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<br /> with shingles and small windows or ventilators .
<br /> Though I-Houses were , constructed by prosperous North Carolina farmers for
<br /> many years, those surviving from the Reconstruction Period are scarce . Fewer
<br /> dwellings were built during this time of hardship, and many have now been
<br /> demolished or have fallen into disrepair. An architectural survey made in Orange
<br /> County two years ago identified only two examples of the same approximate age as the
<br /> Holden-Roberts farmhouse in the northern part of the county that are intact and
<br /> eligible for the National Register. These are the Phelps farmhouse, ca. 1880, (on NC 57,
<br /> 1 mile north of SR 1556 ) and the Pender House of the same dating (in Cedar Grove, a
<br /> small rural historic district in north Orange County at the intersections of SR 1004 and
<br /> 1352) .
<br /> HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND AGRICULTURAL CONTEXT.
<br /> The Holden-Roberts Farm appears to fall within the boundaries of two parcels of
<br /> land granted by John, Earl Granville, in the eighteenth century, one to Michael Synnott
<br /> in 1752, and the other to John Kelly at an unspecified date . The records show that both
<br /> Synnott and Kelly were owners of large tracts of land at various locations within
<br /> Orange County, and each no doubt increased his personal wealth by buying and selling
<br /> real . estate . 6 While Kelly retained his subject parcel, Synnott conveyed his to a man
<br /> identified as Thomas Holden, weaver, in 1755 . 7 Of Thomas Holden' s six children, a
<br /> daughter, Mary, married John Kelly, possibly the neighboring landowner or his son.
<br /> From this beginning, the Holden and Kelly families grew in size and influence in
<br /> Orange County for several generations .
<br /> At some point the Holden and Kelly lands or portions of them were joined and
<br /> farmed as part of a larger holding by an undetermined number of owners until in 1826
<br /> When Young Dorch, a modestly wealthy Orange County farmer, bequeathed 100 acres
<br /> and several slaves to his wife, Nancy, with instructions that after her demise the land
<br /> should go to their daughter, Lucy Walker. Dorch' s will identified the farm as the
<br /> "plantation on which I now live," but two deteriorated fieldstone chimneys are all that
<br /> remain near the present Rolling Acres Farm that may date from the period of his or
<br /> Walker' s occupations . $
<br /> On January 1, 1868, Isaac Holden purchased 146 acres, one rod, and 20 perches
<br /> from Lucy Ann Walker, widow of George W. Walker for $500. 9 The deed shows that
<br /> reversions, remainders, and rents were due to the buyer, implying that Lucy and her
<br /> family had farming ventures underway that might be expected to yield produce or
<br /> income, though the nature of these is not specified . Isaac Holden kept the farm only for
<br /> a short period, and, on June 26, 1871, he sold the 146 acres plus seven more purchased
<br /> 6 Orange County Land Records show numerous transactions made by these men.
<br /> 7 Browning, letter. .
<br /> 8 Will of Young Dortch dated October 1, 1826, Orange County Estate Records, Hillsborough, NC, Book C, p. 315-
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<br /> 9 Book 38, pages 145-6, Orange County Register of Deeds Office, Hillsborough, NC. Lounsbury, Carl R., An
<br /> Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape, New York, Oxford University Press, 1994, p . 267.
<br /> Lounsbury notes that a "perch" is sixteen and one half feet long and most often used for measurement of stone fences. It
<br /> 0s rare to find it referring to land measurements.
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