Southwest Historic District
Also known as: Waltons Store Historic District
Why it's listed
Southwest Historic District is a rural crossroads community in central Onslow County, North Carolina, centered on NC Highway 53. It contains a church, a school, two cemeteries and three farmsteads of the Walton family, with 16 contributing and 4 noncontributing resources. The oldest building is Southwest Primitive Baptist Church, probably built in the second quarter of the 19th century on a site used by Baptists since at least 1786. It is the oldest surviving church in the county. Southwest School, built about 1913, is a well-preserved two-room rural schoolhouse. The Walton farmsteads, built between about 1905 and 1913, include a late Victorian side-hall house, a two-story center-hall I-house and a coastal plain cottage, along with barns, smokehouses and other outbuildings. The community formed after the Civil War and once had a turpentine distillery, stores, a grist mill and a post office. The district was listed for its architecture and its ties to religion, education and agriculture, with a period of significance through 1938.
Significance in brief: The district is argued to be significant under criteria A and C for architecture, religion, education and agriculture. Southwest Primitive Baptist Church is the oldest church still standing in the county and ranks among the oldest Primitive Baptist churches in the state. The 1913 school and the Walton farmhouses and outbuildings are also of architectural interest.
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 89001854, listed November 13, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | NC 53 and SR 1217, Waltons Store |
|---|---|
| County | Onslow County |
| Listed | November 13, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001854 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 2nd quarter 19th C. - 1938 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | I house, coastal plain cottage, late Victorian millwork |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Education, Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The school is used by a present-day congregation, and the church has a small congregation. The Elijah Walton House has had its rear breezeway enclosed. |
| Acreage | 55 |
| Coordinates | 34.74143, -77.50531 (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 89001854.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q22061091
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.