Here we see the Scales' House in Hamilton Lakes. The 11,000 square foot mansion looks deceptively small from the front view (seen above). Nestled between Lakewood Drive and Lake Hamilton, this Georgian beauty was built in the 1920's. Lawyer and developer A.M. Scales relocated from Irving Park to Hamilton Lakes to develop a community of upscale homes like his own. Between the Great Depression and World War II, new construction was nice but not quite as grandiose as Mr. Scales had envisioned. Mr. Scales was the first mayor of Hamilton Lakes, which was annexed by Greensboro in 1957.
The Scales family had quite an interesting history. Son Junius Scales grew up in this home with servants and other luxuries. He attended the University of North Carolina where he was actively involved in the communist party and became the "only American Communist Party member to serve prison time after violating a 1940 law making it illegal to belong to any organization that advanced the violent overthrow of the U. S. government" (The Seattle Times). At The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Wilson Library has 7.5 linear feet of shelf space (approximately 1,000 items) of archived material related to Hamilton Lake's Junius Irving Scales. The Scales' House comes not only with a hefty price tag, but also with a hefty amount of history!
Quite a legacy.
Posted by: Bill B | Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 07:06 AM
I agree with you, it's an awesome house with an awesome history.
You'd need a battalion of servants just to keep it clean!
Posted by: Hilda | Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 08:37 AM
I lived across Hamilton Lake from this house...at the time we called it the Dinkle Mansion, because they took it over after the Scales. One unique thing about the house is that the side facing the lake mirrors the front exactly. Also, there is a full ballroom upstairs with a pull-out bandstand (there used to be)....and as a child we thought it was haunted, because of a white-clad figure roaming through the rooms, but it was actually just a nurse that cared for someone in the house. It is truly beautiful and I am glad to see sucha great photo.
Posted by: Wendy Lavine | Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 09:15 AM
A beautiful old home.
Posted by: Halcyon | Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 10:01 AM
A very lovely photo and a fascinating history. I wish others would write remembrances of the house as Wendy did above. There must be scads of stories about this place.
Posted by: Jane Mitchell | Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 11:21 AM
So beautiful house and great comments. The son should be sent to Russia on excursion, instead of prison, his commi-ideas would be winded away so fast.
Posted by: Irina | Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 03:33 PM
I grew up on Plummer Drive and one of the Dinkle girls used to babysit us. We were frequently allowed to play in the Dinkle home. Mrs. Dinkle suffered from a debilitating disease or maybe a stroke but loed young children. they had an awesome maid "Squeaky"that fixed us cookies. The best house to "trick or treat" from but scary walking there as it was all woods until you go to their home. the house also had a reflecting pool that they allowed us to "swim" in it was only three feet or so deep. the upstairs had a play room with a pull out stage not a ballroom that I recall. we always thought the "maid" quarters were haunted and would run screaming down the steps when we would hear a noise. Wonderful memories of the Dinkle home.
Posted by: Kathy Montana Edwards | Saturday, October 30, 2010 at 06:22 PM
My grandfather, H. L. Coble owned this home for many years after Scales. My Mom told me so many stories...I have been in the house several times over the years, and even took my daughter to see the "house behind all the stories" my Mom told. My grandmother spent quite a bit of time searching, Dinkle did not believe in banks, she never found money...but many secret passages and my mother and all her siblings (8) always said the house was haunted, and all the stories stayed the same no matter which aunt or uncle I spoke with about them, so who really knows?
The TRUE FRONT of the house faces the lake, and the back does match and is the driveway, road side. There use to be horse stables, tennis courts, a large cement fish pond and the servant quarters were above the garage. My mom loved the pull out stage, and my grandfather bricked the bottom of the lake and put up a surrounding walls...the lake became the pool.
I drive by when I am in Greensboro, it is not the same since they built the next door house just about on top of it...but so many memories of the stories I have heard my whole life.
Posted by: Kelly Coble Douglas Beane | Friday, November 25, 2011 at 11:10 PM
Kelly: My husband and I are about to start out fourth year with this DAILY PHOTO effort. We LOVE it when people connected to the people and places of Greensboro leave comments like yours. Thank you so much. Of particular interest to you will be the ABC Wednesday posts when, every Wed., we feature the people and places of Greensboro. Please continue to stop by once in a while and comment. ANY leads you have to photos and topics that would be of interest to the community at large are ALWAYS encouraged!
Janis ( David)
Posted by: GreensboroDailyPhoto | Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 10:00 PM
Thank you Kelly for the lovely picture of our home. We love the stories from people and families of the past. Our family and grandchildren love this place and are generating memories of this time in the home. It is a priviledge to live here and be a part of it's history. Christmas is one of my favorite times and the house is decorated with 5 large Christmas trees, many Santas and Snowmen that reveal my love of the Season. We would love to meet anyone who has past history or memories of this wonderful home.
Posted by: Laura Hahn | Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 11:55 AM