Kenworth Historic District (Boundary Increase)

This 13.09-acre residential area in southeast Hickory extends an earlier historic district within the Kenworth subdivision, platted in 1913. The Charlotte firm of Blair and Drane designed the neighborhood with curving streets that broke from the grid of older downtown areas. Houses here date from 1915 to 1981, though most contributing buildings were built between 1945 and 1952, when the area developed heavily after World War II. The collection includes a few Craftsman bungalows, Colonial Revival houses, brick and stone Period Cottages, Minimal Traditional homes and modest Ranch houses. The 1915 Willard House, a two-story brick Foursquare designed by Charlotte architect Louis Asbury, is among the earliest and most imposing buildings. The area was recognized for its architecture and for its role in Hickory's planned suburban growth, which responded to a housing shortage as the city's population doubled in the early twentieth century. Of the 40 resources counted, 83 percent contribute to the district's character.