Join our journey to restore her beauty and transform her to a beautiful wedding/event venue. CLOVER HILL
HAPPY VALLEY,NC
The Present:
The magnificence of Clover Hill, a historic home and grounds listed on the National Historic Registry, was still evident in 2024 after almost 20 years of neglect, when it once again was avail
able for new ownership. She deserved to be rescued and loved once again. Kris, Alicia, and Douglas Huffman, locals to the area of nearby Ferguson and Happy Valley were drawn to her beauty and the magnitude of repairs was a challenge they were willing to accept. The story of her forefathers is perhaps more significant in the history of Happy Valley and
our nation at large than the home itself. They quite literally fought for the independence and freedoms and prosperity we enjoy today. Members of this family and this generation sacrificed, often their lives, for those they had not and may never meet. The character of these men and women laid the path for all future generation. So for these reasons and many others, Clover Hill deserved to be rescued and once again became a place for celebrations, family gatherings, and congenial events of all kinds. She is sure to serve as a reminder of why "The Valley" is and should always be "Happy Valley". We hope that you join us on our journey to restore Clover Hill and in all future events. The History:
The following history was retrieved in part from a short story written by Mr. and Mrs. Asa Graves Jr. (previous owners of Clover Hill) in 1973. " Deep in the well of American history, along with great men and women, are also great houses. One of these is CLOVER HILL, a home magnificently carved into history by men who very much cared and labored with love! This is a short story about this lovely American home. About the year 1784, a man named William Lenoir came to the upper valley of the Yadkin River and built his home near the site of an old Indian Fort for which he named his home-Fort Defiance (lovingly restored and still standing). General Lenoir, history tells us, joined the militiamen who turned back General Ferguson at Kings' Mountain and started the Americans on their way to victory in the Revolutionary War. With his wife, Ann, General Lenoir had seven children. One-a daughter-married General Edmund Jones. They built lovely Palmyra on the grounds where the Patterson School still stands. About 1800 another family-named Davenport-moved to the valley. Their home-Walnut Fountain-stands not far from Clover Hill and their daughter-Sophia-married Colonel Edmund Jones II, who built the beautiful Clover Hill for his bride. These homes were the nucleus of a group settling in the Yadkin River basin. The valley extended to Elkin and all along its fertile bottoms the great plantations grew. There was much social life...gay dances, enormous weddings attended by friends and relatives from distant parts. The upper end of the valley, nearest to the village of Lenoir was particularly congenial and the atmosphere so delightful that Chief Justice Ruffin, while visiting, said the place should be called "Happy Valley" and so it come to be known just that. Clover Hill stands as an excellent example of Greek Revival architecture. So named, of course, for the Ionic columns used so prolifically inside and out and very popular in the early to mid 1800's. It is made of soft, red brick quarried on the property, the walls are four bricks thick including those on either side of the inside front hall! The owner's name-Edmund Jones-is etched in one brick on the southwest outside corner of the house as well as the brick mason's -J.B. Gaines. The front steps of the house are hewn of solid granite. The inside floors are wide heart pine planks one inch thick and even the window sills are of 8x12 solid oak. Fine, delicate wood carvings-called tracery adorn the porch windows and exemplify the intricate detailing to which the local craftsmen went. Such workmanship was typical of early 19th century carpentry. "
The outbuildings on the property have equally important historical significance. They consist of a round barn with corn silo built about 1918, red-colored frame barn, with its hand-hewn lumber which pre-dates the home as well as an outdoor kitchen and servant quarters. If these walls could talk, they would undoubtedly tell many stories. Stories of a bygone time and of people who sacrificed and loved each other, their community, and their country.
