Berry O'Kelly Historic District

Method is a neighborhood in Raleigh, North Carolina. A former village it was established by emancipated African Americans after the American Civil War. It contains several historic buildings.^[2] It includes the Berry O'Kelly Historic District an 8.4 acres (3.4 ha) historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.^[1]

Berry O'Kelly Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
St. James AME Church
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Location	512, 514, and 520 Method Rd., Raleigh, North Carolina
Coordinates	35°47′34″N 78°41′40″W
Area	8.4 acres (3.4 ha)
Built	1860
NRHP reference No.	100000941[1]
Added to NRHP	May 1, 2017

History

The settlement which became Method was founded by two half-brothers, Jesse Mason and Isaac O'Kelly in 1872, based on a purchase of 69 acres outside Raleigh. The largely wooded area was sold in plots to Black families, with more than fifty households settled by 1900. The village had by then retail and postal facilities, and two railway stops^[3] on the Norfolk and Southern Railroad.^[4] The area was initially known as "Mason's Village" and later also known as Slab Town or Planktown (these latter names given by nearby white community members) and Masonville. The name "Method Village" was promoted by local business leader Berry O'Kelly, who had moved from Chapel Hill at the age of 10 and grew up there. As of 1894, there were three schools, and in that year O'Kelly sponsored the development of what became the Berry O’Kelly Training School, an eight-building complex covering elementary to high school, which attracted support from the Sears-Roebuck Foundation (it is now a community center). There was also a church, Saint James A.M.E.^[3]

Method Road was built in 1923. The village was annexed by Raleigh in 1960. A plan to widen a highway through the school site was defeated and the school and then the community received historic designation.^[3] A park in the community is named for educator and civil rights leader Harveleigh Monte Rivera White.^[5]

Historic District

The Historic District includes the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1923 and extended to the rear in 1999. It is a red brick Gothic Revival building, with brick laid in running bond.^[6]

It includes the grave of Berry O'Kelly, with a gravestone giving March 14, 1931 as date of death.^[6]

See also

• List of Registered Historic Places in North Carolina

References

1. "Weekly list". National Park Service. May 12, 2017.
2. "Tour | Historic Method". Raleigh Historic.
3. "A Legacy of Generosity: The History of Method". WALTER Magazine. March 1, 2021.
4. "Method Community | Raleigh, NC 27607". www.visitraleigh.com.
5. "Method Community Park". raleighnc.gov.
6. Mary Ruffin Hanbury; Jeffrey Harris (2016). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Berry O'Kelly Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved June 17, 2018. With photos.