The Jesse Benbow House II is a historic house located near Oak Ridge, Guilford County, North Carolina.
Location
1.8 km
Oak Ridge is a town in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, Oak Ridge had a population of 7,474. Oak Ridge is 15 miles northwest of the center of Greensboro, North Carolina's third-largest city, and it is a part of the Piedmont Triad urban area.
1.9 km
Oak Ridge Military Academy is a college-preparatory military school in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina. Oak Ridge is the oldest secondary school military academy in the United States in operation and the first military boarding school to admit girls. The academy is located in the town of Oak Ridge, North Carolina, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Oak Ridge's US Army Junior ROTC program is rated honor unit with distinction, the highest rating possible in JROTC.
Oak Ridge was created in 1852 by locals who wanted to encourage education in Guilford County. The school was closed during the Civil War for four years, reopening in 1866. From 1875 to 1914, the school was led by J. Allen Holt and Martin Holt, two professors at the academy. During that period it became one of the best in North Carolina. In 1914, leadership was transferred to Thomas E. Whittaker. The same year, a fire destroyed several buildings. In 1981, the name of the school was changed to Oak Ridge Military Academy.
The campus contains 21 buildings on nearly one-hundred acres. Oak Ridge offers extracurricular programs that focus on athletics, intramural sports, as well as drill team and other JROTC offerings. During the 2024–2025 school year, Oak Ridge had approximately one-hundred students enrolled. The academy offers 11 honors and 3 AP courses.
2.1 km
Oakhurst is a famous Queen Anne style house in Guilford County, North Carolina.
Oakhurst was built by the architect, Frank P. Milburn for Martin H. Holt, who was a co-principal with his brother J. Allen Holt, of Oak Ridge Institute.
Oakhurst is an example of surviving Queen Anne style architecture in Guilford County, North Carolina. The wood for the house was heart pine from South Carolina and contained tar and creosote that could not be attacked by termites. The house was originally built without a kitchen; it was said that Mrs. Holt did not care to cook. The Holts took all their meals in the dining hall of the Oak Ridge Institute. It features a three-story tower that rises through the porch roof and is topped with an ogee roof line.
The Holts were a pioneering family in cotton manufacturing in North Carolina.
In 1914, Martin retired because of an illness and soon died. Thomas Early Whitaker took over as principal and owner of the school. In 1917 he became the owner of Oakhurst. T.E. Whitaker had such a wide circle of friends that it is said that more guests have been entertained here than any other home in the county. A lifelong friend said, "He had the mind of a chancellor and the ability to adjust differences between friends that was given to few men." He also served in the North Carolina House of Representatives, Session of 1901.
T.E. Whitaker died unexpectedly in 1929. Oakhurst stayed in the Whitaker family until 1981.
Oakhurst is a contributing property to the Oak Ridge Military Academy Historic District and is a Guilford County Historic Landmark.
2.2 km
Guilford Mill, also known as the Old Mill of Guilford and Bailes' Old Mill, is a historic grist mill located near Oak Ridge, Guilford County, North Carolina. It was built in 1822, and is a plain three-story, heavy timber frame building on a fieldstone foundation. It has a gable roof and one-story, shed roofed addition built of fieldstone. The grist mill is powered by an overshot wheel.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
4.0 km
Beaver Creek is a 6.16 mi long 2nd order tributary to Reedy Fork, in Guilford County, North Carolina.