Mr. Green added wings to Windy Oaks sometime in the 60’s and added another front door to the home for family use only. At peace in his country abode, he spent most of his days, including his last, on his tractor, minding his gardens which were located across Old Lystra Road. In addition to remodeling the home, Paul had an old tobacco barn relocated to the property, similar to the one he enjoyed in Greenwood Acres, and there he wrote many of his later works, taking respite from a bustling home filled with four children. The cabin is still located on the back lawn and is a favorite backdrop for many lovely wedding photos. His original Greenwood Acres cabin was relocated to the North Carolina Botanical Gardens and currently houses the Paul Green Museum. When you tour, be sure to check out the the first editions and signed copies of Mr. Green’s writings as well as several artifacts that were found onsite including Mr. Green’s famous Pepsi bottles as he often wrote while snacking on a banana and Pepsi.

Built in the 1890’s, Old Lystra Inn, then called Windy Oaks Farm, is located on the original wagon trail between Pittsboro and Chapel Hill and served as a public guest house upon construction. You can still see the path the trail took along the picket fence and into the woods on the north side of the tent as little grows on the compacted soil.

Paul Green, acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning author and civil rights activist, purchased Windy Oaks in 1941 but didn’t move in until 1965 when construction noise around his central Chapel Hill home in Greenwood Acres disrupted his writing. He is perhaps most famous for developing the symphonic outdoor drama and wrote The Lost Colony which has been performed on Roanoke Island, NC every year since 1937, with the exception of interruptions during World
War II and Covid.

Exploring the Legacy of Paul Green