Lumberton Commercial Historic District

Downtown Lumberton's commercial core, centered on Elm and Chestnut streets and the numbered cross streets from First to Fifth, holds buildings dating from about 1840 to 1941. Most were built between 1890 and 1920, when the town grew rapidly. The Lumber River, an early route for produce and timber, drew the first businesses, and the railroad that arrived in 1860 later shifted the center of trade toward Elm Street. Fires in 1870 and 1876 destroyed most early frame buildings, so brick replaced them. The district includes the c. 1840 Proctor Law Office, the oldest extant structure in town, and the 1879 McLeod Building, remodeled in 1905. Banks display Renaissance and Neo-Classical Revival designs, while many small buildings carry elaborate corbeled brickwork by unknown masons. Gas stations in Spanish Mission and Tudor Revival styles, an Art Moderne shop, tobacco warehouses and the rebuilt depot add variety. Of 90 resources, 67 contribute to the district's character; metal-clad facades account for many of the non-contributing buildings.