Alamance Mill Village Historic District
Why it's listed
Alamance Cotton Mill was founded on Great Alamance Creek in 1837 by Edwin M. Holt and William A. Carrigan, and its workers' village rose along a single road uphill from the mill site. The district today contains fifteen houses, fifteen primary resources in all with the stone dam, and they fall into three groups: two-story frame houses built about 1860 to 1880, one-story houses with three gable roofs from about 1900, and bungalows from about 1927. An earlier house, possibly the supervisor's, dates from about 1840. The mill operated until 1926, and after the hosiery firm of John Shoffner took over the village, the old mill buildings served as dye works and storage until the hosiery mill closed in 1947. Its architectural value lies in the houses' consistent plan and their illustration of how mill housing changed over a century. The district is significant at the local level.
Significance in brief: The district is significant for its association with the development of the textile industry in Alamance County and the shift of rural workers into mill villages in the nineteenth century. Its houses are cited as a representative group of three mill-house types from three building periods, and the stone mill dam is described as an impressive, well-preserved example of nineteenth-century engineering.
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 07000821, listed August 16, 2007. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 3927-3981 NC 62 S, Great Alamance Creek W of NC 62S, Alamance |
|---|---|
| County | Alamance County |
| Listed | August 16, 2007 |
| Reference number | 07000821 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1840-1947 |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman |
| Criteria |
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| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The mill buildings are gone; the stone dam survives. Seven of the fifteen district houses have replacement siding. |
| Coordinates | 36.04212, -79.48721 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 07000821.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17510447
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.