Historic Rosedale
Historic Rosedale is located at 3427 N. Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28206 - Photo courtesy of Historic Rosedale.
The home was at one time referred to as “Frew’s Folly” by those believing that such an elaborate home in the mostly rural backcountry of North Carolina was likely to bankrupt its original owner, Archibald Frew, a Charlotte postmaster and tax collector. It is rumored that Frew and his family were saved from foreclosure and eviction through a loan from his brother-in-law, North Carolina state senator William Davidson. This is evidenced by the public sale of the property in January of 1819 by the US Martial following warrants issued by the Comptroller of the United States Treasury and the almost immediate conveyance of the property by its purchasers to William Davidson. Whatever arrangement Frew made with Davidson, Frew continued to live in the home until his death in 1823.
Rosedale prior to renovations that began after its purchase in 1986 by the Mecklenburg Committee of the Colonial Dames of America - Photo courtesy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Rosedale, completed in 1815, is a Morris-Plan Federal style plantation home awarded a listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Once standing on 900 acres of farm land and timber just 5 miles outside of the then small town of Charlotte, North Carolina, the more than 4,000 square foot home features Adam mantels and sconces imported from England and wallpaper from France. Its foundation beams - at sixty feet long - run the entire length of the home. A nomination form submitted in 1972 to the National Parks Service by the last Davidson descendants to own and live in the home describes in great length the architectural details and transitions of the home. Interestingly, a 1973 edition of the Mecklenburg Historic Association’s publication Old Charlotte and Mecklenburg Today even claims a ballroom was on the third floor. Meanwhile, Rosedale’s majestic gardens boast historic Boxwood bushes from the homes’ original owner as well as additions from the five generations of descendants who called Rosedale home.
In 1833, Davidson passed the property to the husband of his daughter Harriet, Dr. David Caldwell. Descendants of the Caldwell and Davidson families called Rosedale home for the next 150 years, with its last residents, Mary Louise Davidson and her sister Alice Davidson Abel, selling the house and its final 9 acres of grounds to the Mecklenburg Committee of the Colonial Dames of America in 1986. Financial support from the Colonial Dames, Preservation North Carolina, and other donors helped restore the home to its early-1800s appearance and, in 1993, Rosedale reopened its doors to the public as a museum.
Today, this remarkable historic site is open to the public on select days for house, garden, and recreated blacksmith shop tours and also for special events with an ongoing mission “to preserve and present the stories of those who lived and worked at Rosedale, both the Frew, Caldwell, and Davidson families and the African-Americans, enslaved and free”.
Around the Grounds
A view of Rosedale’s back porch - Photo courtesy of Historic Rosedale.
Circa 1868 photo of a family assumed to be the Davidsons in front of Rosedale - Photo courtesy of Great American Treasures.
Garden gates at Rosedale - Photo courtesy of Great American Treasures.
An Inside Look
The drawing room at Rosedale circa 1973 - Photo courtesy of Mecklenburg Historic Association.
The dining room at Rosedale circa 1973 - Photo courtesy of Mecklenburg Historic Association.
Historic Rosedale c.2020 - Photo courtesy of National Trust for Historic Preservation.
HEARTS sends a heartfelt congratulations to Historic Rosedale for their feature on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of Distinctive Destinations! A great honor for a great historic destination.
Visit Rosedale’s official website to learn more and plan your visit!
