White Furniture Company
Why it's listed
Mebane's White Furniture Company complex sits on a corner lot in Alamance County, North Carolina. Its core is an L-shaped factory built in the summer of 1924, which incorporated three early twentieth-century buildings that survived a December 1923 fire. The plant includes a 1905 dry kiln, annexes built between 1926 and 1967, and sheds for lumber storage. Founded in 1881 by William and David White, who had worked as railroad telegraphers, the firm is described as the oldest continually operating furniture manufacturer in North Carolina. It pioneered the use of lacquer in the furniture field in the early 1920s, purchasing it from DuPont. The company shipped sixty carloads of furniture to Panama for canal workers in 1906 and produced 50,000 beds for the Army during the Second World War. Samuel White's career from 1896 to 1971 is regarded as among the longest in the state's furniture industry. The plant was also part of a state noise reduction program started in 1979.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the company, founded in 1881, is the oldest continually operating furniture manufacturer in North Carolina and one of the oldest in the South. It is presented as a leader in the growth of North Carolina's furniture industry, which the nomination says now ranks first in the nation in wood household furniture production. The White brothers' long careers in the firm and the company's role as Mebane's largest employer are also cited.
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 82003422, listed July 29, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | E. Center and N. 5th Sts., Mebane |
|---|---|
| County | Alamance County |
| Listed | July 29, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82003422 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Engineering |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Altered; the plant is in operation and employs about 500 people, per the nomination. |
| Acreage | 7.5 |
| Coordinates | 36.09608, -79.26644 (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 82003422.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7994713
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.