Vacant 1800s village for sale in rural NC - for less cost of a house in Raleigh
Want to live in your own personal village? Historic remains of an entire 'lost' community are for sale near Jordan Lake – including a general store, boarding house and post office.
On Saturday, Merry Oaks came to life once again, as crowds of potential buyers flooded the dead-end road with overflowing traffic and swarms of people eager to see the historic property.
Built in the 1800s, the community of Merry Oaks has been slowly fading from the landscape for decades. Modern day developments have stomped out much of the old farming community, with only a few antique buildings remaining.
However, a time capsule of this history remains. Sitting on 3.3 acres of land, hidden down a meandering country road and beneath a canopy of old gnarled trees, are some of the final remnants of Merry Oaks. Just a stone's throw from the highway, this time capsule sits untouched. Old wooden porches with creaking wooden rocking chairs, tall antique pillars, sprawling green farmland – a memory from more than 150-years-ago.
The land and village are for sale for less than the cost of a house in Raleigh. Its list price is $500,000.
The sellers are hoping whoever buys it will lovingly restore it to its former glory – rather than tear it down.
Merry Oaks: The historic village that's slowly faded from history
Once upon a time, Merry Oaks was a lively farming community with a one-room school house, a grist mill down by the water, a blacksmith shop, a railroad, a train depot and a group of merry neighbors who worked together to keep it all going. The merry community was surrounded by a grove of towering oaks, under which you'd find the farmers in high spirits on warm summer nights.
Today, you can step onto the property and almost hear the farmers chatting on the front porch.
"When the farmers would come off the fields and host spirited parties and dances. Eventually one would challenge the rest to a rousing horse race around the span of the oak trees," said Donna Aiello, real estate agent with LPT Realty.
The Yates family owned the General Store. One descendant of the family says she recalls her great-great-grandmother rolling into town each day by wagon to show up for her teaching job at the school house. According to A History of Merry Oaks from the UNC Library, the families who made up Merry Oaks were large, with the Booths having 12 kids, and the Lasters 11. Children could be seen in the yard on Saturday afternoons playing with 'skip ropes' made of vines or baseball bats hand-carved of hickory.
The nearest doctor lived across the Haw River in Moncure, and he helped the Merry Oaks community survive the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918.
However, at the beginning of World War I, a high school in Moncure drew many of the students away -- forcing the Merry Oaks High School to close in the early 1900s. As the population slowly moved away, the stores closed, including the Yates General Store, which moved to Sanford.
In the 1950s, the post office was consolidated and rolled into the ones in New Hill and Moncure. Merry Oaks ceased to exist as an official address.
Part of Merry Oaks now beneath Jordan Lake
Merry Oaks is one of the small farm communities that once filled the fertile soils of the New Hope River Valley, which is now beneath Jordan Lake.
Many of the nearby communities – like Seaforth and Pearidge – are now flooded beneath the water. When lake levels lowered in 2023, remains of old house foundations, railroad tracks and even highways became visible.
You might be surprised how many of North Carolina's lakes hide ghost towns underneath their waves. The grist mill that once served Merry Oaks is now underwater, as well – sharing the fate of many of these rural farming towns.
This makes Merry Oaks' remaining buildings a snapshot of a history that's been lost forever beneath the waves.
Saving Merry Oaks history from developers
With so much of Merry Oaks lost to history, remaining members of the community have worked together to preserve the historic church. Locals gathered fought to protect the church for the past few years, when it was at-risk of being demolished due to a highway construction project planned to accommodate increased traffic anticipated ahead of VinFast's arrival.
VinFast, in response, announced it would donate 3 acres of its 1,700+ acre Chatham County site to the Merry Oaks Baptist Church for the purpose of relocating the church to a new home. The company has also pledged to assist in identifying other resources to support the relocation.
Aiello says the owners are hoping whoever buys the Merry Oaks property will preserve it – perhaps building a wedding venue or a historic Air BnB.
Another dream: Perhaps someone could revive the spirit of Merry Oaks itself, creating a country music venue with rousing dance, fiddles and guitars.
"I think this area, because there is so much growth and we have so many developers coming in and bulldozing areas, to have this little niche part of North Carolina preserved would be such a special thing," said Aiello. "We're hoping that somebody who has a love of history and a passion for restoration will come in and see the beauty in this property."
You can contact Donna Aiello at dmaiello60@gmail.com or (760) 691-0082 to learn more about the open house. The Zillow listing is featured here.
