The A.W. Ange House (Arthur Walton Ange) is one of
the best surviving examples of the Victorian style of architecture in Winterville, North Carolina. The house
was built about 1901 and was constructed for
Fountain Cox.
The A.W. Ange House is a two-story frame house, which follows a traditional L-shaped plan with the rooms divided asymmetrically on either side of a wide central hall. Fountain Cox and his wife occupied the house for a short period of time before selling the house to A.W Ange and his wife. The contributions of A.W. Ange to the Pitt County community can be noted in the business community, and in the educational, cultural and religious institutions of the community.
The Ange Family from 1904 to February 26, 1996 occupied the A.W. Ange House. The Fannie Mae Ange heirs, Artie, Jimmy, and Ludie Black donated the A.W. Ange House to Preservation North Carolina in 1997
In 1998 the Winterville Historical & Arts Society, Inc. from Preservation North Carolina purchased the A.W. Ange House with funds given by Louise Ange White. In 1998 the process of restoration of the A.W. Ange House began as the Winterville Historical & Arts Society, Inc. initiated a fund-raising drive so as to restore this historical site as a local historical property, cultural museum, and a meeting center.
A community museum will be significant to Pitt County and those counties adjacent to it. School children will have access to this facility as it is centrally located, and it will be a stopping point for area tourism. Our intention is to organize programs and exhibits for young people and to present an educational facility for young children and adults alike.
Winterville had one of the first high schools in the state which many notable individuals attended, one of whom was Robert Lee Humber. This lends credence to the fact that the town has been and continues to be a center for education. Because of its excellent school system, people strive to locate here for their children's sake. Winterville is also the home of the Cox cotton planter that was shipped out by river and later by rail to all cotton-growing regions of the South. This project will, therefore, tie our community together with a common interest that is; our children will come to understand how their ancestors lived in a farming environment.
The Winterville Historical and Arts Society already have what constitutes the basics for a a museum. The organization has over 900 artifacts crammed into the old Episcopal Church building across from A.G. Cox School. We will need to categorize, label, and display these artifacts according to standards set by museums.
When the restoration of the house is complete and artifacts are effectively displayed, when we see school children thronging through the rooms and students of history and genealogy using the research facilities, we will consider our project to be a success. The Town of Winterville will then point with pride to its community museum.
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