West Selma Historic District
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
West Selma is a residential district of about ninety acres on the west side of downtown Selma, a railroad town in North Carolina's Coastal Plain. Its 273 resources are mostly houses built between about 1880 and 1961, with a smaller number of churches, commercial buildings, a former women's club and a historic cemetery. The district takes its character from the railroad, which brought settlers and tastes to the town after the Atlantic Coast Line line arrived in 1892. Its houses display a broad sequence of styles, from the Queen Anne dwellings of the 1890s, such as the 1897 Etheridge House, to transitional Queen Anne-Colonial Revival houses and the Southern Colonial William E. Smith House of about 1912. Later examples include Georgian Revival and Period Cottage houses. The district is significant for this architectural range and for the high degree of integrity its buildings retain, which is why it was listed for its architecture.
Significance in brief: The district is significant under Criterion C for architecture, containing a wide array of domestic styles from the late nineteenth century to 1961, including Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Craftsman, Period Cottage, Minimal Traditional and Ranch houses, along with I-houses and Triple-A forms. The nomination states it reflects Selma's development as a railroad hub and later center of government and commerce, and that it maintains a high degree of architectural integrity.
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 11000975, listed December 30, 2011. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Bounded by W. Railroad, N. Brevard, W. Richardson & N. Pollock Sts., Selma |
|---|---|
| County | Johnston County |
| Listed | December 30, 2011 |
| Reference number | 11000975 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1880-1961 |
| Architect / builder | S. J. Atkinson (architect); William Preston Rose (architect) |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, Colonial Revival, Craftsman, Period Cottage, Minimal Traditional, Ranch, I-house, Triple-A |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 90 |
| Coordinates | 35.54037, -78.28716 (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 11000975.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q22061133
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.