Matthew & Kelsey Roper; 2708 Olive Chapel, LLC; Inland Construction Co.

The c. 1905 Queen Anne Victorian Alsey Thomas Olive House was the home of a multi-generational family of successful farmers and community leaders in western Wake County. It is one of a dwindling number of surviving intact rural Queen Anne-style houses in western Wake County, featuring fishtail shingles in the front gables, sawn brackets and pendants that top the cut-way bays, and a showpiece front porch of turned posts and balusters and arched spandrels. While the house’s historic agricultural setting has been compromised by suburban development, it remains on its original site on land that was owned by the Olive family for 171 years, from 1846 to 2017.

In 2017, the developer and homebuilder Lennar Carolinas assembled 225 acres from the family to build a large residential subdivision. That same year, realizing the importance of this historic house, Capital Area Preservation, Inc. accepted an historic preservation easement on both the interior and exterior of the house, protecting its historic character in perpetuity. In 2019, 2708 Olive Chapel Road, LLC purchased the 0.66-acre parcel containing the Alsey Thomas Olive House from the developer and began working with Capital Area Preservation, Inc. during the restoration process.

The house needed complete rehabilitation. Before beginning work, valuable architectural items such as mantels, doors, handrails, and window trim were removed for safe keeping.  Aluminum siding installed in the 1950s was removed along with a later sunroom addition on the rear of the building and a make-shift bathroom on the rear of the second floor. Modern drywall covering most of the walls and paneling was removed to expose existing plaster and bead board wainscotting below the chair rails.  Existing heart pine tongue and groove floors were found to be in good shape in most areas.  All exterior siding and trim was checked for rot and replaced if damaged around entire perimeter.  Any missing items that seemed to be present in the historical photograph was recreated in Pine, Cedar, or Mahogany.  New framing was used to recreate the rear kitchen and to add a bedroom and laundry room on the second story, carefully creating balance to the rear elevation so that it matched the front elevation and the opposite side. Damaged framing was replaced throughout and reinforced.  New metal roofing was installed, and windows were reglazed, with weights re-installed to function as originally designed.  The interior brick chimneys were rebuilt from the roofline up and capped. New siding and millwork profiles were carefully remade with new tooling from existing wood profiles in the house, while other beading trim details were hand made to match. All missing trim, banisters, and ornamentation was recreated to match the historic photograph of the house. The framing inside the front door revealed that the house historically had double front doors as was confirmed by a relative who grew up in the house.  Therefore, period-correct double front doors were installed. The current owners are Matthew and Kelsey Roper.

The Board of Directors of Capital Area Preservation, Inc. is pleased to present a 2022 Anthemion Award to Matthew & Kelsey Roper; 2708 Olive Chapel, LLC; Inland Construction Co. for the Residential Rehabilitation the Alsey Thomas Olive House, 2708 Olive Chapel Road, Apex.