Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Rev. D. F. Lowry's granddaughter, Rose Lowry Odom, has been busy over the past couple of years. She has been delving into her grandfather's life and his house. The house was built in the 1930s and has now been transformed into Pembroke's first bed and breakfast.

The grand opening of the new bed and breakfast was marked by a reception attended by some of Pembroke's leaders and members of the community.

It is a three-story, five-bedroom brick house that stands at 504 Lowry Street. This charming historic house stands across the street from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Four of the bedrooms are upstairs and one is on the ground floor. There are two bathrooms upstairs, and two downstairs. The third floor is an attic. The house has an open, airy feel with no less than 46 windows of varying sizes.

Rev Lowry was an important member of the Robeson County community. He was born in 1881 and is credited with establishing 10 churches in the Pembroke area. Lowry built the house in 1930 for his family.

The house has been vacant for years, while Odom and her husband live in San Diego. In 2008, the couple started renovating the house. There was much work that needed to be done.

"This has been blood, sweat and tears, three years," she said.

At the opening reception, guests wandered through the house looking at Rev. Lowry's possessions and enjoying hors d'oeuvres.

Odom said "the people who knew the house as a boarded-up abandoned building would be surprised at how it looks today."