Academy Hill Historic District
Academy Hill Historic
District, the smallest of Statesville's historic districts, is located
southwest of the center of town. The 45 educational, industrial,
and residential properties in this mixed-use neighborhood are arranged
along either side of S. Mulberry Street from Bell Street on the north
to Wise Street on the south and for brief distances along the cross
streets in between. The district is centered on a hill which has
its apex just west of the intersection of Mulberry and Armfield
Streets. On this hill is located the former Statesville Male
Academy, from which the neighborhood received its name. Although
the Academy has long since been converted to a residence (412 Armfield
Street), the Statesville Graded School which developed during the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries across Mulberry Street from
the Academy was still in active use until just a few years ago.
Surrounding the school and to the north of Western Avenue is the
residential segment of the district. South of Western Avenue the
industrial area, composed of J. C. Steele and Sons Brick Machinery
Plant, O. W. Slane Glass Company, and the former Ash Tobacco Factory,
completes the district.
While the educational and industrial buildings are primarily brick, most of the houses are one and two-story frame structures. The houses are enframed by tree-shaded lots and are arranged along the streets in a generally uncrowded manner. Most houses display a 30-50 foot setback from the street, while a few exceptions--notably the J. C. and C. M. Steele Houses on Mulberry Street, the house on the southwest corner of Mulberry and Armfield, and the Clifford House on Armfield Street--have even more generous setbacks of 70-90 feet. The distance between houses varies from around 20-75 feet.
The majority of buildings in the Academy Hill district were built during a fairly narrow time period. While only around 10 percent of the existing buildings appear to have been built prior to 1885, more than 50 percent date from the years between 1886-1918, with more than 80 percent having been built before 1930. The resulting visual impression is of a late nineteenth-early twentieth century neighborhood. The architectural styles represented strengthen this feeling.
While the educational and industrial buildings are primarily brick, most of the houses are one and two-story frame structures. The houses are enframed by tree-shaded lots and are arranged along the streets in a generally uncrowded manner. Most houses display a 30-50 foot setback from the street, while a few exceptions--notably the J. C. and C. M. Steele Houses on Mulberry Street, the house on the southwest corner of Mulberry and Armfield, and the Clifford House on Armfield Street--have even more generous setbacks of 70-90 feet. The distance between houses varies from around 20-75 feet.
The majority of buildings in the Academy Hill district were built during a fairly narrow time period. While only around 10 percent of the existing buildings appear to have been built prior to 1885, more than 50 percent date from the years between 1886-1918, with more than 80 percent having been built before 1930. The resulting visual impression is of a late nineteenth-early twentieth century neighborhood. The architectural styles represented strengthen this feeling.