{"nrhp_refnum":"86000580","name":"Bethune-Powell Buildings","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"118--120 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Clinton","county":"Sampson County","state":"NC","lat":34.99414290200008,"lon":-78.32365139599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-03-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two adjacent two-story brick commercial buildings at 118 and 120 East Main Street in Clinton, Sampson County, North Carolina, built in 1902 after a major downtown fire. The larger Bethune Building was built by Lauchlin Alexander Bethune; the smaller Powell Building stands beside it.","why_significant":"The buildings are described as the outstanding commercial structures in Sampson County because of their ornate pressed metal sheathing, which contrasts with the plain brick storefronts typical of the county. They are tied to Clinton's turn-of-the-century commercial rebuilding after the July 1902 fire. They are also considered excellent examples of decorative pressed metal on commercial buildings.","narrative":"Two adjoining two-story brick stores at 118 and 120 East Main Street in Clinton were built in 1902 to replace buildings lost in the July fire that burned 43 structures in the southern part of town. Their storefronts and upper facades are covered in pressed metal, with Corinthian and Tuscan columns, garlanded friezes, ram's horn spiral bands, and modillioned cornices. The larger Bethune Building was built by Lauchlin Alexander Bethune, a newspaper founder, bank president and state senator, and first served as a grocery and hardware store with a Masonic Temple upstairs. The smaller Powell Building later housed Sampson Ace Hardware for many years. Ground floors and interiors have been heavily altered, though the upper facades and rear walls remain largely intact. In a county where commercial buildings of the period are plain brick with corbelled cornices, these two stand out as a bold, decorative presence on the courthouse square, which is why they were recognized for architecture and commercial history.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1902","architect_builder":"Unknown (Bethune Building built by Lauchlin Alexander Bethune)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition rated good; first-floor facades and interiors substantially altered; upstairs of both buildings vacant.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.020082-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/47/7184/47718447/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/86000580.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000580/c65db0377b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000580/c65db0377b-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Powell_Building,_Clinton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Powell_Building,_Clinton.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718447","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethune-Powell_Buildings","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19866860"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/sampson-county/bethune-powell-buildings-86000580/"}