The Bost-Burrus House: A Family Saga

Since its construction, the Bost-Burrus house has always made a statement. By his own hands, Elias Bost took care and considerable skill to erect a home for his family, just down the road from where he helped built his family church. The exterior gave only a few clues to the craftsmanship inside, that only gained in appreciation as it passed down in the family from one generation to the next. Several additions have altered the look of the house but never its stature. Survival has not been easy for the structure. Built in the early decades of the 19th century, it barely stood by the early decades of the 21st. Only a massive effort to save it, a promise Leroy Lail made to his mother, rescued the house from falling down. Standing strong again, the images and stories associated with the house tell intriguing stories about the times and the struggles of its inhabitants. As one of Catawba County’s oldest homes, the images of the Bost-Burrus house contained within tell us fascinating stories of what it took to build, what it took to inhabit and what it took to preserve.”