Built in 1910 for mill manager John Westbrook, and his wife Ella, the Westbrook-Sanders House is a two-story frame front gambrel Dutch Colonial Revival located in the Villa Place National Register Historic District in downtown Rocky Mount. The property has been in the Sanders family since 1944.

From the front door entry parlor, two French doors lead to the central dogleg stair with a reeded square newel post, turned spindles, and beadboard wainscot with wood floors located throughout the house. The living room features a corner Colonial Revival mantel with curved pilasters and overmantel mirror with a small bay window to the right. The dining room Colonial Revival mantel also features an overmantel mirror, ionic columns, a bracketed shelf, and brown majolica tile surround. Beadboard wainscoting continues in the dining room with picture rail. Leading into the kitchen is a butler’s pantry with glass front doors above and four-paneled doors below. A rear porch was enclosed with six-pane casement windows and beadboard wall and ceilings with chair rail.

The downstairs master runs the length of the left rear of the house, formerly a wraparound porch converted in the 1930’s to a downstairs master with attached bath. Upstairs the center hall leads to three bedrooms, with a hall bath located to the left of the stair. A second story sleeping porch is located off the rear bedroom with six-pane casement windows, beadboard wainscoting and chair rail. The bedrooms each have wide beaded baseboard and picture rail.

The exterior is clad in a later asbestos siding. To the rear of the property sits a historic double door brick single bay garage. Six-panel doors and one over one windows are found throughout the house, except in the later enclosed porches.

Lived in until recently, a complete rehabilitation is needed including structural and roof assessment, repairs to plaster walls, updates to mechanical, plumbing and HVAC, and updates to the kitchen and baths. The original wood clapboard siding may exist under the asbestos siding, but careful removal would be necessary to ensure safety. A contributing structure in the Village Place National Register Historic District, the property is eligible for historic preservation tax credits.

Rocky Mount is split between Edgecombe and Nash counties. As of 2020 the city’s population was 54,341, making it the 20th-most populated city in NC at the time. Rocky Mount is home to the revitalized Rocky Mount Mills, located on the Falls of the beautiful Tar River. The Rocky Mount Mills brings together residential, commercial, cultural, and entertainment amenities in one unique destination. It features a coffee shop, restaurants, microbreweries, condos, workspaces, and indoor and outdoor event venues. Also located in downtown is the Historic Rocky Mount Train Station, which provides Amtrak services all across the east coast. Rocky Mount is located 45 miles east of Raleigh.