Ellington, Royster, and Company (1878-1894)

The Manufacturers' Record (July 16, 1887) reported that Ellington, Royster, and Company of Raleigh had received the contract to build the courthouse in Durham for $12,000. Their role was confirmed in the Durham Tobacco Plant's account (November 23, 1887) of the cornerstone laying. The courthouse, designed by architect Byron A. Pugin, was a large brick structure with a tower.

Detailed specifications for the house for Charles Upchurch dated 1879 are in Wake County Miscellaneous Records, because of a lawsuit over the workmanship of the building. It is not known who the "architect" mentioned in the specifications might have been.

The commission for Raleigh's Centennial Graded School was awarded to architect Samuel Sloan on August 1, 1883, and construction began in November. After Sloan's death in 1884, the project was completed by his associate A. G. Bauer in 1885. The public school opened in 1876--thus the name--in the old Governor's Palace (see James Calder) that stood in a prominent position "at the foot of Fayetteville Street." Notable as an early graded school in the state, Centennial encompassed primary grades through high school. It marked the beginnings of Raleigh's public school system. After the Governor's Palace was torn down, the new school was built in 1883-1885, reusing bricks from the previous building. The 1880s school was razed in 1931 and replaced by Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium (see Atwood and Weeks). See Harold N. Cooledge, Jr., "Samuel Sloan, Architect of Philadelphia" (1986); William B. Bushong, "A. G. Bauer, North Carolina's New South Architect" (1983); and Murray and Johnson, "Wake: Capital County of North Carolina, Vol. II: Reconstruction to 1920" (2008).

The Raleigh News and Observer of August 18, 1886, reported that W. G. Upchurch had contracted with Ellington and Royster for "a store building of pressed brick and three stories in height occupying nos 206 and 208 Fayetteville St. Norris and Carter will occupy it."

The Experiment Station later became associated with present North Carolina State University. Most of the complex has been lost, but the picturesque, gabled 2-story "cottage" still stands and is a private residence.