36.011534, -78.986797
A Queen Anne window with a colorful border of red and blue glass squares is a lively token of fashion on the entry door of the substantial frame tri-gable I-house built by John Thomas Couch ca. 1900. Set well back from the road on 17.5 acres of the original 130-acre farm, the house has the six-over-six sash windows, rear brick chimneys, full-length front porch with chamfered posts, and one-story rear ell that are found on many turn-of-the-twentieth-century Durham County farmhouses. Two generations of the Couch family have kept the house in excellent condition; the only major exterior change has been the addition of aluminum siding. The interior center hall floor plan is intact, and the original staircase, mantels, and several doors are in place. Behind the house there are several small barns and sheds from the 1920s and 1930s and a potato house from the 1940s.
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Submitted by David Southern (not verified) on Tue, 12/27/2011 - 9:34am
Thomas Couch and his family settled a nearby tract during colonial times, and Couch graves can be found within a stone wall in an old yard on Cornwallis Road, opposite the Carolina Friends School, and elsewhere in or near the Duke Forest. It is interesting to compare this photograph of the John Thomas Couch farmhouse with a present day view from the same angle. Though the house itself survived Hurricane Fran in September 1996, most of the stately white oaks and post oaks in the yard were uprooted. This once heavily shaded spot took a very hard hit, and it is a testament to the present owners that the place has healed so well over the past fifteen years. Duke University honors student Rachel Frankel prepared a fine study of the Couch family and their place in local history, and she presented a revised version on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Duke Forest. The Duke Forest has long been interested in this family, interchanging much information on the occasion of Couch family reunions. Further details, including dates for the pioneer Thomas Couch, are here:
http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/orng/cem289.htm
http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/orng/cem113.htm
http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/orng/cem114.htm
http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/orng/cem115.htm
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