6 Traditional Exterior Looks That May Be Found On Historic Fayetteville Streets
Walking through Fayetteville’s historic districts feels like stepping back in time.
The streets are lined with homes that showcase craftsmanship from bygone eras, each telling a unique story about our town’s rich heritage.
These architectural treasures aren’t just beautiful to look at they’re living history that connects us to the generations who built our community.
1. Brick Facades
Red clay bricks have adorned Fayetteville homes since the early 1800s, creating warm, inviting exteriors that stand the test of time. The subtle variations in color from deep burgundy to soft orange give each building its own personality.
Craftsmen often arranged bricks in decorative patterns called ‘bonds.’ Look for Flemish bond (alternating headers and stretchers) on pre-Civil War homes or running bond (the most common pattern) on later structures. Some historic homes feature brick quoins decorative corner blocks that add dimension.
If you spot original brick facades, you’re seeing locally-made materials. Early Fayetteville brick was typically fired in kilns along the Cape Fear River, using clay dug from nearby banks. This local production created the distinctive regional look that defines our historic streets.
2. Wooden Shutters
Did you know wooden shutters weren’t just for show? On Fayetteville’s oldest homes, these hinged panels served practical purposes providing security, privacy, and protection from storms long before modern windows.
Authentic historic shutters hang on proper hardware and are sized to actually close over window openings. They feature louvered slats that allowed air circulation while blocking sunlight, or solid panels for maximum security. Many homeowners painted shutters in striking colors that contrasted with the main house deep greens, blues, and even black were popular choices.
The craftsmanship of these shutters reveals careful attention to detail. Hand-planed wood, mortise-and-tenon joints, and hand-forged hardware demonstrate the skill of early Fayetteville woodworkers who created these functional architectural elements.
3. Gabled Rooflines
Pointing skyward like architectural exclamation points, gabled roofs create the distinctive silhouettes that define Fayetteville’s historic streets. These triangular roof sections aren’t just visually striking they served practical purposes in our region’s climate by efficiently shedding rain and snow.
Greek Revival and Gothic Revival homes often feature front-facing gables with decorative trim, while Victorian-era houses might showcase multiple intersecting gables of different heights and sizes. The pitch (steepness) of these roofs tells stories about when homes were built. Steeper pitches typically indicate older construction methods.
Where gables meet, you’ll often find ornate woodwork called bargeboard or gingerbread trim. These weren’t just decorative flourishes they protected vulnerable roof edges from weather while displaying the homeowner’s taste and status in the community.
4. Wraparound Porches
When summer heat blankets Fayetteville, historic wraparound porches have offered families natural air conditioning for generations. These outdoor living spaces extend around at least two sides of a home, creating perfect spots to catch cross-breezes while staying protected from afternoon thunderstorms.
Though we think of porches as quintessentially Southern, they actually blend architectural influences from around the world. The wide overhangs borrow from West Indian designs, while decorative columns might show Greek, Italianate, or Victorian styling. Most historic Fayetteville porches feature wooden plank floors sloped slightly outward for drainage.
More than architectural features, these porches served as social spaces where families gathered on summer evenings and neighbors stopped to chat. The tradition of painting porch ceilings haint blue (a soft blue-green) originated with Gullah-Geechee communities as protection against evil spirits.
5. Decorative Ironwork
It’s easy to walk right past Fayetteville’s historic ironwork without noticing the craftsmanship beneath decades of paint. This ornamental metalwork found on gates, railings, and balconies represents the handiwork of skilled blacksmiths who shaped molten metal into functional art.
Before the Civil War, much of this ironwork came from enslaved craftsmen whose names have been lost to history but whose artistic legacy remains. Patterns range from simple geometric designs to elaborate floral motifs. The most intricate examples feature scrollwork resembling unfurling ferns or flowing ribbons.
Ironwork served practical purposes while adding beauty. Fences marked property boundaries, railings prevented falls from porches, and balcony supports provided structural integrity. Though some pieces were mass-produced in later years, the earliest examples were hammered by hand at local forges, making each piece truly one-of-a-kind.
6. Stone Chimneys
Rising like sentinels above Fayetteville’s oldest homes, stone chimneys tell stories about our region’s geology and the resourcefulness of early settlers. These massive structures weren’t just architectural choices they were essential for cooking and heating when the town was first established.
The stones themselves were typically gathered locally. River rock from the Cape Fear, fieldstone cleared from farmland, or sandstone quarried nearby all found their way into these sturdy stacks. Master masons carefully selected and fitted each stone, creating stable structures that have weathered centuries of use.
Though later homes might feature brick chimneys, the earliest stone examples remain the most impressive. Many feature stepped shoulders wider at the bottom, narrowing toward the top for structural stability. Some even contain date stones with the year of construction or the builder’s initials carved into a prominent stone.
