The Picot-Armistead-Pettiford House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built around 1814 by Julian Picot, a Frenchman who is thought to have been a close friend of King Louis XVI. In 1844 the title to the house and lot was transferred to Robert Armistead, who renovated the house around 1850. Robert Armistead died in 1857. His brother Thomas lived in the house until after the
Civil War. Local oral history has long linked the house to the Underground Railroad that helped slaves in the Antebellum South find their way to freedom. But some historians challenge that theory because the 1850 U.S. Census indicates that both Armistead brothers owned slaves. Plymouth was the site of heavy fighting during the Civil War and the Picot-Armistead-Pettiford House was one of the few buildings to escape damage. Thomas Armistead’s house was sold at a public auction in 1886. The house had several owners during the next few decades. In 1914, Jane Brinkley sold the house to Reuben Pettiford, an African-American brick mason. Noted historian Carl Westmoreland of Cincinnati has pointed out that this transaction in which a white owner sold property to a black buyer was very unusual at that time. The fact that the house has stayed in the hands of an African-American family for nearly a century and was used as a boarding house and hotel for blacks during the so-called “Jim Crow” era of segregation also is historically significant, Westmoreland said. The Braye family of Tuskegee, Alabama -- the current owners of the house -- has agreed to donate the house to a non-profit agency to be used as an African-American history museum. The Plymouth Small Town Main Street Committee has formed the Plymouth Museum Council to supervise the renovation of the house and creation of the museum. The house is in a deteriorated state and badly needs a new roof to prevent further deterioration. Preservation North Carolina has awarded a $10,000 grant to the Small Town Main Street Committee to help with the effort, but a new roof is expected to cost at least $15,000 to $20,000, and more money will be needed for other repairs to the house. The Plymouth Museum Council has been registered with the North Carolina Secretary of State, and is in the process of obtaining tax-exempt status. But it will take some time to obtain the tax exempt status. The Washington County Historical Society has made a temporary arrangement with the Plymouth Museum Council to help with fund-raising. Tax deductible contributions may be sent to the Washington County Historical Society, Box 296, Plymouth NC 27962. Checks should be made to the Washington County Historical Society, and on the check's memo line, please write Fix the Roof Fund or Armistead House Fund. Donors will receive a letter from the Washington County Historical Society certifying that the contribution is tax deductible.
