The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is pleased to announce that one district boundary increase, two districts and four individual properties across the state have been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The following properties were reviewed by the North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee and subsequently nominated by the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer and forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register for consideration for listing in the National Register., which is maintained by the National Park Service. Nominations must be approved by the federal government through the Keeper of the National Register.
“North Carolina's leadership in the nation’s historic preservation movement has been vital in spurring local economic development and preserving community identity,” said Reid Wilson, Secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “When we add new properties to the register, we expand and diversify the story of North Carolina. Congratulations to the communities where properties and districts were added to the National Register of Historic Places.”
The listing of a property in the National Register places no obligation or restriction on a private owner using private resources to maintain or alter the property. Over the years, various federal and state incentives have been introduced to assist private preservation initiatives, including tax credits for the rehabilitation of National Register properties. As of January 1, 2022, over 4,124 historic rehabilitation projects with an estimated private investment of over $3.409 billion have been completed.
In Eastern North Carolina
Elizabeth City Historic District (Boundary Increase II), Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, listed 12/22/2021
The Elizabeth City Historic District (Boundary Increase II) expands the Elizabeth City Historic District (NRHP 1977, 1994). This nominal boundary increase is the result of a re-survey of original district resources for alterations or changes to status, as well as consideration as to how the existing district might be further expanded to capture recent past resources and those not previously included within the existing boundaries, creating a more cohesive district in the process. The Elizabeth City Historic District (Boundary Increase II) is significant at the local level under Criterion C in the area of Architecture. The period of significance captures the construction dates of the oldest and youngest contributing resources from ca. 1900 to 1970. The boundary increase’s earliest contributing resource is a Queen Anne-style residence at 800 West Church Street (ca. 1900) and its latest is a Modernist bank building (1970).
In Central North Carolina
Norcott Mill — Cannon Mills Company Plant No. 10, Concord, Cabarrus County, listed 12/8/2021
Norcott Mill — Cannon Mills Company Plant No. 10 is locally significant under Criterion A in the area of industry as one of the ten primary textile manufacturers that drove Concord’s economic and physical growth during the twentieth century. Norcott Mill began manufacturing cotton yarn in 1916 and continued to do so after becoming Plant No. 10 upon the 1928 consolidation of eight Cannon-owned textile manufacturers as Cannon Mills Company. With a 1964 expansion and modernization campaign, Plant No. 10 became Cannon Mills’ third largest facility. The mill is also locally significant under Criterion C for architecture as it embodies the distinctive characteristics of early- to mid-twentieth-century industrial design. The 1916 mill and 1923 addition have very low-pitched gable roofs and load-bearing brick exterior walls executed in five-to-one common bond with segmental-arched quadruple-header course window and door lintels and cast-stone windowsills. The internal structure comprises square wood and round steel posts, substantial wood and steel beams and rafters, flush-board roof decking, and triple thickness wood floors. These intact elements, in conjunction with kalamein doors, external stair and restroom towers, and the separation of fire-prone areas such as warehouses, picker rooms, and boiler rooms from manufacturing areas, were intended to reduce fire risk. The complex includes several additions and free-standing buildings constructed between 1916 and the 1960s to support the functions of the mill. The period of significance begins in 1916 with Norcott Mill’s completion and continues to 1971. The plant’s industrial function after 1971 is not of exceptional significance.
Norwood School, Statesville vicinity, Iredell County, listed 12/9/2021
The Norwood School, a remarkably intact, weatherboard, frame one-room school building in rural Iredell County, is significant at the statewide level under Criterion A in the area of Education, and Criterion C in the area of Architecture, with a period of significance beginning in 1906, the year of its construction, through 1927, marking the end of its use as a public school. Constructed by local builder John McFadden Plott, it is associated with a statewide upbuilding of public schools and statewide improvements in public education in the early 20th century. The Norwood School follows the design of “Room A, Plan No. 1,” published in the 1903 edition of Plans for Public School Houses with Explanations, Specifications, Bills of Material and Estimates of Cost, issued by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The school was constructed just north of the Troutman Cemetery on land donated by members of the Troutman family. With the earliest marked grave dating 1821, this burying ground had been in use by members of the Troutman family and local residents for almost a century by the time the school was constructed. Because of its proximity to the cemetery, it was often referred to as Troutman Graveyard School. Norwood School closed in 1927 as a result of the school consolidation movement of the 1920s, but has been the site of annual Troutman Family reunions since 1909, a tradition that continues at the former school to this day.
Ramsey Farm, Statesville, Iredell County, listed 12/9/2021
Ramsey Farm is locally significant under Criterion C in the area of Architecture as it contains three representative and intact buildings — a circa 1883 one-and-one-half-story T-plan house, circa 1883 corncrib/granary, and circa 1930 meat house — situated within an agrarian landscape. The buildings stand as particularly good examples of resources that were once prevalent in the county but are rapidly disappearing. The dwelling’s T-shaped plan, weatherboard cladding, three two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows, and paneled wood doors with glazed upper sections are common elements of rural late-nineteenth-century residences. The 1907 porch shape, beadboard ceiling, and posts are intact. The main block’s steeply pitched gables with cornice returns and the triangular pediments surmounting each upper-level window reflect a modest Gothic Revival-style influence. The corncrib/granary and meat house are built in the vernacular tradition of Piedmont farm buildings, utilizing readily available materials and basic framing techniques. Both have wood siding (placed horizontally on the corncrib/granary and vertically on the meat house), board-and-batten doors, and metal roofs. On the corncrib portion of the façade and its south elevation, slatted boards provide ventilation for stored corn. The granary retains wooden storage bins and fully sided walls that protected stored grain from rodents and insects. The meat house’s solid walls, wood floor, and wood pegs for hanging curing meat also discouraged pests. The period of significance is the circa 1883 construction date of the Ramsey House and the corncrib/granary, and circa 1930, when the meat house was erected.
In Western North Carolina
Downtown Sparta Historic District, Sparta, Alleghany County, listed 12/10/2021
The locally significant Downtown Sparta Historic District meets Criterion A for listing in the National Register in the area of Commerce. Located in the center of Alleghany County, Sparta is the county’s sole town and, as such, its downtown is the county’s historic center of commerce. The district also meets Criterion C for its generally well-preserved collection of commercial and government buildings that includes numerous examples of standard commercial design from the second quarter of the twentieth century along with buildings that represent well the Classical Revival and Colonial Revival styles and the Modern Movement. As the seat of Alleghany County, downtown Sparta also is the center of the county’s governmental activity. Its 1933 courthouse, designed by prominent North Carolina architect Harry Barton, serves as the focal point of the historic district. The Alleghany County Courthouse was listed in the National Register in 1979 as part of a thematic nomination for Courthouses in North Carolina. As part of that nomination, it was listed under Criterion A for the areas of Politics/Government and Social History and under Criterion C for the area of Architecture. The district’s period of significance, ca. 1928-1972, includes the dates of construction of all twenty-five of its buildings and coincides with the district’s significant association with traditional commercial activities through the late twentieth century.
Edwin Cochran Guy House, Newland, Avery County, listed 12/10/2021
The Edwin Cochran Guy House is significant at the local level under Criterion B in the area of Commerce and in the area of Community Planning and Development for its association with Edwin Cochran Guy (1884-1955), a Newland banker who was also engaged in mining, timber, and railway ventures throughout Avery County. In addition to his role as cashier, and later president and chairman of the board of directors of the Avery County Bank, Guy’s influence on the commercial development of Newland in the first half of the twentieth century is unrivaled. Guy also played a critical role in the development of and infrastructure planning for the community of Newland. In addition, the Edwin Cochran Guy House is significant at the local level under Criterion C in the area of Architecture as an outstanding, well-preserved example of Craftsman-style architecture in both Newland and Avery County. It features many of the common elements of Craftsman-style bungalows, including porch supports with squared columns resting on low, masonry piers; front-gabled dormers; double-hung sash windows with multi-pane upper sashes over single-light lower sashes; deep, overhanging eaves; and wood weatherboard as the exterior wall finish. The selected period of significance (1916 to 1955) corresponds to the year when the Edwin Cochran Guy House was likely completed and the year of Guy’s death.
High Top Colony Historic District, Black Mountain vicinity, Buncombe County, listed 12/20/2021
The High Top Colony Historic District is significant at the local level under Criterion A in the areas of social history and entertainment/recreation. High Top Colony developed as an extension of Blue Ridge YMCA Assembly, one of several local religious retreats built in the early-twentieth century, and served as a summer resort for the property owners. Blue Ridge Assembly was founded by individuals who were working in the early years of the twentieth century for racial equity concerns. Many of the cottages in High Top Colony were built for leaders and secretaries of the YMCA throughout the southeast associated with these social issues. The district is also locally significant under Criterion C for architecture as a collection of popular architectural styles of summer resort communities. The district includes primarily Rustic Revival and Craftsman style houses built in the bungalow form, as well as one example of the Ranch style. Adding to this significance is the retention of a woodland setting that minimally impacts the environment, including small cottages set back from the road, utilization of materials often available on site, and gravel roadways, all of which create a small footprint within the natural landscape. High Top Colony was founded in 1919, with the cottages built from 1919 to 1949 and the construction of the current water system completed in 1954. High Top Colony Historic District’s period of significance spans from 1919 to 1954, the time when the Colony underwent its greatest period of development.
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About the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the nation's official list of buildings, structures, objects, sites, and districts worthy of preservation for their significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, and culture. The National Register was established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 to ensure that as a matter of public policy, properties significant in national, state, and local history are considered in the planning of federal undertakings, and to encourage historic preservation initiatives by state and local governments and the private sector. The Act authorized the establishment of a State Historic Preservation Office in each state and territory to help administer federal historic preservation programs.
In North Carolina, the State Historic Preservation Office is a unit of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Dr. Darin Waters, the Department's Deputy Secretary of Archives, History, and Parks, is North Carolina's State Historic Preservation Officer. The North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee, a board of professionals and citizens with expertise in history, architectural history, and archaeology, meets three times a year to advise Dr. Waters on the eligibility of properties for the National Register and the adequacy of nominations.
The National Register nominations for the recently listed properties may be read in their entirety by clicking on the National Register page of the State Historic Preservation Office website. For more information on the National Register, including the criteria for listing, see this page.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. NCDNCR's mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state's history, conserving the state's natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.
NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, three science museums, three aquariums and Jennette's Pier, 41 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the N.C. Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, and the Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please visit www.ncdcr.gov.