Apex Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
This northern expansion of the Apex Historic District takes in eighteen houses and their outbuildings along the one hundred and part of the two hundred block of Hunter Street, plus Grove and Thompson streets. Most date from the first half of the twentieth century and include bungalows, one- and two-story triple-A houses, and hip-roofed cottages, many keeping original wood siding, turned porch posts and shingled gables. The land was once the farm of Alice and Adolphus B. Hunter, a prominent Apex businessman. Houses began appearing on the south side of Hunter Street in the early 1900s, and the demolition of two tobacco warehouses on the north side in the late 1920s encouraged more building. The Hunters built several small houses for families who worked for them. The area was added to the district for its architecture, with a period of significance from 1907 to about 1950. It remains a quiet residential neighborhood, with Hunter Street carrying the heaviest traffic.
Significance in brief: The area is argued to be significant for architecture because its houses, mostly bungalows, triple-A houses and hip-roofed cottages, match the character, scale, style and age of the existing district. It also reflects the change of A.B. Hunter's former farm into a residential and industrial area, then a purely residential enclave after nearby tobacco warehouses were demolished in the late 1920s.
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 02000016, listed February 14, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Grove and Thompson Sts., and parts of Hunter St., Apex |
|---|---|
| County | Wake County |
| Listed | February 14, 2002 |
| Reference number | 02000016 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1907-ca. 1950 |
| Architectural style | Bungalow; Triple-A I-house; hipped roof cottage |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Remains purely residential, with houses predominantly owner-occupied; 24 contributing and 10 noncontributing buildings. |
| Acreage | 8 |
| Coordinates | 35.73796, -78.84943 (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 02000016.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4779425
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.