{"nrhp_refnum":"87001099","name":"Bellemont Mill Village Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"E and W side of NC 49, S of jct. with Great Alamance Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bellemont","county":"Alamance County","state":"NC","lat":36.02588099850007,"lon":-79.44258554577354,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-07-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A mill village historic district at Bellemont, Alamance County, North Carolina, made up of a three-story brick cotton mill and twenty-three frame mill houses along N.C. 49 and SR 1137. All were built in 1879-1880.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is one of the most intact late nineteenth century textile mill villages in Alamance County and is believed to be the earliest surviving post-Civil War mill village there. It reflects the Holt family's dominance of the county's textile industry. The mill's slow-burn construction, corbelled cornice and segmental arched windows, together with the circular-sawn framing and I-house design of the mill houses, are cited as architecturally significant.","narrative":"Bellemont Mill Village is a small textile community southwest of Graham, North Carolina, built in 1879-1880 by brothers L. Banks Holt and Lawrence S. Holt. Contractor Berry Davidson erected a three-story, white-painted brick cotton mill beside Great Alamance Creek and twenty-three frame houses for its workers along the adjoining road. Eighteen are two-story I-houses and five are one-story dwellings. The mill used slow-burn construction, with thick brick walls, heavy timber supports, segmental arched windows and a corbelled cornice. Framing timbers were cut on circular saws, a newer technique at the time. The Holts belonged to the family that dominated Alamance County's textile industry, and Bellemont is believed to be the county's earliest surviving post-Civil War mill village. The houses were sold to private owners beginning in 1937, and many have new siding or porches. The mill stopped operating in 1981 and is vacant, yet the village keeps its rural setting and original layout.","period_of_significance":"1879-1937","architect_builder":"Berry Davidson, contractor","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The mill closed in 1981 and has been vacant since, in deteriorated but not derelict condition. The mill houses are privately owned and occupied, with many altered by siding and porch changes.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.960489-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/7188/47718862/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/87001099.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718862","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellemont_Mill_Village_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17509206"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/alamance-county/bellemont-mill-village-historic-district-87001099/"}