Waynesboro Commercial Historic District

Waynesboro's downtown, built around the Burke County Courthouse, is a district of 40 contributing resources laid out on a gridiron plan dating to 1783. Most buildings are brick one- and two-story commercial blocks from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with details such as bracketed cornices, corbeled brickwork, arched windows and cast-iron storefront columns. Landmarks include the 1857 courthouse, a 1939 Neoclassical annex, the Anthony Wayne and Melrose hotels, a one-room jail, a steel water tower, a 1931 post office and the Neely Bonded Cotton Warehouses. The district was recognized because Waynesboro has served as the seat of county government since the late 18th century and became the county's commercial center once cotton and the 1851 railroad spurred growth. Its intact street plan, courthouse square and commercial buildings show how the town developed from about 1783 to 1941. A 1960s fire and later facade alterations account for the noncontributing buildings.