robert Crow continued to operate a grocery business on Main Street in Monroe.
In addition to their mercantile operations, the three Crow brothers, both individually and through the firm, participated in a variety of local enterprises. Many of these were the same as those involving their neighbors, W.C. Heath and R.B. Redwine, including the Monroe Oil and Fertilizer Company, Monroe Manufacturing Company, the Waxhaw Telephone Company (1903), Icemorlee Cotton Mills, and Houston-Heath Realty Company.
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| John J. Crow in 1902 |
“Fetnah Crow died in 1909, and the 1910 census indicates that Crow's Nest was occupied in that year by her sons R.D. and Ed Crow, the latter of whom had been married in 1908 to Mary Hanes of Mocksville, North Carolina. In 1915, the brothers divided their mother's estate, with John J. Crow receiving two tracts of land, including the Crow's Nest property.
John J. Crow (1863-1942), mayor of Monroe several years previously, moved his family to Crow's Nest; his daughters continued to occupy the house after his death, Adeline until her death in 1976, and Mary until about two years before she died in 1984.”
Fetnah H. Crow House
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| R.D. Crow (S&B 1902) |
“Across the front elevation of the house is a one-story, hipped roofed porch with a shallow, gable-roofed pavilion that extends over the front steps. The main porch roof is supported by heavy turned posts, while the front of the entrance pavilion is supported by Tuscan columns. The porch railings are ornamented with swags formed of balls set between the balusters.
“Narrow clapboarding sheathes the house, except under the front porch, where the wall is covered with narrow novelty siding. The plain, boxed cornices are ornamented with dentil courses, a single row of dentils on the porch like those of the Heath House, and alternating large and small dentils on the main and tower cornices. The gable ends have scroll-sawn verge boards and louvers with scrollsawn panels. Small pierced brackets support the roof returns on the west bay.
“One over one double-hung windows with plain surrounds predominate. The main entrance has a tall doorway with an ornate surround of chamfered pilasters and bull's-eye corner blocks, flanked by shorter sidelight windows. The door itself is veneered with oak and has applied spindle ornament.
“On the interior, the first floor rooms are arranged around a central stair hall. Front and rear sections of this hall are divided by an arched screen richly ornamented with spindlework. The front portion of the hall has paneled wainscot, while the rear portion is wainscoted with beaded tongue and groove boards. The stair rises in the rear of the hall in a half turn with landings. At the foot of the stair are two large newel posts with applied spindle ornament, bull's-eyes, and turned finials. Door and window surrounds throughout the house have symmetrically-molded architraves with bull's-eye corner blocks. The woodwork in the hall is of pine and was originally finished with clear shellac.
“Off the front hall to the left through a set of pocket doors is the front parlor. The Neo-Federal mantel and coved crown mold in this room date to ca.1930. Another set of pocket doors leads to the dining room at the rear of the west side. This room has a paneled wainscot similar to that in the hall, but again the mantel and crown molding are ca.1930. The three-sided west wall of the room includes a rectangular, multi-paned pastel glass window high in the center wall. In the rear wing of the building are the butler's pantry and the kitchen, both sheathed in tongue and groove boards. At the other side of the hall are a front sitting room and a bedroom with an adjacent bath. The front room again has a Neo-Federal replacement mantel, while the bedroom is substantially intact and has a simple Queen Anne mantel.
“Upstairs, the beaded board wainscot continues in the hall. There are two bedrooms on either side of the house with the same trim as the lower floor, but none have mantels.
Outbuildings
--Ca.1900 frame gable-roofed smoke house to which has been added ca.1920 a shed-roofed frame garage. Located directly behind the main house.
--Ca.1901 one-story gable-roofed frame servants quarters in fair condition located approximately 75 feet to northeast of main house.
--Ca.1950 brick, gable-roofed well house.”
Edward Crow House—1906 Weddington Road circa 1916
“In the division of the Crow estate, Edward Wilson Crow (1870-1930)
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| E.W. Crow (1870-1930) |
“Two stories tall, and of frame construction, the main mass of the house consists of a Prairie Style-influenced two-story cube under a low, hipped slate roof. The walls are sheathed with wide clapboards that are mitered at the corners. Across the front elevation is a one-story, low hipped-roofed porch with a low, central gable that projects slightly. The porch roof is supported at the corners with triple square piers, and triangular knee braces support the eaves of the porch gable. A square-section baluster railing runs between the columns, the space above and behind which has been enclosed with wire screening.
“Centered in the front slope of the roof is a low dormer with a hipped roof. A large interior chimney with corbelled cap is located in the south slope of the roof, and there are tall exterior chimneys at the north and west sides of the house with plain stacks.
“Most of the house's windows have double-hung, six over one sash. On the front elevation's second story, paired sash flank a central, multi-paned square window bracketed with narrow strip windows.
“On the east side of the house is a hipped-roofed porch which was enclosed by the original owner to form a sun room. The corners of the porch are supported by square columns, between which is a paneled dado with six over one sash above.
“A two-story gable-roofed wing projects from the center of the rear elevation. The second level of this wing is a sleeping porch with strips of windows on three sides and broadly-overhanging eaves. A one-story, flat-roofed brick extension added in the 1940s, projects from the rear of the wing. At the northwest corner of the house is a hipped-roofed, one-story frame kitchen wing.
“The interior of the Crow House is arranged around a broad central stair hall. The stair rises in a quarter turn with landing through a quadrant-shaped stairwell. Pairs of two-paneled mahogany sliding doors lead from the stair hall into the sitting rooms on either side. From the west sitting room another pair of sliding doors leads into the dining room. Behind the east sitting room is a small bedroom and bath which connect to the sun porch. These principal rooms are very simply finished, with oak strip flooring, plain board window and door surrounds and modest classical mantels with tiled faces. The southeast sitting room mantel is of cherry wood, and there are built-in shelves added by the current owners. The front hall and dining room have molded chair rails. Crown moldings have been added to several rooms, also during the current ownership. On the second floor are four bedrooms, all simply finished.
Outbuildings
--One-story, hipped-roofed rectangular frame building directly behind and contemporary with the main house. Now used as residence, but probably originally a combined servants quarters/garage.
--ca.1930 frame shed-roofed garage north of main house.
--ca.1920 two-story gable-roofed frame barn with shed located north of main house.
--ca.1920 one-story frame bungalow with jerkin-headed gable roof located northwest of main house.”
