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Alexander Berry Home


Alexander Berry in front of the Bridgman house now owned by Thad Brown, Jr.

About 1/4 mile from the Nat Credle home and a few hundred yards beyond Providence Methodist Church is another very old homeplace.

The house in which Thad Brown, Jr., and his family now live was built by Green Bridgman in the 1840's. Mr. Bridgman sold the house to Sam Sadler, whose heirs sold it to Alexander Berry, the maternal grandfather of Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown fell heir to a portion of the Berry property and bought the remaining portions from the other Berry heirs and became the sole owner.

The house is a two-story structure with an ante room over the front porch. The timbers used are of heart pine and are put together with pegs. Decorative carvings accent the windows on the outside, the porch posts, and the eaves across the front with a more elaborate design in the gable of the ante room.

Primarily, the house remains as it was built, but a few changes have been made. Several years ago, Mr. Brown moved the kitchen and dining room building farther away from the house to use for other purposes. Now the Browns use a room in the main house for cooking and eating. A bathroom has been installed, and the hall that ran through the middle of the house has been removed. The outside has been covered with aluminum siding, and the front porch has been screened. The house which was built close to the ground was raised several feet after the 1913 storm.

(Photo and information from Hyde County History published by the Hyde County Historical Society in 1976.)