According to public records, the Henderson-Barrier House is the oldest residence in the town of Mount Pleasant. It occupies center stage in the small town, just one block from the main intersection. This highly important building is the earliest example of the one-story, double-pile form and is noted as Cabarrus County’s earliest example of a double-pile Greek temple residence.

Built circa 1840 by local physician Dr. J. L. Henderson, the property was sold in 1875 to another physician, Dr. Paul Barrier. The property continued as a doctor’s residence until after 1900. Luther Ritchie purchased the property in 1914, and it has remained in the Ritchie family until Ms. Beckett, the great-granddaughter of Luther Ritchie, sold it to the Town of Mount Pleasant. The Town is committed to the permanent preservation of this important place.

The exterior of the three-bay building is sheathed in plain weatherboard and features square Greek Revival six-over-six sash windows. Its high hip roof is covered in architectural asphalt shingles. The building also features a handsome pedimented portico with a broad frieze and Greek Revival molding. The portico is upheld by four square columns with capitals. A balustrade with rounded handrail and thin balusters surrounds the portico.

The primary entrance is set in flush sheathing, and consists of a two-leaf, two-vertical-panel door with twelve-pane sidelights over panels, and an eight-pane transom, framed by symmetrical molding with corner blocks, which is mirrored in the original rear entry opening opposite it. The building has three exterior end chimneys and all but one are original. Interior features include original mantels and trim, heart-pine wood flooring, and twelve-foot ceilings.

The property has been rezoned from Residential to City Center (commercial) and will require minor rehab to accommodate a commercial use. For (single-family) residential purposes, a Special Use permit would be required.

Mount Pleasant is located in beautiful Eastern Cabarrus County in the southern piedmont of North Carolina on the high spot between Dutch Buffalo Creek and Adams Creek. It is surrounded by rolling hills, farmland, and forests west of the Uwharrie National Forest and east of the Charlotte metropolitan region. Mount Pleasant offers the charming small-town life with big city access, and is experiencing growth and popularity due to its proximity to major metropolitan areas. It is located just 30 minutes to the Uwharrie National Forest, 4 miles from the Cabarrus Event Arena, 20 miles to the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and 1 hour to Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. For more information visit www.mtpleasantnc.org and www.pleasantlife.org.