Cherry Lane, east side

Set on a deep narrow lot on the east side of Cherry Lane, the William Y. Bailey
House is built on terrain that gently slopes eastwardly to open fields. The
surrounding neighborhood is primarily twentieth-century domestic dwellings.

Notable Features

Considerably altering the building’s original appearance are two large shed-dormers
which have been added to the north and south slopes of the roof. The modest facade
entryway is fl anked by two, sma 11, rectangul ar ei ght-paned wi ndows and covered by
a Colonial Revival style portico. Additions to the building include a small, hiproofed
bay to the north elevation and a shed-roofed ell on the east elevation with
a low pitched shed-roofed ell extending from the rear.

Historical or Architectural Importance

Oriented gable-to-street, this 1! story, nineteenth-century domestic style dwelling was erected in 1848 by William Y. Bailey. Topped with a steeply pitched, asphaltshingled roof, the clapboarded, post-and-beam frame rests on a stuccoed sandstone foundation.

William Y. Bailey erected this house in 1845 on land he had purchased from Worthington Chauncey. There is little historical information available concerning Bailey, but we do know he married Sarah Stevens in 1830. Jared Robinson, a descendant of one of the first famflies in Durham, owned the house from 1846 to 1858. In 1858 Anson and Eunice (Loveland) Meigs bought the property and sold it to their son, John Meigs in 1861. Silas W. Fowler (1845-1925) purchased the property in 1868, a year after his marriage to Emma A. Clark. Fowler, a native of North Guilford, held a number of various occupations including tinner, merchant and farmer. The next owner was German immigrant, Conrad Springer, who was employed as a “laborer.” Conrad and his wife, Rosa (Stutz), owned the property from 1874 to 1884.