I made these images late one weekday afternoon in February, 2014. A friend told me about this old plantation house in Raleigh. A house that sat high up on a hill-- symmetrically flanked by overgrown and tangled, once-formal, gardens-- enveloped and hidden by a forest of aging oaks, wisteria, and azaleas-- shrouded from the six-lane commercial development down below.
Known as the Crabtree Jones House, this plantation house-- utilized in the Civil War-- dates from 1795. The property was still owned by Jones family descendants until the 1960's, and was inhabited up until 1973. It has stood empty since that time. I had the chance that afternoon to photograph the interior and the overgrown grounds-- all of which I found hauntingly beautiful. Although these images do not fully capture its essence, I hope they reveal that sense of lives well- lived.
Currently, these images are made as pigment prints, though I am slowly reprinting them as tri-color gums, so . . . watch this space!
The house has now been moved 700 feet from its original site, waiting for new owners and restoration. You can read more, and see the time-lapse video of the actual move, here.
