118 Main Street

This house stands on a small, shallow, wooded lot on Durham’ s Main Street.

Notable Features

Two story porch supported by turned posts and sawn brackets
Ornamented with imbricated shingles
Front doors are doubleleafed with multipaned qlazing.

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Historical or Architectural Importance

This structure is the purest and best preserved example of the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture extant in Durham. Its facade contains a two story porch supported by turned posts and sawn brackets and is ornamented with imbricated shingles. The front doors, original to the house, are double leafed with multipaned qlazing. The south side boasts a 2 story bay/dormer, three-sided on the first floor, four-sided on the second. The fenestration displays the irregularity and asymmetry characteristic of the Queen Anne style’s concentration on the picturesque. The sheathing of the house also displays the varied textures, shaped shingles and clapboards, for example, characteristic of the style. A 1 1/2 story shed roof addition stands to the rear of the main block and appears to have been built early in the 20th century. To the rear of and attached to this addition is a contemporary garage. A l 1/2 story barn, sheathed with vertical flushboards, stands to the rear of the house. The house was built in 1898/99 for George J. Francis, who became owner and chief executive officer of the Merriam Manufacturing Co. in 1895. He sold the house in 1903 to David P. Warner, whose family owed the house until 1938, when it became the property of John C. Otte. The house passed to its present owners in 1972. Architecturally, this house is significant as one of the best examples of late Victorian architecture in Durham, and as the purest expression; in the town of the Q.leen Anne style.