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The Life of ALEXANDER BOYD HAWKINS

MEDICAL DOCTOR OWNER-BUILDER, HAWKINS-HARTNESS HOUSE JOHNSON SECTION, LOT 9

Alexander and a brother, William Joseph Hawkins both received their medical training at the Jefferson Medical School in Pennsylvania and both practiced medicine in Raleigh. At some time during the 1880s, Alexander Hawkins and his wife were residing in the Bryan house located at 310 North Blount Street. While preparing for an extended vacation in Florida, the couple ask Alexander’s brother to have the Bryan house restored for them during their absence.

Returning to Raleigh, the couple found that not only did William move the Bryant home to the corner of Tarboro Road and Hawkins Street, but he replaced it with a new house entirely of his own design. Not only did William move the original house but the new house was designed for maximum comfort and created a certain aura of affluence. William, recalling that during medical training he had visited many homes in Philadelphia featuring exquisite cabinetry, hired a noted Philadelphia master cabinetmaker to travel to Raleigh and, under William’s watchful eye, measure and design the woodwork for the entire home. The cabinetmaker returned to Philadelphia and fabricated the woodwork for the home there. The home featured solid-wood trim of mahogany, walnut and pine, all polished with olive oil. The copper lined bathtubs and marble lavatories were housed in walnut frames and all inside door and windows sills were made of marble, trimmed in walnut.

History fails to record the reaction of the Hawkin’s upon their return to Raleigh only to discover their old homestead gone, or the conversation with brother William regarding his actions. In any event, the exterior of the home displeased Mrs. Hawkins who disliked the fact the home lacked a “Southern summer porch.” It wasn’t long until she took matters into her own hands and added a ninety-two foot long veranda, throwing the scale and aesthetics of the home completely out of balance. On the grounds with the “new” home were croquet and tennis courts, servant’s quarters, a stable (later moved to the corner of Oakwood Avenue and Linden Street one block from Oakwood Cemetery) and a carriage house. For water, a windmill was erected in the back yard and pumped water from a well into a tank located in the home’s attic. A 6,000 gallon cistern in the north garden of the property provided drinking water for both the house and the Governor’s Mansion just to the south.

In 1924, following the death of the Hawkins, ownership of the home was with the Hawkins heirs who sold the home to William Erwin for $40,000. Erwin sold the home in 1928 to James A. Hartness, Secretary of State between 1929 and 1931. In 1969 the State of North Carolina acquired the home from the estate of Mrs. James Hartness. The 310 North Blount Street home is currently in use as the home and offices of the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina.

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