Swindell, Albin B., House and Store
Why it's listed
Near the junction of two roads in rural Hyde County, the Swindell complex centers on a one-story frame general store built about 1890 and a two-story I-house whose present form dates to a 1903 expansion. Albin B. Swindell opened a store in a barn here in 1875 and bought the surrounding 120 acres in 1877. The store sold dry goods, hats, boots, and country produce, and customers often settled accounts by barter. It also housed the community's first post office, around 1900, and an early telephone. Outbuildings include a smokehouse, pumphouse, chicken house, and washhouse/packhouse, all dating from about 1903 to 1945. The store has remained a focal point for nearby farmers, hunters, and fishermen for more than a century, and the nomination regards the group as an intact example of a crossroads trading center.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the complex is locally important as the center of Swindell Fork, a small trading and community center that operated for over a hundred years and served as a post office and early telephone site. The store and house are described as an essentially unchanged early twentieth-century mercantile and farm operation, and as the most intact survivor of its type in Hyde County outside the Lake Landing Historic District.
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 86001641, listed August 14, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | US 264, Swindell Fork |
|---|---|
| County | Hyde County |
| Listed | August 14, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86001641 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1875-1930 |
| Architectural style | I house |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The store was moved a short distance in about 1920 when the highway was widened; the store closed in 1978 and is now an informal family-owned museum. |
| Acreage | 207.8 |
| Coordinates | 35.43462, -76.28254 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 86001641.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19882007
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.