Real Estate

The Improbable Story of How Nina Simone's Childhood Home Was Saved

The North Carolina house was likely to be destroyed before a group of artists banded together to preserve the historic landmark
small home with trees around it
An exterior look at Nina Simone's childhood home.Photo: Nancy Pierce

Singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist Nina Simone, who died in 2003, made a lasting impact on the U.S., and now four artists are working to make sure her legacy lives on by saving her childhood home in Tryon, North Carolina. The home, a three-room, 660-square-foot clapboard pier and beam house, is where Simone—born Eunice Waymon—taught herself to play piano by ear at the age of three. It had been vacant for 20 years, until going on the market in December 2016. That’s when artist Adam Pendleton received an email from Laura Hoptman, a curator of contemporary art at The Museum of Modern Art, letting him know that Simone’s childhood home was for sale. “Laura and her husband, Verne Dawson, are connected to that part of western North Carolina,” says Pendleton. “She asked if I knew anyone who might be interested in purchasing the home. My initial reaction was to brainstorm and think of people who might have an interest in saving this historical site.” When Hoptman mentioned that she had also emailed artist Rashid Johnson, Pendleton had an epiphany. “I had an aha moment and said, 'Wait a minute, we could purchase this house together. It could be a collective act, a collective gesture.'” With Johnson on board, they recruited artists Ellen Gallagher and Julie Mehretu. “We both agreed that it would be a more meaningful gesture if other artists were involved,” he says. Together the artists purchased the home for $95,000 in March 2017.

Inside of the childhood home of Nina Simone (who was born Eunice Waymon). The furnishings are not original but were added by recent owners.

Photo: Nancy Pierce

Pendleton says the timing of the sale played a role in his desire to help save the house. “At that particular moment, which was right after the election, I was asking myself very critical questions about American culture and what it is,” he says. “I think Nina Simone is an integral part of American culture and how complicated and rich it is. I really wanted to do something to keep alive her music and also the ideas that she represents.”

A look inside of the 660-square-foot space.

Photo: Nancy Pierce

The artists will have help as they move forward with the project. The home has been identified as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and according to Tiffany Tolbert, field officer for the National Trust, the organization will work to create recommendations for rehabilitation, preservation, and future stewardship. “All of the decisions will be made by the artists,” she says. “Our work will be to pull together these recommendations on what’s feasible, what’s preservation sensitive, and what’s sustainable for the future of the property.”

Due to the awareness raised by the artists, the home has been identified as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Nancy Pierce

In addition to the assistance from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the artists will be aided by the World Monuments Fund, the Nina Simone Project, and the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission. ”I don’t want to create a relic or a monument, in the sense that it only represents the past or is only related to the past," says Pendleton. “I want the house to be a site that is somehow integral to our present moment. The model that most excites me is it somehow being a place where artists come to work so it becomes a living history. It becomes about examining how the past influences the present and influences the future.”