The Gabriel-Puckett House
The Gabriel-Puckett House before revitalization by the Cain Center.
The Gabriel-Puckett House after revitalization by the Cain Center.
Charles Deames Gabriel (1878-1937) was the first owner of the Gabriel-Puckett House, which was built in 1905. Gabriel was a native of the Sherrill’s Ford community, but he didn’t stay in Cornelius long. In 1908, he sold the house to Monroe Patterson Bell (1883-1955) and returned to Sherrill’s Ford.
Bell was a foreman at the Cornelius Union Furniture Company, which was near the Gem Yarn Mill (aka Oak Street Mill). Bell sold the house to William Lee Puckett (1880-1954) in 1911. It was the Puckett family residence until 1933. He and his wife, Mary Washam Puckett, were members of Cornelius Presbyterian Church. He participated in laying the cornerstone of the church building in September 1923. Puckett, a lifelong resident of Cornelius, owned and operated the Puckett Grocery Store on Catawba Avenue across from the Cornelius Cotton Mill, and he served a term as the Mayor of Cornelius. He and his wife are buried in the Bethel Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
Today, the Puckett house is permanently preserved through a preservation easement by PMI and is now home to the Cain Center for the Arts ceramics studio, aptly named the Puckett Pottery House.
A “Preserv-italization” Success Story
The Perry Goodrum and Gabriel-Puckett Houses exist today thanks to a collaboration by many. Although the Town of Cornelius and Mecklenburg County recognized that these homes were historically significant, these houses previously had no landmark status or preservation protection.
Both houses were built before 1910, and are one-story, frame, hip-roofed dwellings, with projecting gable-roofed bays and turned-posts porches trimmed with millwork. As Cornelius grew in the early twentieth century, its progress was measured most clearly by the tree-lined blocks of handsome residences built for the local elite as well as the middle class.
Preservation begins with the property owners’ support, and this is a key component for preservation success stories.
When the property owners, Phil and Elaine Howard, decided to sell their property, they hoped to find a buyer who would choose to preserve the houses. In addition to the houses, their property included additional land in a prime location, making this property very desirable to developers.
Debbie Monroe, a broker with Lake Norman Realty, brought the properties to the attention of Abigail Jennings, president of Lake Norman Realty and co-founder of HEARTS Collaborative. Jennings recognized the potential for a hybrid approach to help the property owners achieve their asking price and preserve the houses. In 2021, Lake Norman Realty encouraged Preserve Mecklenburg Incorporated (PMI) to take an exclusive, assignable option to purchase the houses and land. This protected the properties and provided the time to find the ideal buyers for the project, which ultimately were the Cain Center and Meeting Street Homes. This allowed the homes to be saved, the vacant land to be developed, and the property owners to achieve their financial goals. Most importantly, there is a permanent preservation easement held by PMI on the Perry Goodrum and Gabriel-Puckett Houses, which means they will never be demolished in the future.
The success of this project is a model for what can be achieved in preserving the character and charm of historic streetscapes in our region.
Thank you to the following for their involvement and collaboration, which made this project possible:
The Howard Family
Debbie Monroe and Abigail Jennings, Lake Norman Realty
Preserve Mecklenburg Inc.
The Town of Cornelius Planning Department
The Cain Center
Meeting Street Homes
Link to Lake Norman Publications Article: https://www.lakenormanpublications.com/articles/a-historic-preservation-success-story-in-cornelius/