West Badin Historic District
Why it's listed
West Badin is a company-built neighborhood in Badin, North Carolina, laid out largely around 1920 by the Aluminum Company of America for workers at the nearby Badin Works. Most of the surviving housing is one-story and frame: two types of bungalow, many with screened porches, exposed rafter ends and slate roofs, and a duplex type with a gable-front roof and high brick foundation. Inventory entries show dozens of cottages and duplexes along streets such as Grant, Jackson, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Wayne. Institutional buildings include the brick Baptist Church and McDonald's Chapel AME Zion Church, both with Gothic elements, and the Badin Colored School of 1925, which was topped with an aluminum-shingled roof described as the first of its kind in North Carolina. A small group of brick commercial buildings has been altered and now stands vacant. The district was accepted for its historic and architectural importance as a planned industrial community.
Significance in brief: The evaluation sheet records the district as accepted under Criteria A and C. The surviving company-built bungalows, duplexes, churches and the 1925 Badin Colored School show Alcoa's planned community for Black workers at the Badin Works. The form does not give a full statement of significance in the text provided.
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 83004002, listed October 12, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Sims, Lincoln, Marion, and Lee Sts., Badin |
|---|---|
| County | Stanly County |
| Listed | October 12, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83004002 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Southern Aluminum Company (pre-1915 structures, designed by Pierson and Goodrich); Aluminum Company of America (1915-1926 structures, designed by G. H. Giesey) |
| Architectural style | Bungalows and duplexes; Gothic-style churches; school with classical details |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Community Planning and Development, Black |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The original brick commercial buildings are described as altered, vacant and vandalized; West Badin Elementary School is listed as vacant in the inventory. |
| Acreage | 84 |
| Coordinates | 35.40875, -80.12442 (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 83004002.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19946135
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.