Exciting news for Graham County! The National Register of Historic Places recently added 11 North Carolina properties to its list of historic places, including the Robbinsville Downtown Historic District! The National Register encourages preservation of historic resources by documenting a property’s historic significance and provides opportunities for state and federal historic preservation grants and tax credits.

The Robbinsville Downtown Historic District is locally significant in the areas of Commerce, Politics/Government, and Education as the town exemplifies the major development period and economic prosperity that existed in the community from c. 1872 through the mid-1960s. Commercial development in the town primarily served the local Robbinsville and Graham County communities, but as tourism grew in importance throughout Graham County and western North Carolina, several hotels were built for visitors to the area. As the county seat of Graham County, the town’s history is closely tied to the ongoing presence of the county courthouse.

The Courthouse was individually listed in the National Register in 2007, significant in the areas of Politics/Government and Architecture. Numerous buildings in the district are related to public education and the central operations of the county school district still located within the historic district in downtown Robbinsville. The district is also locally significant in the area of Architecture for the concentration of intact examples of commercial, institutional, industrial, and residential building types, built in vernacular, commercial, Colonial Revival, Neoclassical, Tudor Revival, and Modern Movement Ranch styles. Of particular significance in the district is the significant concentration of stone craftsmanship in buildings and retaining walls dating from ca. 1925-ca. 1958, many of which were built during the Works Project Administration (WPA) dating from 1935-1943.