Mordecai House
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Mordecai House
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| Location | Mimosa St., Raleigh, North Carolina |
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| Coordinates | 35°47′33.27″N 78°38′0.14″W / 35.7925750°N 78.6333722°WCoordinates: 35°47′33.27″N 78°38′0.14″W / 35.7925750°N 78.6333722°W |
| Area | 3.9 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Architectural style | Hall and Parlor/Federal/Greek Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 70000474 |
| Added to NRHP | July 1, 1970 |
The Mordecai House (also called the Mordecai Plantation Manor or Mordecai Mansion), built in 1785, is a registered historical landmark and museum in Raleigh, North Carolina that is the centerpiece of Mordecai Historic Park, adjacent to the Historic Oakwood neighborhood. It is the oldest residence in Raleigh on its original foundation. In addition to the house, the Park includes the birthplace of President Andrew Johnson, the Ellen Mordecai Garden, the Badger-Iredell Law Office, Allen Kitchen and St. Mark's Chapel, a popular site for weddings. It is located in the Mordecai Place Historic District.
The oldest portion of the house was built by Joel Lane for his son, Henry. At one time, the plantation house was the center of a 5,000-acre (20 km2) plantation, one of the largest in Wake County. Lane is considered a founder of Raleigh, as 1,000 acres was sold from his plantation as the site of the city.
The house was named after Moses Mordecai, whose first wife, Margaret Lane, had inherited it from her father Henry. After she died, Mordecai married her sister Ann Lane. In 1824, Mordecai hired William Nichols, State Architect at the time, to enlarge the house. The addition was considered a significant work of Nichols, who had also been responsible for remodeling the original building containing the State House. With the addition of the four new rooms in 1826, the Mordecai house was transformed into a Greek Revival mansion.
The Mordecai family, descended from immigrant grandfather Moses Mordecai (1707–1781) of Bonn, Germany, became one of the original three hundred Jewish families in the United States and one of the few of Ashkenazic Jewish descent. The family members were prominent in local and state affairs. Jacob Mordecai, Moses' father, founded a girls' school in Warrenton, North Carolina. A prominent lawyer, Moses Mordecai was a member of the 1805 Court of Conference. With his first wife Margaret, Moses Mordecai had two sons, Henry and Jacob, and one daughter, Ellen. He and his second wife Ann had a daughter, named Margaret after his late wife, Ann's sister. Henry Mordecai became a prosperous planter at Mordecai House and was elected to the State Legislature. His daughter Margaret Mordecai married and inherited the mansion; her descendants owned and occupied Mordecai House until 1967.
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