Broad Street Commercial Historic District

Downtown Winder's Broad Street district covers about four acres, with one full block and parts of three others holding commercial and governmental buildings from the 1870s to the 1930s. Most shops are brick, two stories tall, and modestly detailed, with decorative brickwork and window lintels. Standouts include the Sharpton Opera House, built around 1907 above a business space, the Granite Hotel with its remaining granite second-floor facade, the Neoclassical courthouse completed in 1920, and the small Gothic Revival jail of 1916, both designed by James J. Baldwin. The town grew after two railroads arrived in the 1880s and 1890s, and Barrow County was created in 1914 with Winder as its seat. The courthouse sits on the former site of Dr. W. H. Bush's home, which was moved and later served as a hotel. Later storefront changes and modern infill have altered some blocks, but the core remains an intact historic business center.