Governor Clyde R. Hoey House Photo courtesy of Uptown Shelby Association

Governor Clyde R. Hoey and his wife built this Colonial Revival stuccoed prefabricated house in 1920. Lumber and skilled labor were in short supply in the years following World War I. Answering the demand for housing at this time, prefabricated houses ordered from catalogs such as Sears, Roebuck and Company became very popular. Pre-cut lumber in the house kits made skilled carpentry unnecessary and solved the problem of lumber shortages. Distinctive features of the house include its hipped roof, projecting end bays and the entry with a balcony portico, side lights and semicircular fanlight above the door. The grounds of the house include a pergola, fountain and fish pool.

Governor Clyde R. Hoey Photo courtesy of North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction

Clyde R. Hoey, born in 1877, had a gift for public speaking and was described as a dignified prosecutor who wore a swallowtail coat. Although he was a political ally of his brother-in-law O. Max Gardner, Hoey and Gardner were often rivals in Judge James L. Webb's courtroom early in their careers. Hoey entered politics as a young man and became a key member of the Shelby Dynasty. He was just 21 years old when he was first elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives. Hoey was reelected two years later in 1900 and was elevated to the State senate in 1902. He was appointed in 1919 to fill E.Y. Webb's unexpired Congressional term when Webb was named a Federal Judge. Hoey's term as Congressman from 1919 to 1921 coincided with Gardner's term as North Carolina's lieutenant governor from 1917 to 1921. Hoey was elected as governor of North Carolina in 1937, for which he served one term, and then served as a U.S. Senator from 1944 to 1954. Hoey spent many of his last years in Washington, but returned to his Marion Street residence frequently and lived here until his death in 1954.

Governor Clyde R. Hoey House is located at 602 W. Marion St. in the Central Shelby Historic District. It is a private residence, not open to the public.