Historic Simonton Place Home Tour
April 9, 2011
Theophilus Simonton, a yeoman farmer in Lancaster, PA, left the property to wife Mary and their son, William, in his will in 1754. William Simonton (1716-1811) was the youngest son of by Theophilus and Mary Simonton. William Simonton and his wife, also Mary, had twelve (12) children. The home was in the hands of their heirs, and known as the Simonton Place until after the Civil War. During the Revolutionary War, William, two (2) of the oldest sons, and their horses, served the Army. The Simonton family occupied the house until it fell into disrepair sometime in the early 1900’s. The Simonton’s and their descendants served as soldiers, community leaders, bankers in Iredell County, and once owned the Simonton Female Academy, now Mitchell Community College.
Simonton Place was used as a courthouse from March 1789 – March 1790. The first County Commissioners met in the Simonton Place when they were deciding things like what to call Statesville and where to put the City on the map. The name “Statesville” was used in the Simonton Place in 1760, six (6) years before North Carolina became the first State to declare independence from England. Perhaps the first seeds of the Revolution were discussed here at Simonton Place.
The original house was a log cabin, much like those built in Pennsylvania at the time. The original home site was 280 acres and was later expanded to 1,780 acres. Today, the home site is 11.5 acres. The Simonton family was one of the largest owners in Statesville following the American Revolution. After 1790, William, then a successful planter, replaced the log cabin with the Federal Style brick home that you see today. The Federal Style home was a very simple design with a porch in the front and possibly a service porch on the back to add to the service of the kitchen. It was a red brick home. The only part of the original log home is the basement, signified by the hand hewn beams and stone walls. The Simonton Place cellar is believed to have provided the county’s first jail cell. There was a steel door, bars on a foundation wall opening and chains and shackles bolted through the walls.
Simonton Place is the oldest known brick house standing in Iredell County. The walls are 1.5’ thick, put together with hand molded brick from the sand and clay from nearby Mallard Creek. The house stands on a granite foundation. When possible, the original alternating walnut and chestnut floorboards have been restored and are the same ones that were walked on 200 years ago. The stairway is walnut, and the wood trim and molding is oak, chestnut and walnut. The original door still hangs in the front entranceway. The mantle in what was once the kitchen (now the den) is original and a close look reveals the wooden pegs used in place of nails. What was once the back door is now the door to the entrance to the bathroom. A kitchen was added in the early 1900s. The current porches were a20th Century additions and the back porch was converted into a modern kitchen in the 1980s
Ward and Teri Crosier purchased Simonton Place in 1997. Since that time they have turned the 11.5 acres into a sanctuary for rescue horses. Teri is an active volunteer with the US Equine Rescue League (USERL) and has helped directly with the rescue and rehabilitation of several horses. Some of the horses that Teri has saved are here today, Lilly, Abby, Mimosa and her baby Skye, Brandi, Star, and Summer. All of the horses were rescued for neglect and starvation and nursed back to health by Teri. Teri has also rescued a PMU (Premarin Mare Urine) foal, Luke. For those of you that don't know, the drug Premarin is made from the urine of pregnant mares. The mares are forced to stand in a small stall hooked to a catheter and when the foal is born, it is a useless byproduct and "disposed" of. There are several rescues dedicated to saving the PMU foals.
The USERL would like to give a big Thank You to Ward and Teri Crosier!
Not only have they generously opened their beautiful home for today's historic home tour and barn tour, they have invested countless hours and resources into saving these beautiful horses from starvation, neglect and certain death.
Donations can be made to:
USERL
P.O. Box 157
Wingate, NC 28174
For more information on how to volunteer, foster or adopt a rescue horse visit www.userl.or call Teri at 704-872-3388
Information taken from
“Family Will Tour Historic Treasure” by Brett Milsteak – Statesville Record and Landmark March 19, 2000
“Home with a History” by Christine Underwood Statesville Record and Landmark March 12, 1997
Article by Minnie Hampton Eliason in the Landmark June 13, 1913
“First Courts Here Held at Simonton’s” by Homer Keever – Statesville Record and Landmark
“Settlers, Water Determines Statesville’s Site” Mac Lackey, Jr. Iredell Neighbors November 29, 1989
Verbal history from Jackie and Vernon Helmke, descendants of the Simonton Family
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