Main Street Historic District (Boundary Expansion)
Also known as: Florence Mill
Why it's listed
Florence Mill is a five-acre textile complex at 186 Mill Street in Forest City, North Carolina, added to the Main Street Historic District as a boundary expansion. The red brick mill was built in 1897 with heavy timber interiors, a packer house, boiler house, engine house and a 125-foot smokestack. Warehouses followed in 1922-23, 1932 and 1941, the 1932 one originally a Hewitt Motor Company showroom. Later Cone Mills additions and equipment are counted as noncontributing. The mill was financed by Raleigh Rutherford Haynes and partners, and it produced cotton sheeting, flannel, corduroy and denim until 2001. Cone Mills gained majority ownership by 1940 and renamed it the Florence Plant in 1953. The complex is considered important for its part in the textile industry of Rutherford County and the growth of Forest City. Its period of significance runs from 1897 to 1954. The property is currently vacant.
Significance in brief: The complex is locally significant under Criterion A in the area of industry. Florence Mill operated continuously from 1897 to 2001, making cotton sheeting, flannel, corduroy and denim. It played a role in the growth of the textile industry in Rutherford County and in Forest City, whose population tripled after the mill and railroads arrived.
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 04000585, listed June 9, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 186 Mill St., Forest City |
|---|---|
| County | Rutherford County |
| Listed | June 9, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04000585 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1897-1954 |
| Architectural style | Other: Heavy Timber Mill Construction |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is listed as vacant, not in use. The original mill's windows were bricked in and 1970s-80s additions cover much of its front. |
| Acreage | 5 |
| Coordinates | 35.33179, -81.86507 (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).
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 04000585.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.