History

The main house is perhaps the finest example of high-style Greek Revival architecture in Duplin County, an area distinctive for its wealth of mid-nineteenth century Greek Revival houses and churches. It was built by Needham Whitfield Herring (1814-1887) in 1853. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was a physician, planter and Presbyterian minister. Three of his hand-written journals still exist and include journal entries for medical services, and materials for building the house. His gravesite is on the property.

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William Benjamin Murray (1874-1943) purchased the home and 125 acres in 1916. In the early 1920’s, the construction of a new Kenansville-Warsaw highway isolated the homestead. The Murrays decided to move the house approximately 300 yards to face the new (current) highway. The house was put on logs and cable was tied around it. One mule pulled it, it took about 30 days, and the family lived in it while it was being moved. The Murrays were frugal and are credited with maintaining the original integrity of the home over the years. To this day, there are still no closets.

Lynn Dail Davis purchase the home and 5+ acres in 1990. It was in disrepair and had substantial termite damage.  Under the guidance of Lynn’s brother, Henry Dail, renovations began in the fall of 1990. The home was opened to the public as a traditional bed and breakfast inn with 2 rooms in the spring of 1994, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places that year. Over time, the Carriage House was built and two additional historic, Greek Revival homes were moved to the property to save them from demolition. The Whitehead-Blount House built in 1955, and the Southerland House built in 1858 both serve as long-term rentals.

Today, the Murray House Country Inn complex is located on 9 acres in the countryside
just outside of historic Kenansville. This tranquil setting includes an English garden with over 400 boxwoods, magnolia trees, and century old pecan and oak trees.