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<br /> NPS Form 10-900-a - _ - OMB Approvtl No.7024-0018
<br /> 18-851
<br /> United States Department of the Interior
<br /> National Park Service •
<br /> National Register of Historic Places
<br /> Continuation Sheet
<br /> Section number 8 Page 6
<br /> Dr.Arch Jordan House
<br /> Orange County,North Carolina
<br /> stores that established themselves at rural crossroads. The Caldwell community is in this sense a well-
<br /> preserved representative of other rural Orange County cross-roads settlements such as the nearby Cedar
<br /> Grove community,and of other inward-turning Orange County neighborhoods such as the Eno,New Hope,
<br /> and Cane Creek settlements. The Dr.Arch Jordan house,through its association with a prominent local
<br /> physician,a general store, several local Presbyterian churches, and farming--a unique combination of vital
<br /> rural institutions--made it a central focal point of much of Caldwell's social activity,and serves to
<br /> underscore its significance to the social history of Orange County.
<br /> Historical Background:
<br /> The date the house was built is contested,but the weight of the evidence points to the mid-1870s as
<br /> the most probable period of construction. The Orange County tax assessor lists 1872 as the date of
<br /> construction,and Richard Mattson's"History and Architecture of Orange County,North Carolina"claims
<br /> that Dr.Jordan built the house in 1875.i5 Both of these dates appear to be estimates based on architectural
<br /> style and physical elements, supported by the appearance of other examples of Italianate styling in rural
<br /> Orange County architecture in the same period. The latter date is given credence by a notice in the
<br /> Hillsborough Recorder,dated July 28, 1875,that"Mr.A.C.Jordan has just about completed his
<br /> residence."16 The field recorder responsible for completing the"North Carolina Historic Structure Data
<br /> Sheet,"Jody Carter,estimated the construction date to be 1900,but no supporting materials documenting
<br /> this date accompany the survey,and in the survey's overall narrative summary the same author gives 1870
<br /> as the date of construction.17 According to a family history,Dr.Jordan did not complete his medical
<br /> training at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore,Maryland,until 1881,and did not marry
<br /> until 1885.18 Further,the earliest recorded land deed in which Dr.Jordan was listed as grantee occurred in
<br /> 1885,when he purchased a 10.5 acre tract from his oldest brother,William Jordan.19 Dr.Jordan completed
<br /> his land holdings in 1891,when both of his parents died, and he bought out his brothers' and sister's shares
<br /> (some seventy-four acres of land)for$1,150.20
<br /> As noted above,Dr.Jordan sold the property in 1905,and three local churches used the house for
<br /> nearly a quarter-century as a manse. The tobacco barn appears to have been built in the period from 1916-
<br /> 15 Richard L.Mattson,"History and Architecture of Orange County,North Carolina,"49.
<br /> 16 Hillsborough Recorder,July 28, 1875,vol.55,3.
<br /> 17 Jody Carter,"North Carolina Historic Structure Date Sheet,""Dr.Arch Jordan House"file,North Carolina
<br /> Division of Archives and History,Department of Cultural Resources,Survey Site#OR 931.
<br /> ►s Perry,These Jordans Were Here,200-201.
<br /> 19 Deed Book 48:331 (February 14, 1885),Orange County,North Carolina.
<br /> Z0 Deed Book 53: 15(July 24, 1891) •
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