Coolmore, constructed between 1857 and 1861 for Dr. Joseph John Lawrence, is widely regarded as one of the finest and most complete examples of antebellum Italianate villa architecture in North Carolina. Located near Tarboro in Edgecombe County, the mansion was designed by the prominent Baltimore architect E.G. Lind. The house is characterized by its asymmetrical two-story frame, wide overhanging eaves with ornate bracketed cornices, a prominent central cupola, and sprawling porches decorated with delicate, curvilinear woodwork. Its exceptional architectural integrity reflects the romantic "country villa" style popularized by Andrew Jackson Downing, serving as a physical manifestation of the immense wealth generated by Edgecombe County's antebellum agricultural boom.

The interior of Coolmore is equally spectacular, featuring some of the most sophisticated decorative plasterwork and trompe-l'il wall and ceiling paintings surviving in the American South, executed by the itinerant German artist George Kennebach. Beyond the main house, the property's significance is enhanced by an remarkably intact collection of contemporary outbuildings, including a carriage house, smokehouse, detached kitchen, Dr. Lawrence's medical office, and rare surviving quarters for enslaved laborers. This cohesive plantation complex provides an invaluable, multi-dimensional window into the social hierarchy, labor systems, and domestic life of the pre-Civil War South. Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1978, Coolmore remains an outstanding monument of architectural artistry and Southern agrarian history.