Preserve Mecklenburg
Preserve Mecklenburg
Press ReleasePreserve Mecklenburg Signs Option To Purchase The Remaining Portion Of Akers' Acres, Originally The Country Estate Of James Jones Akers And Nancy Anderson Akers At 6501 Sardis Road, Charlotte, N.C.
Press Release
Preserve Mecklenburg Signs Option To Purchase The Remaining Portion Of Akers' Acres, Originally The Country Estate Of James Jones Akers And Nancy Anderson Akers At 6501 Sardis Road, Charlotte, N.C.
Louis H. Asbury, Sr. (1877-1975)
Louis H. Asbury, Sr. (1877-1975)
The James Jones Akers and Nancy Anderson Akers House (1937)
6501 Sardis Road, Charlotte, N.C.
The James Jones Akers and Nancy Anderson Akers House (1937)
6501 Sardis Road, Charlotte, N.C.
Preserve Mecklenburg (PMI), a regional, non-profit historic preservation agency, has signed an option to purchase Akers' Acres, the 6.4-acre Estate at 6501 Sardis Road in Charlotte, N.C. The mansion residence on the property was completed in 1937 for insurance executive James Jones Akers (1878-1957) and his wife. She was native Charlottean Nancy Anderson Akers (1891-1979). The architect of the house was Louis H. Asbury, Sr. (1877-1975). Asbury designed many of Charlotte's most imposing early 20th century buildings. These include the NeoClassical style Mecklenburg County Courthouse on East Trade Street and the Gothic Revival style Myers Park Methodist Church, of which Asbury and the Akers were charter members. The Akers House is a rare or unique example of a Asbury-designed Tudor Revival style mansion house built of stone.
Asbury displayed special skill in his design of structures built of stone. Stone is not man-made. It is a product of nature. It is the most enduring building material. Asbury's best known stone edifice is Myers Park Methodist Church. His other notable structures in stone include the John Jamison House on Providence Road, the Chapel at the Stonewall Jackson Training School in Carbarrus County, St. Phillip's Episcopal Church in Brevard, N.C. and the Akers House on Sardis Road in Charlotte.
The James Jones Akers and Nancy Anderson Akers House has great local architectural significance. The Akers House, completed in 1937, is a Tudor Revival style manor constructed of local fieldstone with an English slate roof. Asbury designed other imposing Tudor Revival style homes, such as the Eastover Estate in Salisbury, N.C., and two Charlotte residences, the E. R. Cannon House on Queens Road, and the F. W. Bradshaw House on Selwyn Avenue. These were all rendered in brick.
Outstanding original interior features of the Akers House include the mahogany paneled dining room and bathrooms tiled in pigmented structural glass, a higher-end finish than ceramic tile which was popular during the Art Deco period. The Akers House is one of the best remaining country estates erected in Charlotte in the first half of the twentieth century. Akers' Acres is also special because of its ample acreage for an in-town property.
Preserve Mecklenburg has two purposes in securing the option to purchase Akers' Acres and the James Jones Akers and Nancy Anderson Akers House. First, PMI will place a preservation easement on the property to assure that the Akers House and its setting will be preserved and protected forever. Second, PMI will work with potential buyers to allow appropriate infill development to occur that will provide the sellers with a fair market price for the property. PMI has demonstrated with other Charlotte projects, such as the Knowlton-Shaw House on Mecklenburg Avenue and the Frank McNinch House on Sharon Lane, that this is the most pragmatic and productive way to preserve special properties like Akers' Acres. Development and preservation must work together to achieve the best result.
Akers' Acres
Akers' Acres
Myers Park Methodist Church At Queens And Providence By Louis Asbury, Sr.
Myers Park Methodist Church At Queens And Providence By Louis Asbury, Sr.
John Jamison House On Providence Road By Louis Asbury, Sr.
John Jamison House On Providence Road By Louis Asbury, Sr.
Stonewall Jackson Training School Chapel In Cabarrus County By Louis Asbury, Sr.
Stonewall Jackson Training School Chapel In Cabarrus County By Louis Asbury, Sr.
St. Phillip's Epispocal Church In Brevard, N.C. By Louis Asbury, Sr.
St. Phillip's Epispocal Church In Brevard, N.C. By Louis Asbury, Sr.
James Jones Akers And Nancy Anderson Akers House House At 6501 Sardis Road In Charlotte By Louis Asbury, Sr.
James Jones Akers And Nancy Anderson Akers House House At 6501 Sardis Road In Charlotte By Louis Asbury, Sr.
Nancy Anderson Akers (1891-1979)
Nancy Anderson Akers (1891-1979)
Eastover Estate In Salisbury, N.C. By Louis Asbury, Sr.
Eastover Estate In Salisbury, N.C. By Louis Asbury, Sr.
E. R. Cannon House On Queens Road By Louis Asbury, Sr.
E. R. Cannon House On Queens Road By Louis Asbury, Sr.
F. W. Bradshaw House On Selwyn Avenue By Louis Asbury, Sr.
F. W. Bradshaw House On Selwyn Avenue By Louis Asbury, Sr.
James Jones Akers
(1878-1957)
James Jones Akers
(1878-1957)
Garage Was Possibly First House
Garage Was Possibly First House
Contact Person: Michael Jeffcoat, Director of Development
email address: michaeljjeffcoat@gmail.com
Date Issued: February 7, 2022
Effective Date: Immediate
Contact Person: Michael Jeffcoat, Director of Development
email address: michaeljjeffcoat@gmail.com
Date Issued: February 7, 2022
Effective Date: Immediate