Brevard's Main Street is a Historic District

The Main Street Historic District in Brevard was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.  The district is located in the center of town and covers approximately thirteen acres.  The district includes three blocks of Main St. and one block on each of South Broad, Jordan, North Caldwell and Probart streets, plus buildings in the Times Arcade Alley.

In January 2014 the end building from this row of four building
on North Caldwell was torn down because of structural problems.
It was a contributing building to the Main Street Historic District.

To be considered buildings had to be at least 50 years old at the time and have only slight renovations.  Within the area there were originally 32 buildings that met the criteria.  Twelve additional buildings are considered non-contributing because they have undergone extensive architectural changes and loss of integrity.

Two others are non-contributing because they were less than 50 years old in 2002.  The former county administration building was originally built as the Transylvania County Library in 1956 and Love’s Jewelry was constructed in 1965.

The oldest building is the Transylvania County Courthouse, which was completed in 1881.  The jail was constructed in 1921 behind the courthouse.  An addition completed in 1984 connects the two buildings. 

The McMinn Building, located across Broad St. from the courthouse, is the oldest commercial building in the district.  Built in 1899, the McMinn Building was the first brick commercial building in Brevard and set the tone for the style of buildings in the downtown business district.

These two buildings are also individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The majority of the other buildings were constructed prior to the Depression.  The buildings range from one to three stories and most are common brick bond or stucco. 

Those that are non-contributing have had their facades replaced with siding, parapet walls removed and windows and doors replaced. 

Around 1970 Patterson’s, on the south side of West Main St., replaced their storefront with modern brick veneer.  That has since been removed returning the building to its earlier look.

The Aetholdwold, constructed in 1905, was also a non-contributing building because its entire third floor and the one-story portico with balustrade on the Broad St. side had been removed.  The building has undergone major restoration work, including rebuilding the third floor in recent years.

These two photographs, taken nearly 90 years apart,
illustrates how major changes to the exterior of buildings
eliminated them from being contributing structures.

The summary and inventory of the properties in the Main Street Historic District, along with photographs from the 1991 architectural survey are available in the Local History Room.  More information is also available in Transylvania: The Architectural History of a Mountain County.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.