Downs, N. C., House
SR 1412, Kenton, DEThe N. C. Downs House is an important addition to understanding the conservative nature of building traditions in Kent County. In plan and in most of its building techniques, the house is very similar to brick buildings put up in the early- to mid-eighteenth century. The builder, however, was sufficiently aware enough of current decorative trends by adding the relatively new, for the time, corbelled brick cornice. This makes the strong statement that, while the basic size, shape and overall appearance of a dwelling is somewhat rigid, the builder is allowed freedom to change decorative items that add to the appropriate scale and massing of a structure, but do not obscure its basic design.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.