Resources :: Historic sites

Local Landmarks

Ballentine Spence House
109 East Spring Street
This home was built in 1910 and is a mix of Victorian and Early Colonial Revival styles. It was the home of the first schoolmaster in Fuquay Springs and was the first home in the area to have plumbing and electricity.
Local Historic Landmark: 11-4-96/NR District

Ben Wiley Hotel
331 South Main Street
This building was constructed in 1925 by Dr. Wiley Cozart, a former mayor and community leader. This Craftsman style building is positioned on a knoll that overlooked the Fuquay Mineral Springs. Local Historic Landmark: 12-5-94/NR:2-27-97/NR District

Other Historic Points of Interest

Fuquay Mineral Springs
South Main Street
Stephen Fuquay was the proprietor of a large plantation and one day while plowing his fields he discovered a spring. He began using it for drinking water, and soon became convinced that the mineral water had valuable healing properties. Word spread after he told his friends and neighbors and the springs developed a reputation. They were walled in on four sides leaving the front lower for drainage. A gourd was hung at the spring for everyone to use. Summer tourists began coming to the area, using several small hotels that had been built. But it wasn't until the early 1900s that the popularity of the spring reached its peak.

Ballentine School
South Fuquay Avenue
The small two-room school was built in 1880 by Squire Ballentine on a site above the old spring. The first teacher was Miss Harriet Parker who attended Peace College . The old school house was built of logs and boarded over with pine lumber on the inside and out. The house is now located on South Fuquay Avenues, just north of the public library.

Historic Districts

Fuquay Springs National Register Residential Historic District:
The area around South Main Street and Spring Street encompasses a five block area including the site of the Fuquay Mineral Springs. The homes in the area reflect the development of the community between 1889 and the 1940s. NR: 11-29-96

Varina National Register Commercial Historic District:
The Broad Street district consists of a block and a half of commercial buildings facing Union Station and the railroad tracks. NR: 1-31-90