Harper House/Hickory History Center — Attraction in Hickory

It was a rainy day and my wife and I were looking for something to do locally. I remembered a friend of mine telling me about touring the Harper House located in downtown Hickory, NC. I called to make sure they were open today, they were so we went for a tour.

A little history:

Built in 1887 by Daniel Webster Shuler who founded Hickory's first bank. Traditional Queen Anne architectural elements characterize the house from the hipped roof with lower cross gables, to the scalloped wooden shingles and stained glass windows.

Considered by the North Carolina Department of Archives and History to possess "the finest Queen Anne interior styling in the entire state,” the Harper House is located at 310 N. Center Street.

It is named the Harper House because the Harper family (last of seven families to occupy the house) stay was by far the longest—from 1923 until December 21, 2000.

The interior is for the most part completely restored. The house is also totally furnished with period pieces. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take photos inside the house which was a bummer. 🙁

We had a guided tour which lasted I'm guessing 45 minutes to and hour. Sidney was our tour guide. She was both very personable and knowledgeable of the property.

Ghost Alert: 👻

Upon entering the house my wife commented in addition to admiring the beauty of the interior that she imagined the house was kind of creepy at night - like most Victorian style homes. Our tour guide stated there was the occasional unexplained occurrence in the home from time to time. She also said there has been at least two paranormal groups who has done paranormal investigations at the home in the past.

We then entered a room downstairs with a beautiful carved cherry wood fireplace mantel. There was a painting on the wall of Mrs. Shuler, the original and first "lady of the house". Our tour guide stated Mrs. Shuler has been married 3 times in her life. My wife commented that was usual for that time period. Our tour guide stated "tongue and cheek" that she always assumed Lady Shuler married the first time for love, the second time for money and the third time for fun! We all laughed.

Right as we were laughing there was loud noise - like a bang or pop that seemed to come from the location of that fireplace mantel. I chuckled that either Mrs. Shuler didn't like us laughing about her 3 marriages or she was agreeing! 😂

But anyway we may have actually experienced a paranormal event at the house! 😱😳👻🤣

The cost is $10.00 for adults. There are tours every hour on the hour. I highly recommend visiting this house if you like touring old homes. It is beautifully restored...

While in Hickory, I knew I had to make a stop at the Harper House. After you drive up the driveway, there is free parking for you to use on the property. When you arrive for your tour, you do need to go to the Lyerly House (Hickory History Center) to check in and pay, rather than the Harper House. (I do think they want you to schedule an appointment to tour the house, even though I just showed up and asked for a tour, as I didn't know about needing an appointment then)

I don't have much background in Hickory's history, so I wasn't sure what to expect with the Harper House. From the minute I walked in the house, I was wowed. It is said to be the finest Queen Anne home in the state, and I think I'd agree with that statement. The house was built in 1887 by Daniel Webster Schuler, who founded Hickory's first bank. The Harper's acquired the house in 1923 and three generations of the family lived in the house. In 2000, Catawba County took ownership of the house and started restoring it to its original Victorian decor.

The architecture is just amazing and unique in this house, from the fish scale shingles to the spindles on the porch railing to the pebble dashing to the stained glass windows to the cherry staircase to the winged Mercury on the stair post to the parquet floors. The ornate details are there.

I hadn't seen wallpaper before on the ceilings or various patterns used together. One room had at least 13 different patterns in the design. The furnishings are elegant to show off their luxury. It is a little overwhelming. The draperies are beautiful and the chandeliers are amazing but it is a lot.

The attic was a fun surprise as that is the speakeasy used during Prohibition, and the Harpers required them to get a silhouette on the wall.

I highly recommend touring the Harper House as you are in for a treat...

Ran across the Harper House in Hickory on a rainy day! What a fun place to visit. The staff were awesome! The tour was great learning about the Harper House and all the history behind it. The tour lasted about a hour. Fyi.... you do need to be able to climb stairs for the tour. Not a lot, but there is a second floor and an attic area to tour as well as a basement. Also, at the main building there is more to tour in their basement, which does have an elevator and bathrooms there. The basement has much history on prohibition, Nascar, etc. There are some more rooms to tour over there and a little gift shop area.

They also rent that building out for small weddings, dinners, meetings, etc. They do have a kitchen area for things to be catered in. Very lovely!

Definitely a fun thing to do when you are in Hickory!...