The Mordecai House (or Mordecai Plantation or Mordecai Mansion) was constructed in 1785 and serves as the centerpiece of Raleigh, North Carolina’s Mordecai Historic Park, which is located just south of the Historic Oakwood neighborhood. It is the oldest house in Raleigh and has been there since the beginning. Johnson’s boyhood home and birthplace are featured in the park, as are the Badger-Iredell Law Office, Allen Kitchen, the highly sought-after St. Mark’s Chapel, and the tranquil Ellen Mordecai Garden. It is centrally located in the old Mordecai Place district.Henry Lane’s father, Joel, built the first section of the house. The plantation house in present-day Wake County was originally the center of a massive plantation covering about 20,000 square kilometers of land. Because Raleigh was founded on land owned by Lane (1,000 acres), he is frequently considered one of the city’s founding fathers.Margaret Lane acquired the house from her father, Henry, and Moses Mordecai renamed it in his honor. Mordecai later married her sister, Ann Lane, after she passed away. Mordecai had the residence enlarged by State Architect William Nichols in 1824. Nichols’s work on the addition earned him praise; he had earlier refurbished the State House structure. In 1826, the Mordecai family expanded their home by four rooms, creating a grand palace in the Greek Revival style.The Mordecai family, who are descended from Moses Mordecai (1707–1781) of Bonn, Germany, were among the first 300 Jewish families to settle in the United States. In state and local politics, the family was instrumental. Jacob Mordecai, Moses’s father, founded an all-female school in the North Carolina hamlet of Warrenton.In 1805, Moses Mordecai, who was well-known for his legal skill, was appointed to the Court of Conference. Henry and Jacob were boys, while Ellen was a girl, all born to Moses Mordecai and his first wife, Margaret. His first wife, Ann’s sister, inspired the name Margaret, so he gave her to their daughter. A daughter was the result of his later marriage to Ann. Henry Mordecai established a prosperous company and a political career at Mordecai House.The family also had a significant role in the slave trade, and the former plantation housed numerous slaves who were put to work in various roles across the property. The state historic site shares the stories of both free and enslaved locals, including the inspiring experiences of three people who achieved freedom. His daughter Margaret Mordecai married and inherited the property, and her descendants stayed there until 1967.According to Raleigh natives, the Mordecai House has more ghostly happenings than any other house in the city. Episode 2 of Ghost Hunters highlighted the results of the TAPS team’s investigation into some of these claims. The Ghost Guild Inc., a 501(c)(3), has been conducting paranormal investigations of the Mordecai Historic Park mansion and its surrounding buildings exclusively since 2017. They have a festival in the park every year on the last Saturday of October to talk about their findings.Women in long black skirts, white blouses, and black ties have been spotted walking the halls and greeting clients. She supposedly sits on the balcony late at night, and passersby can catch a glimpse of her if they’re lucky. Visitors have reported hearing a piano in the building in the past.
The JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, NC
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