Körner's Folly
America
has certainly seen its share of strange and unusual architecture: Winchester
House, Hearst Castle, even the original White Castle burger stands have all
contributed, in their way, to the oddities that one can find along the highways
and byways. But few are as adept at masking their bizarre souls as well as
Kerner's Folly, in Kernersville, North Carolina.
Kerner's Folly was built in the 1870s by Jule Gilmer Körner, who ran a
successful business as an interior designer, decorator, and painter. Better
known in the area as a painter of Bull Durham murals throughout the Piedmont, Körner
planned his home as a combination bachelor's quarters and artist's studio, but
quickly evolved it into such a convoluted design that his cousin dubbed it a
folly, a label Körner immediately embraced, to the point of setting the name in
tile outside the front door. And thus it has been known to this day.
Körner originally intended the Folly as a temporary living quarters while he
built his "serious" home on an adjoining property. But those plans
went awry as his fascination with the house's possibilities took hold. Even
though the Folly was technically finished in 1880, Körner persevered with
ongoing renovations and revisions. It was a work-in-progress from the beginning:
when Jule married Polly Alice Masten in 1886, portions of the stables and
attached barns were enclosed to create nurseries and sewing rooms, and the
stables moved across the street. Even though the exterior is surprisingly
mundane (by Victorian standards), the resulting eccentric interior, still
considered "incomplete" when Körner died in 1924, offers 22 rooms
spread out over three floors and seven levels, with ceiling heights ranging from
six feet to 25 feet.
The attic eventually went through a major overhaul, with its conversion from
Jule's studio to what is considered the first privately owned little theatre.
With Jule in charge of the sets and his wife Alice in charge of costumes, local
children continued performances over the next several years in what was to be
called Cupid’s Park. The name was derived from the multitude of Caesar Milch's
paintings of cupids adorning the theatre’s walls and ceiling. The entire
community was invited and encouraged to attend these performances on a
continuing basis. The house still offers performances of children's plays of the
time.
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The Folly is a dizzying amalgam that defies simple description. It is said
that no two doorways are exactly alike. It has 15 fireplaces of differing
designs of American Encaustic Tiles. Its cubbyholes and trap doors fascinate;
its pivoting "windows" and other openings anchor a unique air
distribution system. It is complete with a room fireproof by 1890's standards.
Its murals and artworks add a sense of fancy. Children-sized rooms give way to
an airy, elegant, high-ceilinged Reception Room.
Körner’s Folly is a home chock-full of contrasts and comparisons. It has
welcoming public spaces, and hidden nooks and crannies. Superlatives fail; from
tile to woodwork, brick to decorative murals by German master Caesar Milch, the
Folly is truly like no other home in the world. And it is one whose charms and
enchantments deserve to be shared by generations yet to come.
Tours of the Folly are conducted daily. The house is listed on the National
Register of Historic Sites.