{"nrhp_refnum":"01001073","name":"Cana Store and Post Office","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NC 1411, 0.2 mi. N of NC 1406","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mocksville","county":"Davie County","state":"NC","lat":35.97353304400008,"lon":-80.57698016799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-10-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Communications","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, gable-front frame general store and post office on the Cain family farm in the Cana community, about seven miles north of Mocksville, Davie County, North Carolina. It was built around 1875 by James Harrison Cain and local carpenters, with a post office addition in the 1930s.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant under Criterion A for its roles in commerce, communications and social history in a rural community. It served as a general store and fourth-class post office, and it is described as one of few surviving, virtually unaltered late nineteenth-century frame commercial buildings in Davie County. Its post office, which closed in 1954, was the last fourth-class post office in North Carolina to close.","narrative":"Built around 1875 by James Harrison Cain and local carpenters, this two-story weatherboarded building in the Cana community of Davie County served as a general store and post office for decades. It sits on the Cain family farm, and the lumber came from family land and the family sawmill. The frame structure has a tin gable roof, dry-stacked stone piers and a 1930s shed addition that housed the post office, plus a canopy added to the front. Inside, the original pine floors, long shelves, counters, display cases and a cast-iron stove remain largely unchanged. The store took in eggs, corn and wheat as payment, sold household goods, and brokered lumber. The post office operated from 1875 to 1954 and was the last fourth-class post office to close in North Carolina. The store also hosted community gatherings and installed the area's first telephone and gasoline pump. It is recognized for commerce, communications and social history from 1875 to 1951.","period_of_significance":"1875-1951","architect_builder":"Cain, James Harrison","architectural_style":"Other: Gable-front commercial building","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Current function listed as vacant/not in use; the description says the building remains in good condition. The store operated until 1965 and the post office until 1954.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:53.034388-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/7199/47719995/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/01001073.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719995","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cana_Store_and_Post_Office","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18386342"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/davie-county/cana-store-and-post-office-01001073/"}