Elon College Historic District
Also known as: Elon College
Why it's listed
Elon College Historic District covers the historic center of a college campus in Alamance County, North Carolina, midway between Burlington and Greensboro. It holds eight resources: West Dormitory of 1907, five three-story brick buildings built between 1923 and 1927, a 1970 building that does not contribute to the district's character, and an 1929 granite monument to James O'Kelly, founder of the Christian Church. The 1920s buildings, designed by Burlington architect Herbert B. Hunter, form an H-shaped group after a 1923 fire destroyed the Main Building. Alamance Building forms the crossbar, with Whitley, Carlton, Duke and Mooney buildings at right angles, linked by brick arcades. West Dormitory, an early Colonial Revival design with Jacobean touches, is the oldest surviving campus building. The district was listed for its architecture and for its link to Elon College, founded in 1889 as the only four-year college of the Christian Church in the South. The campus continues as a college, and the buildings largely keep their original plans and finishes.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district has statewide educational significance as the only four-year college operated by the Christian Church in the South. It also has architectural significance: West Dormitory is an early institutional Colonial Revival building, and the five 1920s buildings by Herbert B. Hunter are textbook collegiate Georgian Revival buildings arranged in an H-shaped plan.
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 88000166, listed March 22, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | S side of Haggard Ave. between William and O'Kelly, Elon College |
|---|---|
| County | Alamance County |
| Listed | March 22, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88000166 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1907-1931 |
| Architect / builder | Hunter, Herbert B., architect; Stout, Joe W., contractor |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival; Georgian Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a college campus, with education and education-related housing as current functions. |
| Acreage | 9 |
| Coordinates | 36.10208, -79.50447 (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 88000166.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17508880
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.