College Street Historic District

College Street in Clinton, North Carolina, holds a compact row of 29 resources, mostly houses, spread across two-and-one-third blocks northeast of the courthouse square. The neighborhood developed around the Clinton Academy after 1859, when wealthy townspeople began building substantial homes near the school. Its buildings span the mid-19th century to the 1930s and include Greek Revival houses such as the 1845 L. C. Graves House, the early 1850s John R. Beaman House and the Col. John Ashford House. Turn-of-the-century Queen Anne dwellings, Colonial Revival brick houses, wood-shingled Bungalows and a 1936 Tudor Revival cottage add variety. The 1911 College Street Elementary School and the remodeled Hobbs-Matthews-Small House anchor the street with Classical Revival design. Classical themes, seen most clearly in the porches, tie the varied buildings together. Old oaks, pecans and magnolias shade the street. Despite some lost mansions and street widening, the district keeps its architectural integrity and a clearly defined character.