Jamestown Historic District (Additional Documentation)
Also known as: See Also:Mendenhall,Richard,Plantation Buildings
Why it's listed
Jamestown grew up along the old stage road linking Virginia with Salisbury and Charlotte, and the historic district preserves about a mile of its nineteenth-century buildings beside what is now U.S. 29A-70A. At its core are three early brick buildings laid in Flemish bond: the Richard Mendenhall house, his 1824 store, and the small Friends' Meeting House with its cemetery. Around them are frame houses, including a Greek Revival house and medical school built by Dr. Shubal Coffin and the Lindsay house and medical school. The district is tied to the Mendenhall family, who founded the town and led its Quaker community. Residents ran night teaching, a girls' school, a law school and private medical schools, and took part in the North Carolina Manumission Society. The railroad arrived in 1856, but later growth went to High Point and Greensboro, which left the old buildings largely intact.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls Jamestown perhaps the most complete vestige in North Carolina of the Quaker contribution to the state's cultural, political and intellectual history. The Mendenhall family founded the town and led its Quaker community, which was known for progressive work in education, medicine and manumission. Slow growth after the 1800s allowed many early and mid-nineteenth-century buildings to survive.
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 73001345, listed January 22, 1973. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Both sides of U.S. 29A, Jamestown |
|---|---|
| County | Guilford County |
| Listed | January 22, 1973 |
| Reference number | 73001345 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 19th Century |
| Architectural style | Pennsylvania-influenced Quaker style brick buildings, with a Greek Revival house (Dr. Shubal Coffin's House) |
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine, Education, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is marked good and altered; the district is mostly private residences, with some occupied and some unoccupied properties. |
| Acreage | 70 |
| Coordinates | 35.99457, -79.94532 (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 73001345.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19462592
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.