BY MILES LAYTON
Scrolling through the phone at 2 a.m. when this woke me up for the rest of the night — Pembroke Hall is for sale.
Yes, it’s true — the 2.53-acre property with one of Edenton’s premier homes was listed for $3.995 million this week. Broker is Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices RW Towne Realty/Chesapeake. Nestled in the heart of the historic district, the 5,594-square-foot house at 121 West King Street has five bedrooms, 3.5 baths, and great views of Edenton Bay.
When you look at property records, that’s an interesting price point – $3.995 million. That said, Pembroke has undergone renovations over the years, and nearby Wessington is for sale ($2.249 million), too, so prices on that street are for the type of people who don’t need to carry a calculator when shopping at the town’s only grocery store.
Why should a newspaper care about real estate? Because in days of yore, local newspapers ran stories about homes for sale to share interesting news not only about fantastic places to live, but provide a snapshot of property values, large or small, and maybe housing trends too.
Built in 1849, Pembroke Hall has its own Wikipedia page, and the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Video tells more about the property.
Due to Pilgrimage or a Haunted Halloween tour, I’ve seen inside the home once or twice – very nice home. As President Trump might say, “YUGE!” — Trigger warning to some if you click this link.
If memory serves me correctly, the place is rumoured to be haunted by a Confederate soldier’s ghost. Remember, Chowan County experienced not only a few skirmishes during the Civil War but the Battle of the Albemarle Sound in May of 1864.
I imagine if that Confederate ghost appeared today, he’d ask me, “Who won the war?”
I’d respond, “It depends on who you ask, but folks are still fighting over a Confederate Memorial a block or so away.”
Soldier, “And the Yankees, what came of them?”
I’d answer, “Fed up with high taxes and oppressive governments in Northern states, many of them voted with their feet and moved to places like Edenton to become Southerners.”
More recent history about Pembroke Hall: Most of the names and dates escape me, but I remember a long ago conversation I had with former Chowan Herald reporter Rebecca Bunch (RIP) – a few folks came together to buy the place after much wrangling with the seller several years ago. They spent a lot of money to restore the property and preserve an important piece of Edenton’s history.
In recent years, there was an expensive legal war fought between the home’s property owner Vince Burgher of Alexandria and Town Hall over the brick and wood fence bordering the property, whether the fence complied with historical district standards or whatever. There are a lot of memories about the many stories I’ve written over the years that I don’t want to carry forward in my life, so I don’t want to dig deep into my mind’s library for the exact details or the outcome of that legal battle; only that many Bothans died in the war between Burgher and the establishment.
Since the Albemarle Observer has a dedicated readership in New York and overseas, Pembroke Hall is a nice place to live, has been beautifully restored, and Edenton has many friendly people with a good quality of living – a short drive to the Outer Banks. Longterm, this property will certainly increase in value, so make it a dynastic home, stay for the Southern cooking, fried okra, barbecue. Maybe come to understand more about what this song was about — James Taylor’s Carolina On My Mind
Subscribe/Donate
If you want to subscribe — FREE — check out our website at https://albemarleobserver.news/
If you want to subscribe – you can enter your email address at the website or send it to us at albemarle.observer@gmail.com and we will gladly add you to our growing subscriber list.
You can also donate by going to the Donations page by clicking here or send us a check at Albemarle Observer, C/O Miles Layton, 205 E. Church St. Apt. A, Edenton, NC 27932.