01/27/2014
Had to do this for our local historical society and thought I would share ~
Dr. Robert C. Sample House
Hendersonville, NC 28792
The Dr. Robert C. Sample House is a circa 1926 structure built for Dr. Sample and his wife, Laura. The large Colonial Revival was one of several homes built to house the physicians of Patton Hospital (c. 1913). The hospital is located next to the property across Waynesville Street. Today Patton Hospital is a multi-unit residential dwelling.
About the home: The Sample House is a well-preserved Colonial Revival built in the Georgian style. The resurge in popularity of the Colonial design happened during the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s and is attributed to the 1876 Centennial celebration. Reportedly built by then local builder John Frost, the home is a brick structure currently painted colonial grey and trimmed in white. Originally, however, the brick was left unpainted. The wooden shutters, with their unique topiary tree cutouts, are original to the home and were believed to be painted white in 1926. Giving a perfect nod to the colonial-era Georgian design, the entrance is adorned with an arched portico, decorative pilasters, and embellished moldings. The front door is a classic solid, eight-paneled oak door flanked by sidelights and topped with an elliptical fanlight. True to both Colonial and Georgian design, the tall center portion of the house is symmetrically balanced by a sunroom to the left and an open terrace supported by grand white columns to the right. The home’s interior is equally influenced by early Georgian architecture, containing a wide, center hall with a formally-defined dining room to the right and living room to the left. Another large center hall, four bedrooms, and two bathrooms occupy the second level. The third is a stand-up attic, accessible by a pull-down ladder. Much of the home’s original plaster is still in place, as are the original oak floors, staircase, and most of the single glazed windows. Almost all of the original structure is still heated by early 20th century radiators, which keeps the home quite warm in the winter months.
Along the right portion of the home there is a wing extension added during the late 1980’s, which connected the home to the formally detached carriage house. As part of this renovation, the kitchen was updated, the basement was given an interior entrance, and a large family room was added to the living space. Later, in 2013, the current owners converted the old carriage house and a full bath into a main floor master suite. Plans are to add a detached single car garage to the property in the future.
About Dr. Sample: Robert Cannon Sample was born on February 19, 1887 in Franklin, NC to the Rev. Elam Augustus and Anna Sample. His father’s family were native to Mecklenburg County, but his profession as a Presbyterian minister brought the family to Franklin, NC and eventually to Hendersonville. At the turn of the 20th century, the Sample family lived on North Main Street in Hendersonville, approximately where the restaurant Umi is now located. Unfortunately, the house the family lived in for more than twenty years is no longer standing. Recorded in the 1900 US Census, then thirteen year old Robert’s mother is listed as a school matron and his two eldest sisters as teachers, which probably greatly attributed to young Robert’s early education. Robert Sample was a 1911 graduate of Davidson College, Davidson, NC. He studied pre-med at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and then went on to the University of Pennsylvania. When the First World War broke out, Dr. Sample was living and practicing at the Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served in WWI as a Lieutenant in the Medical Corps of the United States Naval Reserve Force.
After the war, Dr. Robert Sample returned to Hendersonville, North Carolina. He moved back into the house on North Main St. with his mother and siblings and opened a general practice. At the age of 36 he married Miss Laura Chandler, who was 14 years his junior. They moved into the home on Highland Avenue the same year their son was born. It is unclear how many children they had but only two, Robert C. Sample Jr. and Joan Sample, survived until adulthood. In 1946 Laura Sample died in the home at the tender age of 42. Several years later, Dr. Sample remarried Frances Lyle. Together they lived in the home on Highland Avenue until sometime after 1950. Dr. Sample kept a practice on 414 N. Church Street until late into the 1950’s. He died on November 3, 1965 and is buried at the Oakdale Cemetery* on 6th Street in Hendersonville, NC. According to the Hendersonville City Directories of the 1950’s, at least three of Dr. Sample’s sisters remained residents of Hendersonville. Annie Sample, his eldest sister, was the librarian at Hendersonville Public Library for many years.
The Sample House remained the home of physicians for several more decades. Currently, however, the home is owned by Douglas and Cynthia Hensley. Like Dr. Sample, both Doug and Cynthia are native to North Carolina and can trace their family roots in the Western Carolina Mountain region into the early 19th century.
*Oakdale Cemetery is noted for the famous Wolfe Angel of Thomas Wolfe’s novel Look Homeward Angel.
Sources: Ancestery.com, Wikipedia.com, Davidson University, Hendersonville Historic Preservation Commission.
Photo Credit: Davidson College Year Book 1911 ~ Robert Cannon Sample age 22.
