lj L. I

HISTORIC

STREET & NUMBER

Cli Y. rOWN

_DISTRICT

L~8UILDINGU:»

STRUCTURE

OU.JECT

NAME

STREET

CI fY. TOWN

COURTHOUSE.

TITl E

DATE

CITY.IOWN

~PUBLIC

_PRIVATE

Boni

IN PfWCtSS

o 1111. ICE

__ BEING CONSIDERED

VICINITY OF

CO U I'::

037

_OCCUPIED

XUNOCCUPIED

WORK 11'4 PROGRESS

.KNO

If{IC1H)

UNRESTRICTED

Greenville c/o -.-----~.---.---------.-.-

1905

SE Fifth and

PUBLICATION

COUNTY

_AGRICULTURE

__ COMMERCIAL

FOUCATIONAl

ton S

CODe

147

PRIVA H RESIDF NCf

_ENTFRTAINMENT .... RELIGIOUS

_INDUSTRIAL

_MILlT/\RY

_LOCAL

SCIt:NTII'IC

__ TRANSPORTATION

7834

27834 NO

GOOD

.. fAIR

Ro home

tails, the ticewo

lot

The house

RUINS

Colonial around

the stem of with Ionic columns

north «(ront) and part the firs

kitchen eJ.l is attached the T. A diminutive on the ell's tern Revival details. The steps of the iron balustrades Set in the sections of the house is a later two-second ma.s bedroom a the interior.

Al twelve-over-twelve sash

The of

elevation the T

shaped panes

rrhe interior of and a

renovations Revival motifs u

are tall selnder the hall

addition to the

on

(11-78)

sheet Description Item number 7 I

paneled wainscot with dentil~work below the chair rail has also been installed. The mantels in the parlor and northwest corner sitting room were imported from France and are of intricately carved marble. Perhaps the most remarkable room in the house, the small sitting room is completely paneled in walnut which according to family tradition took six years to locate. Along with the Georgian Revival wood­work the room also features niches with scallop shell devices lining the arches. While the second floor is simply finished, the attic library and basement storage area have been completely paneled with "hidden" storage space created behind some of the panels.

Set in the fence at the rear of the property is a small stuccoed brick building with a terra-cotta tile pyramidal roof. This probably served as a gardener's shed and playhouse. It has been adapted by the city as a small office.

GNI

-_PfiFHISTOf~IC_ ARCHEOLOGY PFlE HISTORIC __ COMMUNITY

140(J 1 __ ARCH EOLOGY -HISTORIC

!\GrlIClJL r (.Inc ___ CONSERVATION

leONOMIC:;

rOUC/\TION

__ EI'JGINEERI~~G

__ Lll

MILITARY

_MUSIC

1 GOO 1699

-__ 1700 1799

1800 1

900-

__ COMM EXPLORATION/SET1LEMENT PHILOSOPHY

__ COMMUNICATIONS ____ J NOUSTFlYMOllTlCS/GOVE RNM E NT

_INVHJTlo,N

Btl in l89!i, J

ual dec.au(;!s of the 19l.0s

eum and pence and coope

United Nations The house a for Humber father been alte and 1950s when mantels and an

BUI

minor renova tions cheduled to becornc~ the North Carolina Division of Archives and His

Criteria assessment

B lbe Robert Lee Humber House Greenville a ta

ment of the North his work to

c. The Humber Ho i a representa dence which has been the bome of the has been altered to reflec the eh

NOTE The house has local

reI vlOrld peace

than i the home 0

s tatel;vide level Lee lhl.mber

role in es

for rmel 1

I: ran!:lCeUCLlll t

of

L1CION

UI1E

;:;OCIALlHUMt,NI1 M~IAi'J

__ I f1ANSPOIH A liON

OTHER

and for

t chief

wade

ac

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

In 1895 Robert Lee Humber, . , red lot at what LS now 117 West

house has been occup o (th IIumber the re idence of the int iona1 known Rober

8 1

h Robert Lee Humber, Jr., wa born in 1 18 said to have bu 1 the West Fifth Stree

,on abou house. He lme of

sons of Robert L. and Lena Humber, Iti John Humber h born 189 The lIurnb(· [Juf>sequpntly h third child, (Both brothe and s ter la er moved to Cal

. L nell r'y ~;mi til.

After tJ from hi chool in Ie tended Wake Forest Col where he received the B.A. and War I llc ""as commi ioned second 1 Leu

lor, Ken when the ended. He received an M.A. degree. In the 19208 he became College, Oxford, where he obtained a Bache of sively in then became a student a the Sorbonne There he did 1ve search into the h of law Berthier in 1929.

He continued to live in Paris as an int ional atto and 0 1 His business investments brought him financ 1 succes but World War II his European career to an end. In 1940 he came home to Greenvill , just hou s ahe3d of the invad ng German He lived in the house bu father who subsequently died in 1952. Humber' mother had died 936

t

fled Paris his

Til 1 of N;:Jz 8m and th C.1tafJ \4.:1r in r:unJpe kind! Hurnbcr n trong desire to secure future world peace. He had been ficantly influenced by former P sident Woodrow Wilsonos t follow Wo ld 1 to establish Id zation, the of Na ions, to prevcn violent confron tons Humber wanted to go further than the concept of the e and create tion in which .11 nations would be subject to the laws of a s

1

federa~

his experienc in international law he deve a plan which uch a could be established and maintained. He stipulated th the United

State the ss should amend the Constitu ion to llow the author the Uni ed States to join a world federa ion. He strong felt tha have out-grown na ionalism " and on a worldwide central , which enacted and enforced world law bind on 11 nation I could t world Diplomacy, he insisted would never succeed

Ord can be maint ined ly 1

Diplomacy can never upon war, .. The virtue without Iicat the innocent. applied collectively to whole nation innocence or gui t .Lt

. All hi to

it reli enforced upon

the other for ind

forc I cu it I

must be 1

s

(11

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

In 1941 North Carolina became the a Fede 1 Constitu ional amendmen all

10n. Fall Wo Id Wa II Humber to promo hi plan for Id peac .

constitu ional amendment, and he intellectuals includ the scientis

medal fa th rna t ou The American Har Dads also

contribution to world peace. A th 1 he th organi a ion had not

world In 1967 the American Freedom Award for his unt Ln e or to br about

addition to h ervice to the int dered considerable service to hi t

sena e 1959-1963 where he hard al voc ional education. the Pitt Coun Technical

He was founder titute He 1

Forest Universi and received doc , and the University of North Carolina

and vice chairman of the pi t Coun to the Memorial tist Church of Greenville, and was

many of the clubs and cau es of hi coun and commun ty,6

North Carolinians e pecial remember Humber for North Carolina ~1useum of t. He poss a great considerable knowl and other forms dur "found time from his to famil h art 0 thC' " One of h s chief 1

1

for of ~vake

Univer-he a

He active member of

th the

the ga

when he

collection of art st and the cultural its c en . upon thi ticn bu

"I nation

,\17111 believe," he once wrote, "that North Carolina c Ie of conferr a cultural leadership thRt will not on enrich the life of thi quicken the pulse~beats 0 civil zation el, The V1S10n the

he . what need i to co-ordinate to de term i ned will tor e ,'1 lou r p () en i a Ii" 7

Humber s apprecia ion for t and other cuI t 1n his Fifth St house. A friend C. Ives Green, home became treasure trove of the rare and the beau iful" and pain ings china, furnitu b ic-a~b c The house also became a deposi for a Green "it was my prlV1 to V1S1 hi

of i

t, "

stacked around the wall on the floor and shelved accord own system." inn 1n the 19408 his Lucie made considerabl interior of the house. Sh added new woodwork and c pan 1 and even

mante brought over from her native 8

to the marble

(11-78)

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Humber pu h cd and love of Socie (formed 1n 1924) 1n the 1940s work tablish e t

for a numbe as suI ted

securing match amount. According fir t 1n ance 1n the tion' hi chase of ar objects."9

Humber to ob 1n the addi 1 New York. He persuaded the 10n

i n t (l fl d 0 f c :i h . H (~ 1 m (' III 0 V (' r

the s ate's art collec 10n from the S 1943) to the renova ed Bu 1d Art Museum opened In paint 1n th

Humber con 1n the state un

inued il his d

be th

tive In the museum and 0

in 1970. Ironical ,in ) he died while a movie ent tIed Wa wife two sons s brother and ster.'----------~~·

the Humber House 10

FOOTNOTES

3

tc Art ion's

the pur~

of amount 1 of

1nee new State ions of

now owns

Ipit County Deed Books (microfilm), Arch Rale ,North Carolin T6 p 525 U6 p.248

s, Division of Archives and History, 501

2The News and Observer (Ral ) , of th

1950' (Greenville), North Carolina, ; Tweith Censu

Population Schedule 14.

Death Not

4The News and Obs

North Carol North Carol

7 Court Affidavit

1944, Glarence Poe

(Raleigh), tember 3 1 950' Pi t Coun Register of Deeds Greenvill

(Rale ) , 1 20, 1941

(Greenville, November 1 , 1970- The lei ) , October 29, 1967.

(Greenville), Novembe I 1 1585-1974: A Narrative and

~~o~ _____ ~~~~~~_~.~.~~

, Jr" (cd.), (Ral

Clarence Poe and Rob t Lee Humber to Dr. Clarence Poe, B, Archives, Division of Arch s and Hi tory Rale

st II,

(1

976) 9, 1

Division

Newsome of North

lOThe o the

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

(Greenville), November 11 1970 t Socie II lished manusc

( Ra 1 e i ) , 1 6, 1 95 6 ,

4

The Un

Cr the

i

See sheet

ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY approx.. 1 acre UTM REFERENCES

Lat. 36 0 01' 40" AW

, .~., l ""',

• J ~ .•• '

Winterville Quad 1 62500 -- Quad scale

Long. 200 02' 28" 1- I , I EASTING

This nomination includes the Humber House and the large lot on which it sits. The lot is bounded on the North by Fifth Street, on the West by Washington Street and on the East and South by a vertical board fence which separates the property from a municipal parking area.

LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES

STATE

STATE

NAME / TITLE

CODE COUNTY

Renee Gledhill-Ear]ey, Survey Specialist Joe A. Mobley, Researcher

ORGANIZATION Survey and Planning Branch Archaeology and Historic Preservation Section

STREET & NUMBERN.C.Division of Archives and History 109 E Tones Street

CITY OR TOWN

DATE

December, 1980 TELEPHONE

(919) 733-6545 STATE

SERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS:

NATIONAL_ STATE LOCAL __

CODE

As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I

hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been /lvaluated according to the

criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. I I I I

STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE

TITLE State Historic Preservation Officer 1981 FOR NPS USE ONLY

t HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS PROPERTY IS INCLUDED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER

~ - Entered ~ ~ 11

ATTEST:

K: R

GP0 892. 453

C1

(1

e Poe Carolina.

BLIOGRAPHY

Archive Divi Ion 0

Reflector (Greenville), 1970. ________ -L~~~ ____ . __ ~~ The

Green, C. Ivester. 1976.

Lefler, Hugh Ta Southern Sta

The News and Observer

Lee Humber.

and Newsome, Albert Chapel Hill: The Univers

Ie ), 1936~~1956,

Hi

Pitt County Records (microfilm). Archives Divi Ion of Arch North Carolina ( Deeds),

1 , North

lle Green Mark Pre

His 1

Pitt County Records. Office 0 Regi ubgrollp. d th notices).

of Deed , Gre lIe North Carolina

United Sta s Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Censu of the United Coun ,North Carolina. Popul tion Schedul .

, 1900 Pitt