John Sterling Smith House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little extra reverence for the details. Back in 1855, somebody raised a one-story dog-trot structure out in Chappell Hill, Washington County. Simple.

Honest. The kind of house that does exactly what a house is supposed to do and nothing more. But houses, like the people who love them, have a way of becoming something bigger than what they started out as.

In 1873, John Sterling and Claytonia Smith purchased that place, and from that moment on, the story of this house got a lot more interesting. Their son, John Sterling Smith, Jr., grew up to be a community leader, a businessman, and a cotton farmer. The kind of man who looks at a perfectly good dog-trot house and thinks, well, I can do something about that.

And in 1910, he did. He had the home remodeled into its current Queen Anne style appearance, and friend, that is not a small thing. We're talkin' an octagonal tower reachin' up toward the sky, second floor gables and dormers, and a curvilinear porch that invites you to slow down and stay a while.

Now here's the part that ought to make you look twice when you pass it. Of all the houses built in that Queen Anne style in Chappell Hill, this one is the last remainin'. Every other one is gone.

This house, the one that started life in 1855 as something plain and practical, is the sole survivor. That dog-trot didn't know what it was gonna become. But it's still standing.

What the marker says

Originally built in 1855 as a one-story dog-trot structure, this house was purchased in 1873 by John Sterling and Claytonia Smith. Their son, John Sterling Smith, Jr., a community leader, businessman, and cotton farmer, had the home remodeled to its current Queen Anne style appearance in 1910. It is the last remaining house of its style in Chappell Hill. Its features include an octagonal tower, second floor gables and dormers, and a curvilinear porch.