{"nrhp_refnum":"12000214","name":"Penland Post Office and General Store","other_names":["Bailey lumber Company Office Building","Bailey Lumber Company Office and General Merchandise Stor_"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1162 Penland Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Penland","county":"Mitchell County","state":"NC","lat":35.93034353000007,"lon":-82.11168105399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-04-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Communications","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story frame building with a front-gable roof and board-and-batten siding in the community of Penland, Mitchell County, North Carolina, directly north of the Clinchfield Railroad tracks. It was built around 1900 as the office and general store of the Bailey Lumber Company and has served as the community's post office since 1934.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant for its role in the commerce and communications of Penland from about 1900 to 1962, when it housed the Bailey Lumber Company office, a general store, and later the post office. It is described as the oldest remaining commercial building from the community's logging and mining era and the only active post office located directly along the Clinchfield Railroad tracks.","narrative":"Built around 1900 beside the Clinchfield Railroad in Penland, this long frame building with a front-gable metal roof and rough-sawn board-and-batten siding was erected by Col. Isaac Bailey for the Bailey Lumber Company. Its front section housed the company offices and a general store, and additions followed between 1902 and 1934. Mail arrived by train, and the building became the community's commercial center, selling groceries, dry goods, and clothing and handling real estate, feed, and equipment sales. Bailey's company supplied lumber for many Penland buildings, and the building was one of the few commercial structures to survive the flood of 1916. The post office moved into the building in 1934 and still operates there. The nomination treats the building's role in local commerce and communications, from about 1900 to 1962, as the basis for its listing.","period_of_significance":"Ca. 1900-1962","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"No Style","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Post office remains in use; the main commercial block is described as vacant and the rear and loading dock additions as deteriorated or partially collapsed.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:40.687675-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/7214/47721408/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/12000214.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000214/701ba38f57-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000214/701ba38f57-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Upstateherd","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penland_Post_Office.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Upstateherd</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penland_Post_Office.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721408","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penland_Post_Office_and_General_Store","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19866198"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/mitchell-county/penland-post-office-and-general-store-12000214/"}