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This is a photograph of "Fairfield", a house restored by my parents, Donahue and Dalen Bottoms and with a little help from me and my siblings. (See my comments on the 1987 photos.) This was the house at its prime. The style is "American four square." The 4500 square foot has twin parlors on the first floor, six bedrooms and eight fireplaces. The house was significantly remodeled in 1912 to include raising the front porch from one story high to two stories high and replacing the wood shake roof with a metal standing seam roof.
The house was not original to this site. The property was a land grant from Lord Edgecombe of England. It was told that General Cornwallis marched his troops by the original house on his retreat to Virginia. Local history enthusiasts have found evidence of a British encampment at a near by creek. Note several out buildings are gone due to a tornado that followed the same course as a tornado thirty years earlier. We lost two terra cotta tobacco barns and a pecan tree and a large walnut tree. This is the first evidence of my daddy's work shop behind the house. He was an accomplished wood carver and furniture restorer. He repaired furniture for many people in this region. He also built furniture for his children to include beds, chest dining tables, tea tables, shelves and wooden toys. A second floor bedroom had a Christmas tree with seasonal decorations on display year round. Under the tree were wooden children's toys, shelves, sconces and other pieces for adults. If an infrequent relative or visitor came to visit and they were well-behaved, they could take home a gift. Behind the toy room door was a solid mahogany coffin my daddy built. My mother sewed the lining. The local newspaper wrote about the coffin and visits the toy slowed for adults but not for children. We buried my daddy in this casket. His body in the casket was taken home to Fairfield for his wake. The large oak tree in front of the house was struct by lightning. We eventually took it down.

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Do you have a connection to this photograph? Maybe you grew up here or know someone who did? What has changed in the 30 years since this photo was taken? Tell us!