Vermillion Homeplace Demolished

When Dr. James R. Vermillion arrived in 1845 to settle on a 1,575-acre land grant, he first built a one-room log cabin to serve as the family's main living quarters and then built a second log building behind the first to house the kitchen. As the need arose for additional rooms to accommodate a growing family, the two log structures were joined together and incorporated into a larger single structure to which several further additions were made in stages, the last having been completed in 1904. Concord College acquired the house in 1969 and demolished it in August 2004.

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Vermillion Homeplace as it appeared in recent years on Walnut Street, now Witherspoon Drive. View of the south side of the Vermillion Homeplace as it appeared in recent years. The original cabin built by Dr. James R. Vermillion in 1845 lies within the section of the house to the right of the section with the chimney. Demolition underway in August 2004 reveals the two original underlying log structures, one housing the kitchen (right foreground) that was built behind the other original main living quarters (left background). Remnants of the original kitchen cabin. Remnants of the original log living quarters and its rear passageway to the kitchen.
A view through the front and rear entrances to the original cabin built in 1845. Another view of the two original stuctures that had been joined together. During one of the subsequent construction stages, three openings were made in the side of the original cabin to accommodate additional windows in the developing frame house. A feature of the original one-room cabin built in 1845 was a loft, accessed by ladder-like stairs, which served as sleeping quarters for the Vermillion children. The original Vermillion log cabin amidst the debris of the enveloping frame house. The original Vermillion log cabin behind the debris of the front of the frame house.
The original Vermillion cabin awaits dismantling and temporary storage. Weathering debris from the demolition of the Vermillion Homeplace four years later in 2008. A few of the logs from the underlying original cabins that remained four years later in 2008. Another view of the logs from the underlying original cabins that remained four years later in 2008.