The impressive 11.000 square foot "chateauesque" dwelling was informally known in Durham as the Stagg house after it's original owner, James Edward Stagg (1860-1915), is one of few remaining architectural testaments to those early days of the twentieth century when fortunes were made from tobacco. In the early 60's the large home had been converted into six apartments, and as each of the three ground floor apartments emptied the owners started to restore it. The Brames' (owners) tried to restore it as close to it's original glory as possible and they decided to keep the name Stagg bestowed on his home Ñ Greystone, after the Vance county granite company that he operated. The Brames worked with antique dealers to find fixtures and furniture to fit the period to fit the period when the house was built. For example, a Baccarat chandelier in the dining room came from France and dates back 250 years. Two matching chandeliers, one in the music room and another in the morning room, came from a 1910 penthouse in New York. Also, magnificent oriental rugs add a classic touch to Greystone's hardwood floors. Some treasures still existed at Greystone like the tapestry found in a box in the attic, it is now displayed in the living room. The attic also revealed, a dining room table, to which additional leaves were added so that it now seats twenty.

Henry Nicholson, James Stagg's grandson and his wife Miriam, proved valuable in refurbishing Greystone. Henry told the Brames that a grandfather clock stood in one corner of the entry corner, and the Brames found one dating back to 1906. Also, the Brames kept and reupholstered a couch in the library because Nicholson told them that he proposed to his wife on it. The origins as well as its first owners occupy a rightful place in Durham's rich history. James E. Stagg's mother, Sarah Durham Stagg, was the sister of Doctor Bartlett Durham for whom the city was named. Stagg's father, Francis Asbury Stagg, was nephew of Washington Duke, the founder of the Duke tobacco fortune. And James Stagg's wife, May Washington Lyon, was a cousin and the granddaughter of Washington Duke.

Construction of Greystone which is believed to have cost $40,000 to build, began in 1906 and ended in 1910. The Stagg's moved there in 1911. Four years after moving in James Stagg died while his wife lived until 1945. After her death, the house passed to her daughter Mrs. Sterling Nicholson. The home is listed on the register of historic places.

© Kristie Willett, April 6, 1999
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