Chinqua-Penn Plantation : a permanent, practical house
- UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Jennifer Lancaster Pena (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
- Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/
- Advisor
- William Moore
Abstract: This thesis examines Chinqua-Penn Plantation, a 1920s mansion located in the Piedmont
of North Carolina. Once a private residence to Thomas Jefferson Penn and his wife, Beatrice
Schoellkopf Penn, the home was donated to the State of North Carolina in the 1960s and was
used as a historic house museum. After years of financial struggle caring for the house, the state
chose to close the museum. The mansion, its outbuildings, and collection of decorative arts are
now for sale.
Most previous treatments of Chinqua-Penn have formed upon curiosity and wonder at its unique
exterior and eclectic furnishings. This thesis presents the home as a historic text from which
information and insight may be gleaned. It progresses through examination of exterior
architecture, floor plan, interior décor, and grounds. In each chapter, the house is compared to
others from a similar time period.
This text presents a new system of classification for the spaces utilized within this
domestic structure. It had previously been the norm to place areas of homes and their grounds
within the categories of ?public? and ?private.? Chinqua-Penn contains myriad spaces used by
owners, guests, and servants. The terms ?civic,? ?personal,? and ?support? are used in this
discussion to better relate the meaning of these areas for their occupants.
Of particular interest is the desire of the Penns to create a permanent home that was
different from others. On the surface, the estate appears unique in its design and interior
furnishings. Upon close inspection, it becomes clear that Chinqua-Penn has more in common
with contemporary mansions than differences in its materials, separation of spaces, and décor.
Chinqua-Penn Plantation : a permanent, practical house
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts
- Language: English
- Date: 2009
- Keywords
- Chinqua-Penn Plantation (Reidsville N. C.)--History, Historic buildings--North Carolina--Reidsville, Penn family, Penn Thomas Jefferson
- Subjects
- Penn, Thomas Jefferson
- Historic buildings -- North Carolina -- Reidsville
- Chinqua-Penn Plantation (Reidsville, N. C.) -- History
- Penn family