Washburn Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: Washburn (Bertha)-Davis (Daisy Washburn), House
Why it's listed
Beside Gun Club Road in Bostic, Rutherford County, stands a small one-story farm house built about 1905 to 1908 by Bertha Washburn, youngest daughter of Reuben and Sarah Washburn, on a two-acre lot from the family lands. Its paired offset blocks and center-hall plan are typical of its period, although a 1961 renovation added German siding, replacement windows, a concrete block foundation and the first indoor bathroom. Beside it are a frame storage building of about 1943-1944 and a corn crib of about 1920-1930. The house was the family's residence until Sarah Washburn died in 1910, and afterward it became rental property, leased with farmland to tenants. It is listed for its association with the Washburn family's mercantile and agricultural activities at the crossroads, which the family ran for four generations, and for the way its rental use reflects the wider economy that the store served.
Significance in brief: The addition is argued to complete the family's occupation of the crossroads, representing the earliest surviving Washburn family residence in the district and an example of the family's expansion into rental and tenant-farming properties. It is said to add to the existing group of early twentieth-century crossroads buildings that together form the best preserved early twentieth-century crossroads community in the county. The boundary increase extends the period of significance to begin at ca. 1905.
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 05001552, listed January 25, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1037 Gun Club Rd., Bostic |
|---|---|
| County | Rutherford County |
| Listed | January 25, 2006 |
| Reference number | 05001552 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1905-1950 |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Tenant-occupied; the house and outbuildings have stood unchanged since the 1961 renovation. |
| Acreage | 2.2 |
| Within district | Washburn Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.39199, -81.81795 (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 05001552.
- 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.