Rea, William, Store
Why it's listed
Built about 1790 at the corner of Fourth and Williams streets in Murfreesboro, the William Rea Store is a two-story brick building measuring roughly 40 by 28 feet, laid in Flemish bond. Its utilitarian design includes large ground-floor windows that may have helped display goods, smaller upper windows for a storage floor, and a second-floor door with a hoist bar for moving bulky items. A one-story brick wing, added about 1803, probably served as an office and housed the law office of Thomas Maney, later a prominent Tennessee judge. William Rea, a Boston merchant, traded extensively between Murfreesboro and New England, and he and four brothers outfitted trading ships there in the early nineteenth century, helping make the town an export center for the Roanoke Valley. Rea sold the store in 1831, and in the early 1900s it served as a machine shop servicing mechanical peanut harvesters. It was donated to the Murfreesboro Historical Association in 1967 and is used as a museum.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it one of the oldest commercial buildings in North Carolina. Rea and his brothers outfitted trading ships at Murfreesboro in the early 1800s, making the town an important export center for the Roanoke Valley. The office wing later served as the law office of Thomas Maney, who became a prominent Tennessee judge.
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 70000457, listed September 15, 1970. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | E. Williams St., Murfreesboro |
|---|---|
| County | Hertford County |
| Listed | September 15, 1970 |
| Reference number | 70000457 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 18th and 19th Century; specific date c.1790 |
| Architect / builder | William Rea (builder/owner) |
| Areas of significance | Commerce |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is listed as good and altered, on its original site; present use is museum. It is owned by the Murfreesboro Historical Association, which received it by donation in 1967. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 36.44404, -77.09803 (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 70000457.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18739444
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.