TRINITY, N.C. — At 32,000 square feet and seven bedrooms, Linbrook Hall is one of the largest privately owned homes in the southeastern United States. You can find it located on the Linbrook Heritage Estate in the heart of North Carolina.
What You Need To Know
- Linbrook Hall is located on the Linbrook Heritage Estate property in Trinity, North Carolina, and it has over two centuries of history
- Jenny Carpenter retired from education and decided she wanted to work at Linbrook Hall after going on a tour with her friends four years ago
- Linbrook Hall is open for guided tours only
Jenny Carpenter has served as a tour guide at Linbrook Hall for four years.
“The Christmas before I was going to retire, I came on a tour with a friend of mine and I was so enthralled with the story,” Carpenter said.
Mr. and Mrs. Neal are the owners of the Linbrook Estate, and their ancestry on the property traces back as far as 250 years.
“It’s 500 acres and 250 acres are farmland,” Carpenter said.
Linbrook Hall is the centerpiece of the estate and represents more than just luxury living.
“The favorite part for me is the story behind the house. The rags-to-riches, the giving house, how the Neal's take everything that’s brought into this house and give back. Whether it’s given back to the community or nonprofits or St. Jude's,” Carpenter said.
It's all part of how Linbrook Hall got its nickname, "The Giving House."
“It’s 250 years of heritage in this area. We have a lot of people who come and say they didn't even know it was here,” Carpenter said.
While the Linbrook Heritage Estate dates back to over two centuries, Linbrook Hall dates back not even two decades. Still, take a walk around and it will feel as if you have traveled back in time.
“It is a 19th century Greek revival period home. The Neals traveled all over the country and the world finding the furnishings and looking at the architecture to design the house,” Carpenter said.
The name of the estate was no coincidence either.
“If you noticed when you came in that there is a brook right in the driveway and he decided he wanted to name the house Linbrook after Linda and the brook,” Carpenter said.
On the estate's property, visitors can also find the Historic Hoover House, the John Deere Tractor Museum and the Antique Industrial Museum, but it's what the estate and the people behind it represent that makes it a true hidden gem.
“It is the most wonderful example of kindhearted good-hearted people who use their success to come significant, significant in giving to others. It’s the prime example of how the world becomes a better place because you share what you have,” Carpenter said.