Edenton Peanut Factory
Also known as: Edenton Peanut Company
Why it's listed
Rising five stories above the eastern edge of Edenton, this brick factory was built about 1909 to process peanuts. It sits beside the railroad and Hertford Road on a 4.9-acre site, with a six-story elevator tower, an engine room, an office wing and wooden warehouses. Local founders from the Wood and Shepard families established it, and at its height it produced 1,400 to 1,500 100-pound bags a day with about 100 workers. It was the first factory of its kind in Edenton, in a town that became one of the leading peanut markets in North Carolina. Changes in federal purchasing rules after World War II strained the company, and it was sold in 1957, then again in 1958 and 1975. The building is valued for its role in the region's agricultural industry and for its bold brickwork and tall, functional form. By the time of listing it stood vacant, with broken windows and failing platforms, though the structure remained sound.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents it as the first peanut factory in Edenton and an important part of the local peanut industry that dominated the early twentieth-century economy. It is also cited as one of the finest examples of factory construction in eastern North Carolina, with bold, skillful brickwork and a dramatic form that made it a local landmark.
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 79003328, listed September 20, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | E. Church St., Edenton |
|---|---|
| County | Chowan County |
| Listed | September 20, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79003328 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- (specific date ca. 1909) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant and deteriorated at the time of nomination; structurally sound but with cracking walls, broken windows, collapsing loading platforms and a badly deteriorated Warehouse No. 1. Warehouse No. 3 showed signs of use. |
| Acreage | 4.9 |
| Coordinates | 36.06099, -76.51828 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 79003328.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18149738
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.