May 19, 2020

Restoration Opportunity! Circa 1875 Farmhouse/Acreage at Oak View Farm - Part II

Roll up your sleeves for this tremendous restoration and preservation opportunity on 3.5 country acres! 

Realtor Greg Rapp has another vintage home awaiting a renaissance - but not like any other! This fabulous Civil War Reconstruction Era restoration project is coming your way! To jump on this unique opportunity to own and restore a historic vintage farmette now in desirable Mooresville, North Carolina, call Greg at 704.213.6846.



The year: 1875. The property: Oak View / 1076 Deal Road, Mooresville NC. Victorian farmhouse, barns, and acreage. At one time, the Deal (Diehl) family owned the entire area, to the tune of 130 acres or more. Even the road ~ Deal Road ~ was originally on family property, and the most recent survey (not filed with the Register of Deeds) shows the pin in the center of the road!


145 years ago, when this home was built, Mooresville NC wasn’t much bigger than a depot where cotton was unloaded from trains. Today, it’s the vibrant center of a thriving town, buzzing with unique boutiques, delectable dining, energetic entrepreneurs, and heaps of Southern charm. This Rowan County property carries a Mooresville address.


Folks . . . there are three very important things this property is NOT:

• It is NOT a tear-down. Don't even think about it. This home has stood for 145 years ~ and was built when people still traveled via horse and carriage or wagon. Ulysses S. Grant was president of the United States. This is a RARE opportunity to own a home with this legacy.

• It is NOT candidate acreage for redevelopment. The goal is to preserve and restore this unique historic property that has been in one family since its construction in 1875.

• It is NOT a remodel. Oak View Farm is protected by historic covenants and restrictions per the seller's terms.  Original details must be kept intact: Any original windows must be repaired or, if not repairable, replaced with in-kind materials (wood, not vinyl). The exterior siding must be kept wood.

A copy of the covenants and restrictions is listed in the document section of the MLS listing (ask Greg Rapp to see these documents if you are not working with a Realtor who has access).



Oak View has been in the same family for far more than 145 years, passed down from generation to generation. The farm was originally 130+ acres. More recently it was an 80-acre parcel, and even more recently, the home and outbuildings were separated as stand-alone, approximately 3.5 acre farmette parcel. The current house was the third house built on the property, constructed in 1875, during the Post Civil War Reconstruction era ~ a time when the region was devastated physically and economically after four years of war primarily fought in the south.

To understand the significance of this home and property, here is a brief history of the property as told to Realtor® Greg Rapp by Cathy Megargel, descendant of the Deal family (edited for clarity).

Joshua Wilson (JW) Deal built the 1875 farmhouse in a clearing with oak trees and named it Oak View Farm. Joshua Wilson's great-grandfather, a German immigrant, Jacob Diehl Jr. came to NC down the Wagon Road from Northampton County, PA in 1775 and shortly thereafter settled in Rowan county. He was a farmer and was our original ancestor. The cabin he built no longer stands. Later, a two story farmhouse was built which was where JW was born. My grandfather Otho, and father Wayne were born in the house built by Joshua Wilson, which was the third house built on the property.

JW married Aida Sides in 1884 and they raised 6 children. Joshua Wilson was first US Postmaster 1891-1903 in Mitford, Rowan County. The Post Office was located in the room to the right of the stairs in the farmhouse. Later, he was a founder of First Evangelical and Reformed Church now First Reformed Church in Landis. He had the first motorbike in the area and traveled back and forth to Charlotte on it. He built a home in Landis after he sold the farm to his son, Otho, in 1919 for 9,000. My father, Wayne, then bought the farm from his father, Otho, in 1958. My brother and I inherited the farm from our parents.



The Victorian style farmhouse built in 1875 by Joshua Wilson Deal is an example of the type of homes built on self-sustaining farms in Rowan County. The front parlor, upstairs bedroom and wrap around porch was added around 1897. The indoor well on the back porch was unique in that you could get water without going outdoors and was floored over when indoor plumbing was installed. The pantry/smokehouse off the kitchen was used to store all the canned and dried vegetables and smoked hams. Ice from the springhouse on the property, kept in a trench in dirt floor of the pantry, kept dairy items cold before refrigeration. The wood stove provided heat and was used through the 1970's. When electricity came to the area sometime in the 1930's, my grandmother turned on all the lights in the house at dusk and everyone went outside to gaze at the house all lit up.



A bathroom was added around 1948. The original outhouse is still standing. An oil furnace was added downstairs for heat.

Cotton was the cash crop for the [original] 130 acre farm. Feed corn, wheat, oats, soybeans, and lespedeza (bush clover) were also grown for feed and to sell. Dairy cows for milk and butter, several cows for beef, pigs, chickens, and turkeys were raised for food. Fields of watermelons and cantaloupes were picked and sold in town through the 1940s - 1950s. Fields of corn, Irish potatoes, and sweet potatoes provided food all winter. The vegetable garden provided fresh vegetables and were canned for food all winter. A Concord grapevine, apple, cherry, and peach trees provided fruit for daily pies.


The original barn was destroyed by a tornado around 1958 and the tin barn there now was built on the same foundation. A cotton gin built sometime after 1897, still standing, was used to store feed corn and cotton. There was a cabin where a tenant farmer and his family lived but it is no longer standing.

Six generations all farmed the land....all buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery in China Grove: Jacob Diehl, Jr. Revolutionary War; John Deal William Allison, Civil War; Joshua Wilson Otho Edward, WWI; Wayne Wilson, WWII Bronze Star.

~ Cathy Megargel, descendant of the Deal family



This Victorian house has the potential to be eligible for North Carolina Historic Preservation Tax Credits.  

The home would first have to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places

The Historic Salisbury Foundation and/or the NC State Historic Preservation Office can offer guidance as to procedures for both processes.

To see more photos and learn more, please visit Restoration Opportunity! Circa 1875 Farmhouse/Acreage at Oak View Farm - Part I on this blog [Click >HERE<].

Oak View at 1076 Deal Road is in need of work . . . and lots of it. This project is not for beginners or flippers. The right buyer with vision and vigor will breathe new life into this vintage home, and we know you're out there.

To take in the scope of the project, please contact Greg Rapp / Wallace Realty to schedule a showing appointment.  This property will not be sold sight-unseen - you MUST tour the property to understand the details of the project.

So . . . let's roll up those sleeves and get to work! A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Take that step and call Greg at 704.213.6846 to get the wheels in motion. Greg, the area's premier agent for historic homes, can connect you to contractors who specialize in historic homes that understand preservation and the work at hand. Claim this piece of history as your own ~ your home.



1076 Deal Road

Mooresville NC 28155
CMLS #3619623
$75,000 [tax value: $105,783]







Greg Rapp 
Wallace Realty Co. 
704 213 6846 Mobile 
704 636 2021 Office 
www.realestatesalisbury.net 





May 11, 2020

Restoration Opportunity! Circa 1875 Farmhouse with Acreage at Oak View Farm - Part I

Roll up your sleeves and get ready! Realtor Greg Rapp has another vintage home awaiting a new dawn! This fabulous country home restoration project is coming your way!  To jump on this special opportunity now, call Greg at 704.213.6846. To learn more about what you're jumping into, read on:




Rolling southwest from Salisbury down the undulating country roads of Rowan County, North Carolina, you'll spot many a vintage home ~ some fabulously maintained . . . others . . . not so much! Oak View Farm, with its sprawling circa 1875 farm house at 1076 Deal Road, is one of these.



Built when Ulysses S. Grant was still president, this 2,454 square-foot farmhouse with two barns on 3.5 acres of property awaits your vision and elbow grease. Not for the faint of heart (or wallet), this ancestral home needs a complete restoration from top to bottom, interior to exterior, and any and all original details must be kept intact!


This Mooresville, NC home was originally a two-story Victorian vernacular farmhouse. The impressive front-projecting 2-story bay addition with its wrap-around hexagonal porch was an early change to the structure. The single story ell at the rear was added onto over the years and includes the kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom and a canning and curing room. The meat curing room is on the list of rooms that must be retained, and would make a great pantry!



Some original interior details remain, such as original beadboard walls in some rooms. The home has seen some funky remodeling in the name of updating (paneling, linoleum, dropped ceilings) that are not congruous to the home's historic era. The dual parlors have fireplaces, but the chimneys need rebuilding.




The kitchen's antique cast iron sink with built-in drainboard remains . . . a sign of an era gone by. The home's only bathroom is located in the rear ell addition. This home's restoration will more than likely include relocating this bathroom and perhaps adding additional baths.



Three bedrooms are on the second level, one in the front bay wing. These windows, many retain their original 'wavy' glass, and view of the countryside are enchanting!




A beautiful large barn on the property is showing signs of neglect and will also be part of this restoration, and of course you will want it! There are a couple of other outbuildings, but most that may have been there at one time are now long gone.




The grounds were clearly once gardened: remnants of iris, fragrant chinaberry trees, and daffodils abound, yet due to recent property clearing and bush-hogging, little remains. What a grand sight this home probably once was in its heyday to the traveler rounding the sway of the then-dirt road on horseback or wagon. (Recall: Even the electric streetcar would not come to Salisbury NC until 1903-1905, rail was the prominent mode of travel to get around the country, and the automotive industry in the United States would not get a foothold until the first half of the twentieth century.)



Make no mistake about it, this home needs serious restoration work including foundation, chimneys, structural, ALL mechanical systems (i.e. heat/AC, plumbing, electric, etc.). Remember we said, 'not for the faint of heart'? We meant it! In addition, 1076 Deal Road comes protected by Historic Salisbury Foundation preservation deed covenants and restrictions, meaning that all improvements must be made with like materials (wood windows for wood windows, wood siding for wood siding, etc.). But picture this home fully restored on its 3.83 (3.83 acres per legal description and survey less area in right of way leaves 3.504 acres)  surround, with barns, landscaping, and that horse or two you always wanted.



1076 Deal Road is approximately equidistant from the North Carolina cities of Salisbury and Concord, and from the Interstate highways 77 and 85. This means easy access to shopping, restaurants, farmers markets, entertainment, public libraries, arts & culture, and more. Enjoy that idyllic country life while having near access to city amenities.

You really must tour the home and property, no really ~ MUST ~ before considering its purchase. (1) Historic Salisbury Foundation, noted Salisbury NC preservation organization who has options on the property, will not consider any SIGHT-UNSEEN offers. (2) It will be important for you, the buyer, to understand firsthand the level of restorative work that is needed here. This vintage farmhouse is being SOLD-AS-IS, and the sellers will not be making any repairs toward the sale. Folks who are leaping at the chance to own country acreage and would like to demolish the structures? We regret that you'll have to look elsewhere: this is a restoration project that includes the house and outbuildings!



So here is our call for the serious restoration enthusiast: This special opportunity to own a 145-year-old home, built during the post-Civil War reconstruction era, on nearly four country acres ~ is here NOW for YOU!

Call preservation specialist Greg Rapp with Wallace Realty at 704.213.6846 for an up-close & personal look at this project. Then . . . let's roll up those sleeves and get started!





1076 Deal Road
Mooresville NC 28155
CMLS #3619623
$75,000 [tax value: $105,783]





Greg Rapp 
Wallace Realty Co. 
704 213 6846 Mobile 
704 636 2021 Office 
www.realestatesalisbury.net 





May 02, 2020

When You List with Greg Rapp ~ Buyers Gotta Move FAST!

Greg Rapp, licensed Realtor® with Wallace Realty in Salisbury, North Carolina listed this fine circa 1920 bungalow on 03/27/20 and barely before the published listing got a chance to circulate - *BAM* ~ it was under contract.


Other than a drive by, the new buyers placed on offer on 314 W. 14th Street . . . this amazing Craftsman style 1920 bungalow at the gateway to the Salisbury Country Club area . . . sight-unseen!



This classic 1.5-story home featured expansive rooms with pretty hardwood floors and a flexible floor plan.

Within its 2,228 square feet of living space, you'll find a beautifully updated kitchen with SCADS of cupboard space and a nice center work-island!





314 W. 14th Street's formal dining room and living room feature original beadboard walls! What a find!





Did someone say 4-bedroom home? The home offered two bedrooms downstairs and two up, with a Laundry Room on the main level.

To top it all off, we know you could just picture yourself relaxing on the pretty rocking-chair front veranda ~ Southern style!



The moral of this story? No wonder the buyers jumped to place this offer sight-unseen! A vintage 1920s bungalow in this great shape? Yessirreeee!

Let Realtor® Greg Rapp find YOU a buyer for YOUR home...now is the time to give Greg that call. Let him list it FOR SALE . . . and watch the magic happen! 704.213.6846 get's it done!

314 W. 14th Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
CMLS #3607719
$122,900




Greg Rapp 
Wallace Realty Co. 
704 213 6846 Mobile 
704 636 2021 Office 
www.realestatesalisbury.net