Montfort Hall is a home and registered historic landmark located in the Boylan Heights

Boylan Heights (Raleigh, North Carolina)

Boylan Heights is a historic neighborhood in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district on July 29, 1985...

 neighborhood of Raleigh

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. It is one of the few mansions in Raleigh that survived during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 era. The house was built for William Montfort Boylan in 1858 and is an example of Italianate architecture

Italianate architecture

The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...

. The centerpiece of the house's interior is a rotunda

Rotunda (architecture)

A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...

 supported by four Corinthian

Corinthian order

The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...

 columns and lit by a stained glass window located on the roof. Montfort Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1978 and is a Raleigh Historic Landmark.

History

William Montfort Boylan was the youngest son of prominent Raleigh businessman, William Boylan. The younger Boylan was born in the former home of Joel Lane

Joel Lane House

The Joel Lane House, built between 1760 and 1770, is a historic restored home and museum located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is the oldest dwelling in Raleigh and contains collections of 18th century artifacts and period furnishings. The museum grounds include a detached kitchen, formal city...

 after his father had purchased it along with the Wakefield Plantation

Plantation

A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

 in 1818. In addition to Wakefield, the senior Boylan owned plantations in neighboring Johnston

Johnston County, North Carolina

-Major highways:* Interstate 40* Interstate 95* U.S. Highway 70* U.S. Highway 301* U.S. Highway 701-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 121,965 people, 46,595 households, and 33,688 families residing in the county. The population density was 154 people per square mile . There were...

 and Chatham

Chatham County, North Carolina

Chatham County is a county located in the Piedmont area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 49,329. Its county seat is Pittsboro.-History:...

 counties and in Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, making him one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina. Boylan deeded his son William 100 acre (0.404686 km²) on the west side of Raleigh in 1855.

William Montfort Boylan chose William Percival to design his home in 1858. In addition to designing Montfort Hall, some of Percival's work included renovations to the State Capitol

North Carolina State Capitol

The North Carolina State Capitol is the main house of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Housing the offices of the Governor of North Carolina, it is located in the state capital of Raleigh on Union Square at One East Edenton Street. The cornerstone of the Greek Revival building was...

 and designing the New East and New West dormitories at the University of North Carolina

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 in Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...

. William Montfort Boylan died in 1899 and the land around Montfort Hall was sold and subdivided as Boylan Heights, one of Raleigh's first planned suburban neighborhoods. Since then, Montfort Hall has passed through a succession of owners, but the building still retains much of its original character.