Dale's, USB Market
Also known as: B & S Discount Foods
Why it's listed
Dale's Market is a one-story, flat-roofed brick grocery at the corner of Dale Street and Enola Road in Morganton, Burke County, built ca. 1900 for Grant Dale as a neighborhood store. Its facade has a central recessed entrance flanked by large display windows, framed by fluted square cast iron pilasters made by the George L. Nesker Architectural Iron Works of Evansville, Indiana. A wide band of decorative brickwork with recessed panels, a sawtooth row, and corbelled dentils runs above the retail level beneath a stepped parapet. An early hand-operated fuel pump stands in front, and a painted advertisement for U. S. B. Dale's Grocery and Market survives on the south elevation. Dale family members operated the store until the 1930s, when U. S. B. Dale took over, and it sold groceries, general merchandise, and gasoline. The store served as the social and commercial center of the Enola Road community. The interior remains plain, with plastered walls, a wood floor, and later acoustical ceiling tile and lighting. It is regarded as an excellent example of a turn-of-the-century rural community store.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the store is a relatively unaltered, rare intact example of a rural community store and an excellent example of that vernacular form. Its brick construction, decorative brickwork, cast iron pilasters, painted advertisement, and early fuel pump are cited as the features that support its importance. It also served as the social and commercial center of the Enola Road community.
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 87001924, listed November 9, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of Enola Rd. & Dale St., Morganton |
|---|---|
| County | Burke County |
| Listed | November 9, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87001924 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1900 |
| Architectural style | Rural community store (vernacular form) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still operated as a grocery store under different ownership, currently as B & S Discount Foods. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Within district | Broughton Hospital Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.72589, -81.67197 (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 87001924.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18158964
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.