Portal to the past: Preserving Mistletoe Villa
Jul. 4—HENDERSON
Mistletoe Villa, once described by The Dispatch as the "showplace of Henderson," is now under the ownership of three men.
The first is Matt Jordan, an information scientist who works with the federal government and moonlights as a firefighter in Oxford. The second is Justin Tallman, a team lead at Fidelity Investments. Jesse Culpepper, operations manager at First Class Security, rounds out the trio.
Jordan, Tallman and Culpepper plan on restoring Mistletoe Villa and turning it into an event center so as to "turn it back to the community," Jordan said.
"The house doesn't make much sense to live in," Jordan said.
It would cost thousands of dollars to heat and cool the place, and is clearly meant to house a staff. There is an entire floor once reserved for the servants.
But their interest in the project goes further.
"I love old houses," Jordan said.
The villa "shows what life was like just a few generations ago," he said. "Being able to preserve that history allows people to see the journey. I'm excited to be a part of its history."
Tallman said the villa represents "some significant architectural history for North Carolina."
"I'm a huge history buff," Culpepper said.
Mistletoe Villa is a "reflection of current societal influences," he said, adding that he sees a "parallel between the history of the house and the history of the country."
"It's like walking through a living history book," Culpepper said.
Running water and plumbing used to be a luxury. In only a few generations, that became commonplace.
"To think we take it for granted," Culpepper said.
The villa's attic contains a cistern, which would have allowed those living there access to water without the use of a well, Jordan explained.
The villa is actually two different houses, one built on top of the other. One uses balloon framing and the other, timber framing. These two styles conflict with one another and have caused some structural issues. Notably, the house literally sags at the edges of the second story.
Those portions are stable. "By modern standards, it's just weird," Jordan said.
Jordan pointed out a detail regarding the house's ornate detail: Doorknobs in the downstairs former servants quarters are simple, while those in the house proper feature intricate patterns.
The Vance County Historical Society's 1974 copy of "Vance Heritage Remembered: Architectural and Historical Sketches" describes some of the villa's features.
"Each room has a decoration character of its own, most with ceiling frescoes and some with hand-painted walls," it said. "The front living room fresco work is fashioned with poppies amid intertwining stems which radiate from a ceiling medallion and wind around the cornice. ... The dining room fresco is in clustered grape and vine design."
Those designs can still be seen adorning the villa's ceiling, but they are crumbling in spots. Jordan said that they may be difficult to repair, as there aren't many experts in that architectural technique nowadays.
"Vance County Heritage, Vol. I" offers a brief history of the villa:
"Col. Young built his home, Mistletoe Villa, which now stands on Young Avenue. Construction of the house covered a two-year period, from 1883 to 1885. He never lived there, however, because of his sudden death in the summer [sic] of 1885 in New York City. He and his wife were in New York at the time to buy furnishings for their home."
Jordan explained that some relics from the villa's past remain. A nearly century-old magnolia tree has grown to engulf the left side of the yard. Similarly-old oak trees linger out front, but are slowly dying off.
Jordan and the others are planting trees to take their place. The original roof remains, and with proper maintenance, will remain long after all of them are dead, Jordan noted. The original stained glass windows remain as well.
Jordan and others believe the villa was designed by Samuel Sloan, who also designed the Governor's Mansion in Raleigh.
The three men pay thousands of dollars per year to restore the house. Progress has been going smoothly, save for an issue affecting the front porch.
A concrete base once holding the porch, made heavier by the roof attached to it, has been completely hollowed out by erosion. They'll have to build a temporary structure to support the porch in order for a team to repair the concrete base. If they don't, they said the porch may collapse.
Jordan said he and the others would like to give the community a chance to help speed up repairs by contributing monetarily, through a GoFundMe. Those interested should visit gofundme.com/f/mistletoe-villa.
The villa's previous owners added a two-story porch to the back of the house, which Jordan said the trio is having removed. It is an addition widely-maligned by the community, he said.
The house is about "50%" complete, Jordan said. All of the water damage and most of the structural damage has been fixed.
Soon, they can begin closing up the walls, keeping Mistletoe Villa alive for future generations.
