A version of the following article appeared in the August 24, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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How the owners of an 1882 Enderly Park farmhouse strive to preserve its character and history through a careful approach to renovations
The McQuay Farmhouse during Charlotte’s heavy snow this past winter. (Photo courtesy of Justin Lukas)
by Cooper Hall
In 2023, Justin Lukas and his wife, Emily Craft, bought a nearly 145-year-old home in Charlotte: the McQuay Farmhouse.
Robert E. McQuay and his brother, John, built the McQuay Farmhouse in 1882 on a 13-acre farm owned by their family. Robert McQuay grew produce, tended to bee boxes to cultivate honey and raised farm animals, including cows and chickens.
Members of the McQuay family lived in the home until 2002 – 120 years of continual ownership.
Today, the farmhouse is a designated historic landmark. It remains at its original site, at 3200 Tuckaseegee Road, about two miles from Bank of America Stadium in the Enderly Park neighborhood, on almost half an acre of land.
The home is a physical remnant of the rural lifestyle and landscape of Mecklenburg County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, according to a historic landmark report about the house — a history that’s disappeared as the city has redeveloped.
“It’s this artifact — sitting in the middle of a fast-growing Charlotte neighborhood — of the neighborhood's history,” said Stewart Gray, director of Mecklenburg County’s Historic Landmarks Department.
But Lukas and Craft didn’t set out to buy a historic house. When the family living in the McQuay Farmhouse decided to relocate, and the opportunity to buy a two-bedroom, two-bathroom farmhouse just a few miles from downtown presented itself, they took it. Lukas grew up in St. Louis, a city that, he said, gave him an affinity for older homes.
“There is a very clear story that is told in this home over the course of 145 years, almost of people living in it and caring about it, and I think that is special,” Lukas said.
Living in a house that was built over a century ago does, however, present challenges. Building materials are often cut and constructed differently than they used to be. Lukas said there are constantly things they have to fix or adjust, and they often have to get creative with how they do it.
When they first moved into the house, a problem with the foundation had to be fixed, and because wood is not cut in the same size as it was in the 1800s, the builders had to screw 2-by-4s together to create the right size.
But Lukas and Craft don’t just live in an old house; they live in a historic landmark, meaning fixing problems and renovations come with additional hoops to jump through.
Rules and regulations
Every change to a historic landmark has to be approved by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.
When Lukas and Craft wanted to install a fence around their home, they had to submit a proposal, detailed plans for the fence and other paperwork. Lukas said that the commission wants to maintain the visibility of the structure for the public.
When the couple needed to replace their single-pane windows, they again had to receive approval, explaining why they wanted the change and what company they would be using. The windows still had to have a wood frame and feature the same brass hardware already in the house.
Gray said these rules and regulations come from the state and are vital to protecting the historical character of landmarks. Reviewing these proposals takes time and energy, and the financial burden tends to fall on homeowners.
Still, Lukas said, he feels that the regulations, limitations and even the cost are worth it to preserve the history of the McQuay Farmhouse.
“Although it probably would — certainly would — be easier for us to do it the modern way, it does lose that character, that personality, the uniqueness,” Lukas said.
Preservation in an ever-growing city
As more people move to Charlotte, new home construction has also increased. Lukas said that while Charlotte does need more single-family homes, specifically affordable housing, historical properties shouldn’t be bulldozed for the sake of progress.
“There are so many things that are lost when you look at land as just that, or dollars and cents, and not about the community that it represents, or the opportunity, or the history behind it,” he said.
Lukas also said that newer houses are often formulaic and lack the character and personality that older homes often have.
There are many unique aspects of the McQuay Farmhouse that Lukas and Craft have kept, including a wraparound front porch, a pump house, picture molding, three fireplaces and three different types of real wood floors.
Beyond maintaining the exterior character of the building during renovations, Lukas and Craft try to keep the history of their home in mind when decorating, painting and furnishing, working to match everything to the aesthetic of the home.
Without preservation of historic sites, Lukas said it’s easy to lose sight of how Charlotte was shaped into the city it is today.
Because Mecklenburg County has experienced radical changes, that places preservation of the city in a new light, Gray said.
“The change here is a huge factor, and so it kind of makes it more important just for a community to understand some history, for a community to have character beyond what's happening today,” he said.
Cooper Hall was a summer 2026 reporting intern for The Charlotte Ledger. She is a junior at UNC Chapel Hill, double-majoring in media and journalism and exercise and sport science.