Purefoy-Dunn Plantation
A historic plantation house and national historic district near Wake Forest, North Carolina, associated with the Purefoy and Dunn families and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Purefoy–Dunn Plantation is a historic property and national historic district near Wake Forest in Wake County, North Carolina. The surviving centerpiece is a two-story, L-shaped, heavy-timber-frame house whose earliest construction dates to about 1814. The building is associated with John Purefoy, a Baptist minister, educator, landowner, and trustee involved in the development of the institution that became Wake Forest University, and with Samuel H. Dunn, who acquired the farm in 1838 and expanded its agricultural operations. John Purefoy was born in Craven County, North Carolina, in 1778. After being orphaned as a child, he lived with relatives in Georgia, where he converted to the Baptist faith and began his ministerial career. By 1809 he was recorded as paying taxes on land and two enslaved people in the Forest District of Wake County. In 1814, he purchased a 400-acre tract near Forestville from Nathaniel Jones. The plantation house was apparently built soon afterward, although the precise construction date is not documented. Purefoy was not known for operating a large plantation; tax records indicate that he enslaved no more than four people during the relevant period. Purefoy was active in religious and educational affairs. He served as pastor of churches in the Forestville and Wake Forest area, helped found and served as a trustee of the nearby Macedonian Academy, and in 1832 joined William R. Hinton, Simon G. Jeffreys Jr., and James G. Hall in acquiring land for the Wake Forest Institute. That school later developed into Wake Forest College and ultimately Wake Forest University. Purefoy remained a trustee until his death in 1855. He also published a hymnal in 1831, and several of his children became Baptist ministers. In 1838, Purefoy sold the farm, then described as containing 429 acres, to Samuel H. Dunn, a Wake County native from a prominent local family associated with planting and milling. During Dunn's ownership, the original house was substantially remodeled in the Greek Revival style, and a two-story wing was added sometime between the 1838 purchase and approximately 1850. The resulting building has a low hipped roof and clapboard siding. A front portico that once contributed to its appearance was removed during the 1960s or early 1970s. Dunn operated a considerably larger agricultural enterprise than Purefoy. The farm produced wheat, corn, oats, cotton, wool, and swine. In 1860, census records identified Dunn as enslaving 24 people while cultivating approximately 500 acres. This history is integral to understanding the property and places the site within the economic and social system of antebellum slavery in North Carolina. The district also includes a contributing mid-nineteenth-century, gable-roofed frame smokehouse. After the Dunn period, the North Carolina Joint Stock Land Bank of Durham held the property until 1942, when it was acquired by Dr. Zebulon Marvin Caveness Sr. Caveness used the plantation for dairy farming and transferred it to his son, William F. Caveness, in 1955. The historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. It is best understood as a preserved historic agricultural and architectural site rather than as a contemporary commercial brand.
History
The history of Purefoy–Dunn Plantation begins with John Purefoy, who was born in Craven County, North Carolina, in 1778. A biographical account describes him as having been orphaned at the age of twelve and subsequently living with relatives in Georgia, where he converted to the Baptist faith and began preparing for a career as a minister. By 1809, he was recorded in Wake County tax materials as owning 40.75 acres and enslaving two people in the Forest District. Purefoy acquired a 400-acre tract near Forestville from Nathaniel Jones in 1814. The present plantation house is generally believed to have been built shortly afterward, although the surviving historical record does not establish an exact construction date. Purefoy served as pastor of several Baptist churches in the Forestville–Wake Forest area. He also promoted education, helping establish the Macedonian Academy and later becoming involved in the creation of the Wake Forest Institute. In 1832, Purefoy joined William R. Hinton, Simon G. Jeffreys Jr., and James G. Hall in purchasing approximately 615.5 acres from Calvin Jones for the development of the Wake Forest Institute. The school opened in 1833 and eventually evolved into Wake Forest College and then Wake Forest University. Purefoy continued as a trustee until his death in 1855. His religious and educational activities formed an important part of his public identity. He published A Selection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, in Two Parts, in 1831, and three of his sons became prominent Baptist ministers. Purefoy sold the farm to Samuel H. Dunn in 1838. The property was then recorded as containing 429 acres. Dunn came from a prominent Wake County family connected with planting and milling and operated the property as a more substantial agricultural enterprise. During the years that followed, the house was expanded with a two-story wing and remodeled in the Greek Revival style. The remodeled building is a two-story, L-shaped, heavy-timber-frame structure with clapboard siding and a low hipped roof. Its original front portico was removed in the 1960s or early 1970s. The farm's documented agricultural production included wheat, corn, oats, cotton, wool, and swine. The 1860 census recorded Dunn as enslaving 24 people and cultivating 500 acres. These records distinguish the Dunn-era property from Purefoy's earlier, smaller-scale operation and demonstrate the plantation's connection to the antebellum agricultural economy and slavery. The enslaved people who lived and worked on the property are central to its historical interpretation, even though the available account provides limited individual biographical information. The property later passed through institutional and private ownership. The North Carolina Joint Stock Land Bank of Durham held it until 1942, when Dr. Zebulon Marvin Caveness Sr. acquired the plantation and operated a dairy farm there. In 1955, Caveness transferred the property to his son, William F. Caveness. A contributing mid-nineteenth-century frame smokehouse remains on the site, adding evidence of the property's domestic and agricultural functions. Purefoy–Dunn Plantation was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Its significance derives from the combination of early nineteenth-century settlement history, Greek Revival architecture, agricultural development, Baptist institutional history, and the documented transition from a relatively modest farm under Purefoy to a larger enslaving plantation under Dunn. The property is a historic site rather than an operating consumer brand, and no current commercial product line or public corporate management structure is identified in the available sources.
- 1988
National Register listing
[1]The Purefoy–Dunn Plantation district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1955
Property transferred to William F. Caveness
[1]Dr. Caveness deeded the plantation to his son, William F. Caveness.
- 1942
Caveness family acquires the property
[1]Dr. Zebulon Marvin Caveness Sr. acquired the plantation from the North Carolina Joint Stock Land Bank of Durham and operated a dairy farm there.
- 1860
Dunn plantation reaches documented peak scale
[1]The census recorded Samuel H. Dunn as enslaving 24 people and cultivating approximately 500 acres. The farm produced crops and livestock including wheat, corn, oats, cotton, wool, and swine.
- 1855
Death of John Purefoy
[1]Purefoy died after serving for many years as a trustee of the Wake Forest educational institution.
- 1850
House remodeled in the Greek Revival style
[1]During the period after Dunn's acquisition and by approximately 1850, the house was remodeled and enlarged with a two-story wing.
- 1838
Samuel H. Dunn acquires the farm
[1]Purefoy sold the approximately 429-acre farm to Samuel H. Dunn, who developed a larger agricultural operation.
- 1833
Wake Forest Institute opens
[1]The Wake Forest Institute opened on the land acquired by Purefoy and his associates. Purefoy remained involved as a trustee.
- 1832
Purefoy participates in the Wake Forest educational enterprise
[1]Purefoy and three associates purchased land for the Wake Forest Institute, an institution that later developed into Wake Forest College and Wake Forest University.
- 1831
Purefoy publishes a hymnal
[1]Purefoy published A Selection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, in Two Parts, reflecting his role in Baptist religious life.
Products and positioning
Historic agricultural property and architectural landmark representing early nineteenth-century plantation development, Greek Revival domestic architecture, Baptist educational history, and changing agricultural ownership in Wake County, North Carolina.
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