WILMINGTON — Tucked away on a dead-end street off Wrightsville Avenue, there’s an “eclectic” community of early 1900s era cottages, in a historically significant neighborhood.
This weeks Where We Live takes you inside the home of Travis Beatty, into one of the original “linthead” cottages from the old Spofford Mill neighborhood, an area of Wilmington that was built specifically as housing for textile mill workers and their families.
According to Beatty, the area now occupied by the “Mill Creek” apartment complex originally housed an old textile mill.
“It was Delgado Mills first, then it was Spofford Mill after it was bought out,” he said.
“So, for the longest time, this was a company town, the mill actually built these homes for the factory workers and their families,” Beatty said. “All the homes were two bedroom at the time, I don’t think they even had bathrooms.”
While they may not have originally had bathrooms, folks still found a private way to go.
“We actually found one of the outhouse holes in the back when we were working out there,” Beatty said with a laugh. “Eventually they added bathrooms once there was indoor plumbing.”
The home
Originally, Beatty said, all of the homes in the community were 800 sq. ft. Although many of these homes were passed down through the families of these textile workers. Some, like Beatty’s, were sold and renovated over the years.
You may not be able to tell from the street, but, these days, Beatty’s home is almost 2,700-sq. ft.
The original cottage look still holds true from the front, a quaint southern home, situated snugly next to its neighbor. But upon entering, you can see this five bedroom, three-bathroom cottage has been heavily modified. When Beatty first purchased it, the home had fallen into disrepair, and was being foreclosed on.
“All the guts were here, the previous owner had the vaulted ceilings put in, so everything was already there, I just had to come in and rip it all out,” Beatty said. “There’s not a single piece of carbon in this whole house, it’s all brand new hardwoods. I’ve redone the bathroom upstairs, and am planning on renovating the master bathroom next, it’s from the 90s, so it’s not terrible, just dated.”
The previous owner had ripped out the back wall, and the roof, adding a second story and a large screened in porch that extends into the back yard.
“Then he built a garage apartment outback, and that gave me alley access so I can get to Park Road really easy, I’m right next to the cross-city trail, and I’m on a dead-end street. I love it here.”
Beatty has renovated half the garage into a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment that matches the home, he currently rents it out as an “Airbnb.”
The backyard of the home features a lush garden, full of art by his neighbor, local artist Doug Campbell.
“My neighbor, Doug Campbell, he does all the art in ‘Indochine’ and stuff like that, he knows I’m really into offshore fishing so he made this tuna above the water feature for me,” Beatty said. “I really wanted a Mermaid out here too, so he made that for the outdoor shower.”
Campbell also hand built the stone koi pond and water feature located outback. The facade features “unique” stonework, with intricate carvings of nature along the side.
The neighborhood
According to Beatty, his neighbors, and the culture of the community, are the best part about where he lives.
Across the street lives an acupuncturist, and down from them lives a college professor. His next door neighbor is a landscaper, and a retired news anchor and artist Doug Campbell are right up the street.
“They’re all real nice neighbors, it’s definitely an eclectic group who lives here,” he said.
But although many new faces have come into the community, some of the original residents still remain.
“I was talking to one of the guys here that lives over on Mimosa, and he actually grew up in the neighborhood. He said they wouldn’t let the kids from Spofford Mills go to the middle school over there because they were mean as hell, just rough kids,” Beatty said. “He told me you used to not be able to walk through the neighborhood because it was a rough area, and they community was so insular and they really kept to themselves.”
Although this certainly isn’t the case anymore, at one point in time, it was dangerous to be there without being one of the locals.
“Apparently if you walked or rode your bike through the neighborhood, they’d beat the hell out of you and steal your stuff. They called them “lintheads,” and they weren’t to be messed around with,” he said. “He still lives around here, grew up here, he’s probably about 70 years old now but a great guy.”
One things for sure, Beatty plans on staying for awhile.
“Once I moved in, and after getting to know the neighbors, it’s just an awesome fit,” Beatty said. “We all look out for each other, all the people on this street hang out, live together, go to cookouts, have beers, it’s just a great community.”
Where We Live is a weekly feature looking at the homes and unique places to stay in the Cape Fear Region. Do you have a home, on or off the market, that our readers may be interested in seeing? Let us know at [email protected].
