Elm City Municipal Historic District

Elm City's historic district occupies a flat plain on either side of the Seaboard Coastline Railroad in Wilson County, North Carolina. It takes in about thirteen blocks and 119 parcels, mixing homes and shops, most built between 1873 and 1930. The commercial core largely dates from a rebuilding after a major fire in 1884, with many low brick storefronts made from local tan or red brick. A brick depot from shortly after 1900 and the Elm City Bank, with its tiled entry floor spelling out the bank's name, are among the notable buildings. Houses range from modest one-story Victorian cottages, some with the locally distinctive "Elm City porch," to two monumental Classical Revival residences and brick Colonial Revival houses of the 1920s. Mature shade trees tie the residential streets together. The district was recognized as a well-preserved example of a coastal plain railroad town, with nearly ninety percent of its buildings contributing to its character.