Red Bud Historic District
Why it's listed
Red Bud's historic district covers about 64 acres of the Randolph County city, largely along Main and Market streets and their intersection. It includes 195 structures, with a dense commercial core of two- and three-story buildings forming a nearly unbroken wall at the sidewalk, surrounded by low-density houses. The town grew from a store opened by R. D. Durfee in the 1840s and was platted in 1848. Its fastest growth came between 1848 and 1859, when many German immigrants arrived. By 1859 a county directory listed 54 commercial establishments. The oldest known building, the Durfee and Crozier Store of 1855, was the first brick store in town. Late Federal and Italianate buildings are the most common styles, with examples of Greek Revival, Second Empire and Gothic Revival. The district was recognized because so much of its 19th-century commercial and residential fabric survives, with little change since about 1890. The Federal Building and post office is named as the major intrusion.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents Red Bud as an excellent example of a small 19th-century crossroads commercial town serving a prosperous rural area. It grew quickly, mainly between 1848 and 1859, and has kept much of its early and post-Civil War fabric. The commercial core shows a nearly complete picture of a rural commercial crossroads, with a closed wall of two- and three-story masonry storefronts.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 79000865, listed December 29, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Irregular pattern along Main and Market Sts., Red Bud |
|---|---|
| County | Randolph County |
| Listed | December 29, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79000865 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | L. Hormann (architect of Red Bud City Hall, 1894) |
| Architectural style | Federal, Italianate, Greek Revival, Second Empire, Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival, plus German Street House cottages |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Largely commercial and residential use; the form notes that only a few downtown buildings have been recently modernized, and identifies seven intrusions. |
| Acreage | 64 |
| Coordinates | 38.21036, -89.99402 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 79000865.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16899206
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.