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Making way for progress: After 150 years on the same corner, historic Cary home moved for new development

One of the oldest remaining homes in Cary on Monday will be moved to a new location in the center of a rapidly growing downtown.

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By
Heather Leah
, WRAL multiplatform producer
CARY, N.C. — One of the oldest homes in Cary, the Ivey-Ellington Waddell House is one of only four Cary properties individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
After 150 years on the same corner, the Ivey-Ellington house was moved to a new home at the site of the old Cary Library, across the street from The Mayton Inn.

People sat alongside Academy Street, including family members whose ancestors once lived there, watching the historic moment, as the house moved inch-by-inch on wooden planks and wheels.

It was the second time in the past few years that an iconic historic home has been moved in order to make room for development or new land-ownership – or prevent demolition. In March of 2021, the oldest remaining home in Cary, the Nancy Jones House, was carried through the streets on the back of a truck in order to preserve its rich history.

Many who live in Cary are familiar with the home's unique history. With a pitched, pointed roof and sharp, triangular windows, the uniquely beautiful Gothic Revival home is a rare remnant in Wake County – and easy for passersby to mistake for a church or train station.

Soon the home, which has sat on the corner of Chatham Street and Harrison Avenue for over a century, will be moved to a new location on Academy Street. The upcoming move has drawn mixed response from the community – some grateful to see the historic home shine in the center of downtown, while others concerned moving the home erases some of Cary's history.

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The Ivey-Ellington's location carries specific meaning

The home's location and style represent the very origins of Cary. Gothic Revival style architecture tended to crop up in connection with the railroad, and Cary was a major railroad town. It’s one of sixteen towns that sprang up around the county between 1871 and 1927, including, but not limited to nearby Apex, New Hill, and Holly Springs.

Built right within that time frame in the early 1870s, its first known owners were Thaddeus and Mary Esther Downes Ivey, who owned the house from 1893 until 1898.

Historic Ivey-Ellington House in Cary is slated to be moved to Academy Street to make room for a new development.

Anytime a historic home is moved, there's some level of contextual history.

The land the home is on does have some interesting history. During the 1890's the front yard was said to have served as a campsite for people driving cattle from Chatham County to Raleigh.

Esther Ivey, daughter of Thaddeus Ivey, shared her recollection of the home's early years. She recalled an era when Chatham Street and Academy Streets were still dirt roads. In those days, farmers would drive their cattle down Chatham Street on their way to the market in Raleigh. They'd park their cattle out in front of the house and allow them to water in the Ivey's well.

Image courtesy of Douglas Smith & Tyler Deval

Sometimes they would even drive turkeys along with the cattle – and the turkeys would take to the trees and woods that surrounded the downtown area at the time.

Nearby the Ivey-Ellington home's current location is another marker of the home's contextual history. Nearby, modern day Cedar Street hides an important history: In the 1800s, it was called Railroad Street, and it served as the Main Street of downtown. Situated across the railroad tracks from the Page-Walker Hotel and homestead, the street held a three-story factory, a fire station, offices, a coffin maker, post office, mayor’s office, hat store. Like a mini-mall. It also had Waldo Drug Store, which served as a ‘Walmart’ of the era.

Historic Ivey-Ellington House in Cary is slated to be moved to Academy Street to make room for a new development.

What is planned for the development?

W. Jordan Gussenhoven of Chatham Street Commercial is passionate about Cary’s history and has deep family roots in Cary – stretching all the way back to his great great grandfather, who was a founding town council member in 1871. He says the plan was always to preserve the Ivey-Ellington House, and hopes his new development will honor the history as well as the future of downtown Cary.
Image courtesy of Douglas Smith & Tyler Deval

“Historically, Cary was not a large downtown. A lot of the original homes and buildings were lost over the years. There’s a necessity to preserve the historic homes we have,” he said.

Phase One of the development will include the Waddell Building, a turn-of-the-century office building. The corner will hold the Jordan Building, a 4-story building with ground floor retail and a restaurant. On the end of Waddell Plaza will be the Meridian Cary, a multi-family development with nearly 200 units of living space.

Historic Ivey-Ellington House in Cary is slated to be moved to Academy Street to make room for a new development.

"The Waddell family were probably the longest owners of the house. H.H. Waddell was one of the longest residents of the home. He was fire chief, mayor and building inspector. We’re naming the plaza Waddell Plaza, knowing the Ivey-Ellington names gets carried with the house," said Gussenhoven.

So what are the plans for the house itself? The Town of Cary's website says they aim to restore the house and turn it into a useful space for Downtown Park staff – just across from the park.

From this new location, the historic home should get a lot of street visibility – and have its history recognized and remembered.

Future use possibilities include a welcome center or history center. There are many historic artifacts unseen by the public, stored safely but with nowhere to display. Some locals hope to see the Ivey-Ellington become a center for showcasing these ‘lost’ pieces of history.

Listen to memories from old Cary and the Ivey-Ellington

WRAL's Hidden Historian Heather Leah is a seventh-generation North Carolinian with a passion for preserving the state's culture and history. Listen as WRAL's Amanda Lamb and Heather Leah share memories and history from the Ivey-Ellington House in our latest podcast.

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