Est. 1799 · One of Raleigh's oldest surviving dwellings (built 1799) · Home of NC Secretary of State William White (1798-1811) · Late-Georgian/early-Federal architecture with later Victorian addition · Documented in the Library of Congress HABS collection · Relocated and restored in 1986
The White-Holman House dates to 1799 and was originally built for William White, who served as North Carolina's Secretary of State from 1798 to 1811. The dwelling is a two-story frame structure in the late-Georgian/early-Federal style typical of the few houses still surviving from Raleigh's earliest years.
The home stayed in the White family until 1884, when it was acquired by William Calvin Holman, a cotton broker, and his wife Anna Belo Holman. The Holmans added a two-story Victorian wing in the late 19th century. The 'Whitehall' alternate name dates to this same period.
In 1986 the house was relocated and restored. Since the move, the building has served primarily as a private property, currently functioning as an executive office building. The interior is not open to the public. The exterior remains a recognizable feature of downtown Raleigh's small surviving stock of pre-1800 dwellings.
The White-Holman House is documented in the Library of Congress's Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and is a contributing structure to Raleigh's historic-resources inventory. It is the rough contemporary of Haywood Hall (1799), the other major surviving pre-1800 dwelling in central Raleigh.
Sources
- https://raleighhistoric.org/items/show/8
- https://www.loc.gov/item/nc0381
- https://localwiki.org/raleigh/White-Holman_House
- https://www.midtownmag.com/raleighs-haunted-history/
- https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-cities/top-10-most-haunted-places/top-10-most-haunted-locations-in-raleigh-nc/
Phantom footsteps on the back staircase'Step…clack' sound pattern (paired footfall and wooden tap)
According to Raleigh ghost-tour literature including US Ghost Adventures' 'Top 10 Most Haunted Locations in Raleigh' and Midtown Magazine's 'Raleigh's Haunted History,' residents and visitors over multiple generations have described hearing the distinctive sound and rhythm of a peg-legged figure walking up and down the back staircase of the White-Holman House. The standard verbal rendering is a paired 'step…clack' — one normal footfall and one wooden tap — repeating in a slow walking cadence.
The story is the central piece of Raleigh folklore associated with the building. Multiple commercial walking-tour operators include the White-Holman House on their downtown routes, and the peg-leg legend is referenced in the city's local-folklore writeups, including LocalWiki's entry for the building.
There is no widely circulated identification of who the peg-legged figure is supposed to be; period research, including the Library of Congress's HABS entry, does not record a documented amputee resident. As local historians have noted, the peg-leg narrative lacks specific historical corroboration and functions primarily as oral tradition that enhances the building's reputation. Treat the story as enduring local folklore rather than a documented haunting.
This venue is a private executive office building and not open to the public — appreciate from the public sidewalk on New Bern Place only.
Notable Entities
'The peg-legged ghost' (folklore — no historical identification)
