by Matthew Brown
May is National Preservation Month, a time to celebrate and advocate for the places that tell Raleigh’s story. As part of this effort, Preservation Raleigh is highlighting significant locations facing threats through our 2025 Places in Peril (PIP) initiative.
This article focuses on the G. Ernest Moore House, the fifth site featured in our 2025 series. Located at 311 E. Edenton Street in the Oakwood Historic District, this house is a fine example of the Neoclassical Revival style of architecture, but is under contract to a developer who intends to demolish it and the historic house next to it, and replace them with a townhouse development.
Why It Matters: History and Significance
This Neoclassical Revival two-story house, built around 1925, holds significant historical value, initially serving as the residence for George Ernest Moore, owner of the Wake Feed Company. His first wife, Evelyn, died in childbirth in 1929. He remarried when he was 56, and his second wife Pearl Lee Moore worked for the Commissioner of Insurance and was also president of the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs. (In 1956, Pearl contributed to the book “North Carolina Musicians: A Selective Handbook” which can still be purchased online.)
Ernest did not have children, and in the 1950 census records we can see that the Moores had several lodgers living with them at 311 E. Edenton.
George Ernest Moore died on November 21, 1980, at the age of 93, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery,
Like many homes in the Oakwood neighborhood, the home was constructed for a member of the middle class, yet it distinguishes itself through its especially fine design and craftsmanship. The Moores lived here until 1966, and their family owned the property until 1984, when it was sold to the N.C. School Boards Association to serve as an office. A large addition was built on the rear in 1991 by the School Boards Association. The house later served as a law office, until it was vacated in 2023. The house is a contributing structure to the Oakwood Historic District.
Architectural / Physical Description
This Neoclassical Revival (also described as Colonial Revival) house is veneered in brick and features a hipped roof sheathed in slate shingles, along with a matching hipped-roofed dormer on the front containing two six-pane attic windows. There is a shallow hipped-roofed projection on the right side of the house. The hipped-roofed front porch wraps around the right side to meet the projection. It is supported by nine Tuscan columns with a square-section balustrade. The side portion of this porch was enclosed after 1950. The front door features especially fine leaded beveled glass, as do its sidelights. In the center of the left side of the house is a porte cochere also supported by Tuscan columns. Most windows are eight-over-one or six-over-one and have stone sills. The chimney has a corbeled top with dentil ornament under the corbeling. There was originally a one-story ell in the rear. It has been subsumed into a large hipped-roofed rear addition which extends further west than the main house.
A stone retaining wall, likely built soon after the house, is present at the front of the property. The interior of the house is well-preserved and retains its original features. The house is situated near the western edge of the Oakwood Historic District, on a block predominantly comprised of preserved houses, with the exception of a historic gas station, now a restaurant (Gringo), to its west.
The Threat: Why Is It a Place in Peril?
The house is currently vacant but remains in good condition. However, the owners have placed the house under contract to Copper Builders, who plan to demolish it, along with the adjacent house at 325 E. Edenton, to construct a new townhouse development.
A significant threat lies in the houses’ location within the Oakwood historic overlay district. While this status can delay demolition for 365 days, it cannot prevent it entirely. The houses face demolition if either the Raleigh Historic Districts Commission approves a townhouse development on the lots or if the Raleigh City Council removes the properties from the Oakwood historic overlay district—a concerning precedent, as the Council has done so for properties in other historic overlay districts in recent years.
The consequences of this loss are significant. Demolishing this house would mean losing a particularly fine piece of architecture and would severely damage the character of the entire block. More importantly, it would set a precedent that could doom many other houses in Oakwood and other historic districts. If the City allows this historic house, despite being in a historic overlay district, to be replaced by a townhouse development, it would signal that all historic structures in Raleigh are vulnerable to similar redevelopment, even those within protected historic overlay districts.
Preserving the Moore House: A Viable Future
This house is currently in good condition and is highly marketable as offices, a single residence, or multiple residences. The rear addition could be replaced by a larger addition, and/or an accessory dwelling could be added behind the house. The western part of the lot could be combined with the lot at 307 E. Edenton to build another building.
We encourage the Raleigh Historic Districts Commission to not approve a townhouse development here, as it would violate its guidelines. If the developer applies to remove the properties from the Historic Overlay District, we ask the City Council to deny the application. The house is highly marketable as it is.
Call to Action
The G. Ernest Moore House is a valuable contributing structure to the Oakwood Historic Overlay District. Allowing its demolition and replacement with a townhouse development would not only mean the loss of a fine piece of architecture and history, but also set a precedent that could endanger Oakwood and Raleigh’s other historic districts.
So, how can people help? When the developer appears before the Raleigh Historic Districts Commission to request approval for the townhouse development, it’s crucial for the community to attend the meeting. Your presence will help encourage Commissioners to deny the application. Then, when the developer requests to remove the properties from the Historic Overlay District, contact the City Council and urge them to deny this request. It’s also important to attend the Council meeting where the case is heard, ideally with signs that say something like “Save Historic Oakwood” or “Save our HODs” to make your voices heard.
Preservation Raleigh will publicize these meetings and opportunities for public involvement.
Resources:
- Wake County Register of Deeds: https://rodcrpi.wakegov.com/booksweb/GenExtSearch.aspx
- Raleigh City Directories: https://lib.digitalnc.org/search?ln=en&p=773%3A%22North+Carolina+City+Directories%22+AND+location%3A%22Raleigh%22&f=&sf=year&so=a&rg=10&fti=0
- Sanborn Fire insurance maps: https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/ncmaps/searchterm/Raleigh!Sanborn/field/placen!publis/mode/all!all/conn/and!and/order/date/ad/asc/cosuppress/1
- Wake County tax records: https://services.wake.gov/realestate/Account.asp?id=0048596&stype=addr&stnum=311&stname=edenton&locidList=&spg=1
- National Register of Historic Places listing, 1987 (page 14): https://files.nc.gov/historic-preservation/nr/WA0219.pdf
- Family Search for George Ernest Moore and family: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/about/LHJ4-X5S
- Full text of “North Carolina musicians : a selective handbook” https://archive.org/stream/northcarolinamus21nort/northcarolinamus21nort_djvu.txt
- NC School Boards Association timeline: https://www.ncsba.org/about-ncsba/