211 South Driver - Wyatt House

211 South Driver, 10.02.10

211 South Driver, 10.02.10

This little house has always intrigued me, as its deeper-than-typical front yard, construction style, and the fact that the front of the house is not parallel to South Driver St. all indicate to me a house that is older than the others around it, despite its integration into the row of later houses on the block face.

Deed records indicate that a larger piece of property, including this parcel and the two parcels between it and Ashe Street, was conveyed on August 6, 1892 from WJ Wyatt and his wife Susan K Wyatt to Hutson and Ella Emory. WJ Wyatt owned all of the property between Ashe St., South Driver St., Briggs Ave., and Hart St, and although I can't definitively confirm that this was the original house on that large piece of property, I'm going with that hypothesis.

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The house has been owned by John Myles since 1999, and has deteriorated since then; the center chimney toppled at some point a few years ago; I don't know what the fate of the property is going to be. It has the potential to be a neat little house for someone.

(Below in italics is from the 2004 East Durham National Register listing; not verified for accuracy by this author.)

Side-gabled 1 1/2-story house with a central chimney, German siding, 4-over-4 sash windows, and a full front porch with original turned posts. This appears to be one of the oldest houses on the street because of its unusually tall proportions. A stone retaining wall fronts the yard. 1930 CD: Jeter Wheeler occupant ( knitter).

C Shed. Ca. 1930. Front-gable shed with German siding.

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35.983337,-78.877415