In Raleigh, a rezoning request is under review for 6309 Litchford Road. Case Z‑43‑25 proposes changing 3.79 acres from Residential‑4 (R‑4) to Residential‑10 Conditional Use (R‑10‑CU). The applicant, Litchford Point LLC, is considering the site for a potential development of up to 47 homes. Nearby residents have raised concerns related to traffic, roadway width, and pedestrian safety for Millbrook High School students. Alongside discussions that include infrastructure, density caps, and traffic concerns, the property is also home to the historic Henry and Martha Litchford House, which has received comparatively little attention in the broader rezoning conversation.
The property at 6309 Litchford Road stands as the last rural vestige of what was once a massive working farm. Henry Evans Litchford, an influential local figure with direct familial ties to the founding of Raleigh, constructed this country home around 1903 as the centerpiece of a 168-acre tract he named “Pine Ridge Farm.” Period newspaper clippings reveal the estate was a pillar of local high society throughout the 1910s and 1920s, routinely hosting political gatherings and community events. A rare 1909 map (above) documents the house’s exact footprint positioned along a newly established thoroughfare that would later bear the family’s name. This property isn’t remarkable simply because it is old; it is a physical monument to Raleigh’s agricultural origins and the namesake of the very road now struggling to handle modern traffic.
Understanding the family who built Pine Ridge Farm gives this architecture its true context. Born in 1866 just a year after the Civil War’s end, Henry Evans Litchford rose from a bank runner to become a prominent cashier at Citizens National Bank. He and his wife, Martha Dancy Litchford (pictured above) were deeply active within Wake County’s social and civic circles, balancing city life with their rural estate. When Litchford’s banking career took him to Richmond, VA for a time, the family hired a local farmer to maintain agricultural operations in their absence. So devoted to the property, the Litchfords returned every summer, hosting a variety of lively community events.
From an architectural perspective, the house is an example of a turn-of-the-century vernacular North Carolina farmstead, which transitioned to meet its occupants’ needs over time. Photographs from a 1990 survey conducted by the State Historic Preservation Office (below) document modest, purpose-built structures designed to accommodate the southern climate. As evidenced by the 1909 map, the house’s placement near the railroad line reflected both early growth patterns and infrastructure. After the Litchford family’s tenure, the Bashford family purchased the property in the 1950s, guiding it through Raleigh’s post-war period of expansion.
Through the 1960s-1980s, the Bashford family developed many of the surrounding neighborhoods that make up the area today. However, through decades of adjacent suburban expansion, this single 3.8-acre pocket remained untouched, a farmhouse on a large lot anchored by century-old trees. Due to neighboring Litchford Forest’s strict lot requirements, the parcel further remained intact. For generations of residents who grew up near Ravenhill Drive, the Litchford House and its mature tree line have served as a collective community anchor of sorts, a monument to an earlier way of life in Raleigh, Wake County, and greater North Carolina.
Despite its history, arguments surrounding road widths and density caps have dominated opposition to the rezoning – but the historical significance of the Litchford House is also of great importance. As preservationists, we hear one question again and again: How can they tear this down when it’s so historic? The answer is both complicated and nuanced – understanding that framework is vital to the broader conversation.
Why National Recognition Isn’t a Guarantee
The National Register of Historic Places is our country’s honor roll of important sites. Being listed in the National Register makes rehabilitation tax credits available and, if federal funds are involved, triggers a review process to minimize impacts. However, the National Register is not a regulatory shield. Crucially, listing in the National Register does not prevent a private owner from demolishing a property or making irreversible changes to it. The Litchford House is not currently listed in the National Register, meaning the potential for historic preservation tax credits to incentivize preservation and rehabilitation are not currently available.
The Realities of Local Protections
The only meaningful way to preserve historic landmarks is through either preservation easements or historic designation at the local level as a Raleigh Historic Landmark. While Raleigh City Council has the legislative ability to designate a historic property against an owner’s wishes, they have declined to ever do so. This means that local landmark designation (or a preservation easement) is voluntary and must be pursued by the owner. Without this critical local designation, the City of Raleigh, the council-appointed Raleigh Historic Development Commission, as well as preservation-related nonprofits that include Preservation Raleigh, Capital Area Preservation, and Preservation NC have zero regulatory enforcement authority to protect historic properties from adverse changes.
Because North Carolina is governed as a Dillon Rule state, municipalities can act only within powers granted by state legislation. Even for designated historic landmarks, state law allows only a 365‑day demolition delay to encourage and allow for negotiation, not an outright denial in perpetuity. For an undesignated historic property like the Litchford House, even that delay cannot be applied. The home remained largely unnoticed until it was evaluated as a potential local historic landmark in 2017; its previous owners chose not to pursue landmark designation.
The Critical Need for Early Advocacy
The history of Z‑43‑25 demonstrates that neighbors have been highly engaged on issues including traffic and safety, contributing to the Planning Commission’s decision to continue the case to August 11. However, from a historic preservation perspective, active advocacy needs to begin much earlier – ideally, before a property changes ownership, a rezoning application is filed, or the first neighborhood meeting is held. By the time a rezoning request reaches the Planning Commission, applicants, attorneys, staff, and Council members have already discussed the proposal extensively, and steering an alternate course is extremely challenging.
Looking at the Z-43-25 rezoning application, the developer has offered one condition related to the history of the property: documenting the house before its potential loss. This ensures that while the physical structure is lost, its memory is preserved.
Preservation Raleigh urges any neighbor or community member who values the Litchford House as a historic asset to voice their support for retaining the house. At the same time, it is important to be clear that decisions related to the house’s future ultimately rest with the property owner, and issues related to zoning with City Council. Unless the owner chooses to incorporate the house into future plans, pursues local landmark designation, places preservation easements through a non-profit, or salvages architectural elements during demolition (an innovative condition Preservation Raleigh negotiated as part of a recent rezoning on Wake Forest Road), they cannot be legally compelled to save the house.
The potential demolition of the Henry and Martha Litchford House at 6309 Litchford Road is not just about the loss of a bucolic historic farmstead. It is instead a cautionary tale for all who value history and our historic built environment. If we do not advocate for protections to historic properties early – when they are first identified as “worthy” – the labels we place on them later will offer no protection when they are subsequently threatened.
How You Can Take Action Now
The key lesson from the plight of the Henry and Martha Litchford House is that documentation and preservation efforts need to begin well before redevelopment is underway. Effective protection depends on early, pro-active community involvement to identify and pursue protections for potential landmark properties, long before rezoning activity begins. While Raleigh has systems in place to track vulnerable historic sites, they rely significantly on the eyes, ears, and voices of citizens to support these efforts. Although it carries no protections, the Raleigh Historic Development Commission maintains an inventory of Sites Worthy of Preservation, available for reference online. These are properties that are potentially eligible for local landmark designation, but require owner interest/consent to pursue. An interesting fact about local historic landmarks is that in addition to providing some protection, those designated receive 50% off their property taxes.
Preservation Raleigh works to shine an urgent spotlight on endangered local history through our “Places in Peril” educational initiative. More broadly, Preservation NC advocates statewide to secure historic preservation easements and rescue endangered architectural treasures.
If you know of a historic home, farmstead, or community site that may merit protection, reaching out to local preservation organizations early is the most effective way to begin the conversation!
- Preservation Raleigh: info@preservationraleigh.org
- Raleigh Historic Development Commission (RHDC): historicpreservation@raleighnc.gov
- Preservation North Carolina (Statewide Support): info@presnc.org
Links and Resources:
- City Staff Presentation PDF of Z-42-25 Case https://pub-raleighnc.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=11506
- Official Case Tracking & Feedback Portal: View the developer’s conditions and join the citizen discussion on the Engage Raleigh Z-43-25 Case Page.
- City Rezoning Directory: Monitor official milestones and staff reports on the City of Raleigh Rezoning Cases Portal.
- Livable Raleigh Procedural Overview: Read the editorial detailing the background of how the case returned to the commission in City Council Bends the Rules.
- Livable Raleigh Community Perspective: Read the full neighborhood statement highlighting infrastructure and local impacts in Growth should follow infrastructure.
- April 14 Planning Meeting Notes https://pub-raleighnc.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=e2bc234a-5ab4-4a3d-82a0-f8751ca4929d&lang=English&Agenda=Agenda&Item=6669&Tab=attachments
I have lived in Raleigh for 50 years and remember the lovely gardens at 6309 Litchford Rd. In the this age of rampant destruction of Raleigh Historical Landmarks and Forest, I encourage Raleigh City to deny the re-zoning of this property.
This home was owned by the R P Johnston sr family from about 1955 until its recent sale. It is a beautiful home and property,and should be preserved!