Businessman and tax collector, was building his house on North Tryon Street when some of his neighbors started calling it “Frew’s Folly.” Its 4,600 square feet and formal Federal Plantation style outdid anything else in the sleepy little village of Charlotte.

Even today the house that stood on 911 acres is a rarity for its detailed craftsmanship, its preservation by generations of private owners and its seven-year, million-dollar restoration in a home now open to the public.

Today Rosedale’s imposing balanced architecture, with brilliant “chrome yellow” trim created by artists’ paint from Philadelphia, shines at the center of the plantation’s remaining 8.5 acres.

The original formal beauty remains: a center portion with two matched wings, tall nine-over-nine window sashes, a centered porch between upper arched windows, and a front door framed by an elliptical fan light window. Even the nearby line of large boxwoods dates to the year of construction.

Inside, however, a traditional asymmetrical layout considered old-fashioned in its day made the home comfortable. The front door enters directly into the “Hall,” a large public room for visiting and dining. A door to the right leads to the family’s private parlor and the downstairs master bedroom.

Attention To Detail
Although the layout was traditional, handcrafted details in the Hall emphasize how grand this home must have been. Every door, frame and paneled transom that seems to be burled mahogany is a painstaking faux-finish restored in 1993. An ornate mahogany and blue-veined marble fireplace mantel turns out, on examination, to be further evidence of a faux artist’s fine brush-and-feather technique.

And irons inside the fireplace were the work of one of the plantation’s slaves, an accomplished blacksmith.

In keeping with the era’s custom, furniture lines the walls – ready to be pulled out only when needed to entertain guests.

“Wall of Troy” dentil molding at the ceiling tops a three-dimensional cornice decorated with individually hand-carved green urns and anthemion leaves.

Plastered walls in downstairs rooms were created with lime made from shells from the coast. Upstairs, three bedrooms still display the original French wallpaper that was probably hand blocked.

A Dream Preserved
Fortunately for Frew, daughter Sarah married William Davidson, the richest man in the county. The year Rosedale was finished, a volcano in the Pacific exploded. It produced an atmospheric cloud of ash that made 1816 “the year without a summer.” Crops failed and merchants could not pay their taxes. When, as tax collector, Frew was held liable, Rosedale was sold at a bankruptcy auction. Its buyer was William Davidson, who allowed Archibald Frew to remain in the house until his death in 1823. - Louise Barden

Plan Your Visit To Historic Rosedale
Historic Rosedale is located at 3427 N. Tryon Street, Charlotte, between 36th Street and Sugar Creek Road.

Tours of Rosedale are available at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday
and Sunday.

Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for students and seniors. No reservations are required. Group tours can be arranged in advance by calling (704) 335-0325.