Early 1900s Cornelius home, part of county’s Black history, likely to dodge demolition
An early 20th century tenant farm house in Cornelius, whose history is significant to the Black community, appears likely to be spared from demolition.
The J. Wilson Alexander house, which was built in the early 1900s, sits on the site of a proposed mixed-use residential and commercial development.
Now, a new handshake agreement between the town and developer means the historic building will be moved to another part of the property, according to a local historian and Cornelius town officials.
The plan for the home is the latest effort to save a number of sites in Mecklenburg County with ties to the Black community, including the Excelsior Club along Beatties Ford Road and the Morgan School in Charlotte’s Cherry community.
The house in Cornelius is one of the last remaining tenant homes of its kind in Mecklenburg County. Its namesake was a prominent cotton farmer who rented out the modest, one-story home to laborers who worked the land.
Not much has been recorded about the J. Wilson Alexander tenant house, according to one architectural evaluation by engineering consulting firm Terracon. But it stands as an example of tenant farming.
After the Civil War, tenant farming, or sharecropping, emerged as a system where formerly enslaved people rented houses and land for farming from white landowners and turned profits back over to the landowner.
Plans for the Cornelius site
Since October 2020, the unoccupied home’s fate has remained in limbo after the town board of commissioners approved a rezoning plan by Florida-developer Win Development.
Win’s plans call for building more than 100 senior independent housing units, 77 single-family homes and over 120,000 square feet of commercial space, including a grocery store.
The tenant house, estimated to be less than 1,000 square feet, is on the northwest corner of the roughly 55-acre development site.
Win has been working with the town and the nonprofit group Preserve Mecklenburg on a way to save the house. One plan called for moving the house twice: once off site while a park is built on the property and then back to the park once it is complete.
But that plan ran into a few glitches, and most agreed moving the home twice might not be the best idea given its age and condition, said Wayne Herron, Cornelius’s deputy town manager.
New plan, new location
That’s when Win stepped in and said the developers would be interested in moving the home to a prominent, tree-covered corner on the property, Herron told the Observer Tuesday. The corner is at the intersection of West Catawba Avenue and Westmoreland Road.
The new site wouldn’t require a long distance move, but it does mean Win has to submit an amended application, Herron said. The town board of commissioners would then hold a public hearing and vote on that application.
As part of the agreement, Win is likely going to ask for an additional 13 senior housing units, according to Herron and Dan Morrill, a prominent local historian who works with Preserve Mecklenburg.
A Win Development representative declined to comment Tuesday.
Herron said he pitched the agreement to town commissioners, who signaled they’d be willing to support the idea.
Win has until the end of the week to file an amended application if it wants to get on the May 16 agenda.
The town, developer and Preserve Mecklenburg have been up against an April 12 deadline to find a solution to move the house. That’s because the development site includes a creek, Morrill said. A federal environmental review process was triggered, setting up the deadline and also requiring a review of any impacts to historic resources.
The state agreed with a consultant’s report that the house was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and therefore a preservation solution needed to be pursued.
About J. Wilson Alexander
J. Wilson Alexander was a prominent farmer in Mecklenburg County around the early 1900s.
Born in 1887, Alexander went on to serve for many years on the county Board of Education, according to Morrill. In 1928, he took home a state prize for producing more cotton per acre than any other farmer in North Carolina.
That year, he produced 816 pounds of cotton lint per acre in the growing season, according to Susan V. Mayer, a historical research and preservation consultant who’s been researching the property. The norm at that time was 212 pounds.
Tenant farmers and sharecroppers made up a significant portion of Mecklenburg County’s population until the Great Depression, according to Morrill. The majority of these farm laborers were Black, he said, but there were white tenant farmers, too.
At one time, Mecklenburg County boasted hundreds of homes just like the J. Wilson Alexander tenant house. Very few remain today.
“It’s a rare historic artifact,” Morrill told the Observer.
In the past month, Mayer has found records of at least one Black family who rented the home from the Alexanders. Census records from 1940 show John Norman living in the home with his wife, Camoline, and their seven children and one granddaughter, according to Mayer’s research.
The Alexander tenant house has three rooms, including one with a fireplace, as well as a kitchen area and bathroom. “It’s an incredibly humble residence,” Mayer said.
A ‘game changer’ in Cornelius
Win Development’s project will be a “game changer” for Cornelius, Herron, the deputy town manager, said. A cost estimate of the project was not immediately available.
But it will be at a prominent intersection and include a grocery store and possibly other amenities like restaurants. The senior housing will fill a big need in town for folks looking to downsize, Herron said.
The developer filed grading and other permits already, which typically means construction could start in the next three to four months.
The corner where the tenant house will go will be among some larger oak trees. Those won’t be taken down or affected, Herron said.
He said one possible use of the home will be “passive recreation.” That means people would be able to come up to look inside the home — not go in it — and see what it looks like. He envisions a sign nearby that explains the history.
“To be able to see something that pertained to the (Alexander) family on the site and the history of Cornelius, that’s a good thing,” Herron said.
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 6:05 AM.
