A friendly folly

The strangest house in the world continues to enchant the Triad

by Ginny Gaylor

If you’ve ever renovated your home, then you likely remember wondering if the process would ever end. Now imagine living through more than 130 years of additions and renovations and still not having it be complete.

Körner’s Folly, one of the Triad’s most famous homes, has been the source of constant revision and renovation since the 19th century. As the second decade of the 21st century begins, this unusual residence once again is preparing to be reinvented.

History of a house

Construction on Körner’s Folly, once described by Preservation magazine as “the strangest house in the world,” began in 1878. While it technically was completed just two years later, Jule Gilmer Körner — the home’s owner and designer — constantly tinkered with it, making changes and additions for the remainder of his life. Apparently, he still felt that the house was incomplete when he died in 1924.

Körner, grandson of Kernersville town founder Joseph Kerner, had a promising career as the head of a growing interior design business when he began construction on his bachelor’s residence. He built the home to include his own living quarters, as well as an artists’ studio, office, billiards room, carriage house and stables.

The home was known as Körner’s Folly from the beginning. According to local lore, one of his cousins told one of the builders, “Twenty years from now, this house will surely be Jule Körner’s folly.” Thinking that it might cause a family argument, the worker repeated the comment to Körner, who actually found the idea charming. Not only did he decide to name the home Körner’s Folly, but he even had the name set in the tiles outside his front door.

Preserving a landmark

The first renovation of Körner’s Folly began in 1886, just six years after the home was built. Körner was set to marry Polly Alice Masten and needed additional living quarters, so the carriage house and stable area were converted and the stables were moved across the street.

Eleven years later, the top-level room was significantly altered to create a children’s theater for Kernersville youth.

“Körner wanted to provide free culture and music and acting lessons,” director Bruce Frankel says of the addition, which is widely considered to be the first private little theater in the U.S.

“There aren’t many little theaters left with this kind of rich history,” he adds. “It’s an incredible venue to see something.”

Today, the space is used by the Kernersville Little Theatre as a venue for its productions. Frankel sees both the children’s reactions to and interactions with the home as the most exciting part of his involvement with Körner’s Folly.

“Watching children come through the house — they get so excited,” he says. “It’s a great way for them to experience history, by walking through and seeing it firsthand.”

But even with the addition of the children’s theater, Körner’s Folly wasn’t complete. Later renovations altered the sizes of rooms, ceiling heights, stair widths, doors and window designs. The home that visitors see today contains 22 rooms on three floors and seven levels. Ceilings range in height from five-and-a-half to 25 feet. Almost every room boasts a decorative mural by German artist Caesar Milch. Other enchanting attributes include 15 fireplaces, each with a different design; ornate mantels and woodwork; and a winding staircase that rises 100 steps.

The folly’s future

According to Frankel, the time has come once again for Körner’s Folly to undergo renovations.

“The home is deteriorating every day, and we need to aggressively not just patch the house but also follow restoration technology and re-create the house back to its original glamour,” he says.

Plans are to stabilize the house structurally and then focus on restoring any interior items such as faded artwork and damaged woodwork and interior plaster. A membership campaign also has been launched to coincide with the most recent renovations.

“We are looking for 1,880 members, to signify the year when the house was first finished,” Frankel says.

Because the type of structural renovations needed are so extensive, Frankel describes it as an ongoing project.

“With such a massive undertaking, we want to make sure we do it right,” he says. “We are in the process of working with specific structural engineers to determine how to move forward.”

And while it’s impossible to know what will be discovered once renovations get going this time around, what’s evident is that Jule Körner’s home will continue to delight and astound visitors for years to come. 

Ginny Gaylor is a freelance writer based in Greensboro.

If you go

Körner’s Folly is located at 413 S. Main St. in Kernersville. The home is open for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. It’s also open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Tickets cost $10 per person for adults and $6 for children ages six to 18; kids six and younger get in free.

To learn more about this Triad treasure, call (336) 996-7922 or visit www.kornersfolly.com.