Richlands Historic District

Richlands Historic District covers about forty-eight acres at the center of the Onslow County town of Richlands, North Carolina. It takes in the commercial crossroads of Hargett and Wilmington streets and the nearby residential blocks along Foy, Franck and Hargett streets. Nearly all significant buildings date from after the town's incorporation in 1880. The houses are mostly vernacular frame dwellings with late Victorian ornament, including I houses, wraparound-porch homes, bungalows and a 1938 brick Georgian Revival house designed by Kinston architect Mitchell Wooten. The downtown was largely rebuilt in brick after fires in the early 1910s, and it includes the 1905 Richlands Supply Company Building, the 1927 Bank of Richlands and the 1936 Richlands Theater. Three churches and several former high school buildings also survive. Local carpenters such as Benjamin Findeisen and the Coston brothers built or remodeled many houses. The district's overall integrity is good, even though many storefronts and porches have been altered.