Rowland Main Street Historic District

Rowland's Main Street commercial core runs for a little over two blocks on both sides of the Atlantic Coast Line tracks in southwestern Robeson County. The district holds forty buildings and one structure, mostly one- and two-story brick stores, along with small warehouses, a hotel, a bank and a 1925 railroad depot. Construction dates run from 1891 to the mid-1980s. Many storefronts keep prism glass transoms, corbelled cornices, sawtooth brick banding and stamped metal fronts made by the Chattanooga Roofing and Foundry Company. The town grew after a branch of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, known as the Wilson Shortcut, reached the area in 1888 and was completed in 1892. Lots were auctioned, the town was incorporated in 1889, and businesses clustered along the tracks. The district was listed for its role in commerce and transportation and for its architecture. Its period of significance ends in 1954, and five of its 41 resources are noncontributing.