Saved Property
210 W. Fisher Avenue
Fisher Park Historic District
The Armfield-Morrison House, ca. 1912
Cross gables; two front bays; partially enclosed wraparound front porch supported by fluted Corinthian columns.
— Fisher Park Historic District, National Register nomination
This distinctive house is located on the Downtown Greenway. It had a variety of interesting owners in first 100 years. By the end of the 20th century, it ended up in the hands of two of Greensboro’s best known business leaders. They left it to their temple, which gave it to the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, which sold it to the Fund. In 2022, the Fund sold it to an owner who agreed to restore it as an owner-occupied, single-family home.
The original owners were Joseph Henry Armfield (1876-1949) and Vivian Ann Pegram Armfield (1888-1976). Joseph was local secretary of the U.S. Civil Service Commission and superintendent of mails. They bought the property in 1909; the address didn't appear in the city directory until 1912. The Armfields apparently rented the house out before making it their residence. Their tenant was Lewis Herbert Martin (1872-1966), secretary of the YMCA.
The Armfields lived in the house until selling it in 1917 to William Worth Morrison (1887-1970), president and manager of the Morrison-Neese Furniture Company. He and his wife, Daisy Deborah Gray Morrison (1883-1947), lived in the house until they moved to Asheville in 1946. Worth was a graduate of North Carolina State College. Daisy had been a music teacher at the high school in Morven, Worth's hometown. They came to Greensboro in 1915, the year he opened his store. He operated it until his retirement in 1945. He received the Cavalier Award in 1939 for his contributions to the industry.
The house was bought in 1946 by James H. Witherspoon and Betty N. Witherspoon. James was assistant cashier at Security National Bank. They sold it in 1949 to Dorothy Bernice Thomas Conyers (1876-1972). Dorothy, a widow, owned the house until she died in 1972. She was a veteran of WWI, serving as an Army nurse in France and Germany. She was awarded four Bronze Stars. She later served as director of the Sternberger Women's and Children's Hospital in Greensboro. On her death, ownership passed to her daughter, Mary Stuart Hayden Spicer (1986-1987), who lived in Florida. She sold the house in 1977.
The buyers in 1977 were the son of the original owners, the Rev. Joseph H. Armfield Jr. (1909-1989), and his wife, Elizabeth Springs Phifer Armfield (1911-2006). James Jr. was a graduate of Duke University law school and Dallas Theological Seminary. He practiced law in Greensboro before becoming a minister, serving churches in Mississippi, Tennessee and in High Point. He lived at 220 W. Fisher and rented out the house his parents had owned. Elizabeth sold the house in 1990.
The house had two owners in the 1990s before it was bought by two prominent Greensboro businessmen, Charles E. "Buddy" Weill (1924-2020) and Stanley Milton Frank (1914-2006). Weill was one of Greensboro’s most prominent businessmen for decades. After serving in the Army in World War II, he became president of his father’s insurance firm, Robbins & Weill, and established Weill Investment Company. He was one of the organizers of Well-Spring Retirement Community, where he was living when he died at age 95. Frank came to Greensboro in 1936 to work for Carolina By Products, a rendering company. He bought controlling interest in 1953 and chaired the board until 1988. He was a major donor to Guilford College, UNCG and Wake Forest University. He learned to fly in 1956 and served on the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority for more than 30 years, chairing the board for 20 years. He was a founder of the Greensboro Sports Council and the original Greensboro Generals professional hockey team.
They gave a 50 percent interest to Temple Green Street in 2002. After their deaths, the house was donated to the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro in 2021. The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund bought it in 2022 and sold it to the current owner with a preservation agreement.