Cameron Historic District
Why it's listed
Carthage Street in Cameron forms a compact linear village of one- and two-story frame and brick houses, stores and churches, built mostly between about 1875 and 1925 along the railroad. The town grew after the arrival of the railroad in 1875, when merchants, railroad workers and farmers settled there, and it prospered through turpentine distilling, mercantile trade and dewberry farming. Dewberry shipments reached 60,000 to 90,000 crates a season in the 1910s and 1920s, and the town was called the largest dewberry market in the world. The district contains Victorian cottages, Queen Anne and Bungalow houses, the Presbyterian church of 1879 with its bell tower, and the Greenwood Inn with its double-tiered porch. The nomination emphasizes its many local merchants and physicians, the recurring Cameron door pattern, and the buildings' largely intact late-nineteenth-century character, which is why the district was listed.
Significance in brief: The district is significant for its concentrated late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century railroad town character, shaped by the plank road, the railroad and the dewberry industry, which at one time made Cameron the dewberry market center. Its houses and churches display a range of popular period styles, and the nomination argues that the town's buildings and layout remain largely intact.
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 83001898, listed March 17, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Carthage St. from US 1 to Seaboard RR Tracks, Cameron |
|---|---|
| County | Moore County |
| Listed | March 17, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83001898 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1875-1925 |
| Architectural style | Victorian cottage, Queen Anne, Bungalow, Colonial Revival (as described in the nomination) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Commerce, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture, Religion, Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Essentially unchanged; few intrusions, mostly 1950s and 1960s brick structures; several early buildings demolished or moved. |
| Acreage | 54 |
| Coordinates | 35.32741, -79.25755 (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 83001898.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19460775
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.