Stuart Motor Company
Why it's listed
Built in 1926 at 109-111 East Mountain Street in Kernersville, this brick building served as the town's first automobile dealership. Ned Robert Stuart borrowed $30,000 to construct it, first selling Hudson-Essex cars and switching to Ford around 1928. The front third rises two stories, with display windows, a wood-framed garage door and a parapet with a central arch, while the taller one-story rear section held the garage and maintenance areas. The second floor began as a machine shop and was converted to four apartments by 1930, one occupied by Stuart's family. The building is considered important as an early showroom type that blends the livery stable with a retail storefront, and it remains largely unaltered, with its original display floor and garage facilities intact. It also reflects Stuart's Depression-era struggle, when, according to family tradition, living upstairs and invoking the Homestead Act helped him keep the property until the loan was repaid in 1938.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a well-preserved example of an early automobile showroom, a building type that combines the nineteenth-century livery stable with the decorated facade of a retail store. It is also significant in social history because, by family tradition, owner Ned Robert Stuart moved his family into the second floor and invoked the Homestead Act to save the building from foreclosure during the Depression.
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 88000139, listed February 25, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 109--111 E. Mountain St., Kernersville |
|---|---|
| County | Forsyth County |
| Listed | February 25, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88000139 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1926-ca. 1930 |
| Architectural style | Commercial Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Virtually unchanged from its ca. 1930 appearance; the building presently houses a wrecker service. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 36.11982, -80.07260 (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 88000139.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q24041057
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.