521 Holloway - Robert M. Jones House

Gary -
great work on the blog. your work is proving very useful for the historic district expansion.
one quick note on R. M. Jones. I did some deed research on 523 Holloway and found that it is unlikely that it was built by Jones. Jones bought the properties (five parcels) on the north side of Holloway in 1912 and likely built his house at 521 shortly thereafter, as you noted. The houses at 523 and 527 Holloway, however, appear significantly older than 1912 and were more likely constructed by Robert (and Susan) Gilbert who purchased the property in the mid-1880s. Robert Gilbert died in 1908, after which Jones acquired the already existing houses. Just a quick clarification. Keep up the good work!

Many thanks Heather - one question - do you mean 517? I didn't write anything about 523 (although I probably will in the next few days.) Duly noted on 527 - I will make a correction.

A quick note for anybody out there with additional info: I always welcome corrections/clarifications. Because this website is an unfunded venture done in my spare time, I am pretty reliant on secondary sources (i.e. the books I own) for my information, although I've spent a lot of time looking for primary sources for photos.

I try not to speculate too much, except about potential build dates/demolition dates. Ideally, I could research every property in detail, but I've opted for volume over detail. My hope in this is that, with a repository in place, individuals can do detailed research over time which updates, fleshes out, and, when necessary, corrects the info on this site. Sort of a Durham history wikipedia. That's one big advantage to an internet-based repository over a book.

GK

sorry, i got a bit confused about which properties were which. From my research, R. M. Jones owned five parcels (519, 521, 523, 525, and 527) in the early 1900s. He may well have owned 517 and other houses on the block as well, but they were not included on the deeds I looked at. And, from looking at the tax photos, you were probably right about 517 being constructed about the same time as 521, and by Jones if he in-fact owned it.
to add even more confusion, R. M. Jones (of Holloway Street) had no children and died in 1922, yet in 1934 there is another R. M. Jones listed at 402 N. Queen...

I'd like to know how someone can get a hold of the original floor plans of 517 Holloway street. That house is up for sale. It's been turned into an apartment (3). If someone wanted to convert it back to it's original floor plan, how can one obtain it?
Since you've done a lot of research on Durham, would the family members have it. How can one get in contact with them, etc.?
Zinnada@yahoo.com

Z'Hodges

Original floor plans are incredibly rare for residential structures that weren't bought out of a catalog. (This wasn't.) Most folks 'read' the house while renovating and interpret the floor plan based upon framing, typical layouts, etc.

GK

The house is a two family. One on top, one on bottom. The owner is very nice. Been there since the 60's. He is not related to the original owner