Mulberry Grove
Home of the Cotten and Moore families
of St. Johns Twsp., Hertford County, North Carolina
1870
West view
house ca 1900 south view
view showing the detached kitchen
and enclosed porch connecting the brick portion to the wooden section.
mid 1930″s
The brick section of the house was over a full basement which had a floor of square brick tiles. It was used to store wine and preserved foods. There were no fireplaces.
As the above picture shows there were metal vents – one on the east end plus the door
and two vents on the west end.
mid 1930’s
photo by Margaret Stevens
with boarded up windows
the doors into the dining room from the east porch full length of house.
a matching door with arch led onto the
full length porch on the west side
plus the porch in front on the front side.
a door from the hall on the right side of the brick section opened onto the porch and then into the dining room through the arch.
1980
The house was originally 1756 a one-and-a-half story brick dwelling, which was raised to two stories, remodeled ca 1830 as Greek Revival and expanded by Dr. G C Moore.
drawing commissioned 2000 by Raleigh Sutton
note: the brick portion was covered with white stucco
and there was porch on west side of rear wing
where a lot of living took place as well as on the porch on the east side
Mulberry Grove 2000
view from the East; the east wall of the brick section has fallen exposing the plastered walls still in fine condition
— the arched entrance of the dining room can be clearly seen
as well as the fallen upper level of the porch on right [roof?]
photo by Sally.
The house was built about 1758 by Capt. Arthur Cotten 1716-1789;
who lived here,
– as did his son Godwin Cotten 1761-1830,
– granddaughter Easter Cotten and her husband James Wright Moore 1773-1815,
– great-grandson Dr. Godwin Cotten Moore 1806-1880 [who made extensive renovations to the house in the mid 1830’s] and
– great, great grandson William Edward Moore 1847-1920 with their families. Located two miles north of old St. Johns, Hertford Co, North Carolina. The front section of the house was of brick covered with a white stucco; the rear wing was wood. This property was bought from the heirs of John Beverly who had willed the place to his two grandsons.
On the 20th Nov 1752 William Beverly of Craven County, SC agreed to sell to Arthur Cotten his part and on 11th Nov 1758 Henry Beverly of Johnston County, NC sold his part to Arthur Cotten.
Ancient Mulberry Tree at Mulberry Grove
Oct 25, 2018. Thoughts, the house shows these signs, 1. It was two story to start with, the ridge of the original roof can be on the right chimney Design was ^ style with exterior chimney on each end. The Central Door was relocated and widened to a double door with the Greek Revival c 1830 makeover. There are marks over the central window to indicate where the brick work was altered for one to make a doorway into a window and the upstairs doorway into a window, also to make the right side window into a doorway. The Cellar doorway arch would have been matched with a similar one over the front door with a fan shaped window over the door. This matches the door trim with the fans carved into them versus the door trim with the circle details in the plainer Greek Revival Style. The Four brick half columns are Georgia versus the Wooden Ionic Columns that were placed at the rear and front of the porch at the conversion. Also the Cellar window in the horizontal position and would have been shuttered also by slats versus shutters. The remains of the central staircase and porch can be seen in the remains of the Greek Revival Porch and porch supports. The Arched doorway to and from the dining room would have opened up to a broad open porch at one time with a fan shaped window above it as well. I believe the wooden portion at the rear was added in the remake also as the windows openings are 9 over 9 and the uppers are 6 over 9. 6 over 6 would have been correct for Georgian c 1750. I believe the original windows may have been converted by reusing the old 6 pane parts on the top of the windows upstairs and enlarging the bottom portion to the 9 pane size. Hope this helps everybody to get a vision of what the house looked like in 1750.
I recently discovered that my ancestry goes back to the Cottons and in the genealogy report named Mulberry Grove in Hertford County as the home of John Cotton. I was hoping the structure still stood. Thank you for sharing the pictures though.
I am the current pastor at Pleasant Grove and have thoroughly enjoyed your posts. Exactly where is Mulberry Grove in relationship to Pleasant Grove and who currently owns the property?
It’s just around the corner from Pleasant Grove on the Ahoskie to Rich Square road. It’s just a pile of rubble now. I believe my. nephew J R Moore III has title to the property.
Hi, Sally,
We must be cousins, but I need to find out how. I am a descendant of Moore Moore, who goes back to Arthur Cotten. I was wondering if the family cemetery that was somewhere on the property is still accessible. Thank you!
Julia House
Atlanta, GA
The family cemetery is still on the property. Some of the stones are laying on the ground and covered by vines but there is a Moore/Cotton monument that is in good repair. If you decide to follow the coordinates to the site of the plantation in hopes of exploring, you would be wise to equip yourself with bug spray, boots, clippers and a companion.
I too am a descendant of the Cottons.
I enjoy looking at these photos and yet, it makes me sad.
Thx for sharing.
Amazing. I find them very lovely and vitgnae. I have this thing for the vitgnae looking interiors and they never fail to amaze me. I think they have utilized well the spaces and put useful and beautiful furniture. Great job.