Claremont Historic District

The large neighborhood of Claremont began its institutional and residential development in the 1870s and 1880s with construction of Claremont College and a large Queen Anne style farmhouse.  Prior to this time the area was primarily open farmland owned by a relatively small group of individuals. Growth proceeded very slowly during this period. Although the Town of Hickory had been incorporated in 1873, settlement and commercial activity remained clustered along the Western, North Carolina Railroad.

It was not until the early 1890s that this sparsely settled area began to experience significant residential development. The rapid population growth which accompanied the town's expanding manufacturing base created an urgent need for new residential home sites removed from the traditional center of activity. People had grown tired of the noise and traffic associated with the downtown area and chose fashionable residential locations away from these nuisances in which to reside. Leading the way in this exodus were prominent businessmen and professionals who built many of the impressive homes in Claremont during its early growth years.

Claremont's building activity virtually stopped in 1914. Rechanneling of industrial output during World War One, combined with the City's post war retooling and recession placed a tight clamp on building activity until 1920.

In 1918, with the war over, Hickory and North Carolina began experiencing a general non-farm economic boom. New businesses and industries were establishing themselves in the local economy. Growth in the urban population from 5,076 persons in 1920 to 13,487 in 1940 created an increasing need for housing, consumer and service related businesses as well as new educational and recreational facilities. Claremont provided the perfect environment for many of these activities even as outlying areas were being developed. The construction of Claremont High School and the development of recreational facilities in Carolina Park helped re-establish the educational and cultural associations which had long been part of Claremont.

Today, Claremont is one of the two finest and relatively intact late nineteenth and early twentieth century residential neighborhoods in the City. Loosely centered on the old Claremont High School and its extensive grounds, the pattern of the area's unplanned growth has been dictated by the availability of vacant building lots.

In 1986 Claremont was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Guide Map of Historic Claremont

Structure List (with Principal Structures Described)

1. Claremont High School (1925) -- This property was the site of Claremont Female College until 1916. The Hickory School Board razed the original Claremont College building and constructed in its place the existing building. The structure exhibits what is basically a Neo-Classical Revival design yet with much more enriched terra cotta ornamentation.
2. (former) Corinth Reformed Church Parsonage (1895) -- This is a two-story, three-bay weatherboarded and wood shingled double-pile Queen Anne house. It was built on land owned by the church in the late 1890s and served as the church parsonage until 1923, at which time the home was sold to Dr. Ralston Carver. Mr. Carver had the house moved to 264 3rd Ave., NE sometime later. In 1988 the home was relocated in Carolina Park.
3. Murphy-McFarland House (c.1919) -- Colonial Revival
4. Calvin R. Warlick House (1923-24) -- Square House
5. David M. McComb, Jr. House (1939) -- Colonial Revival
6. Arthur H. Burgess House (1940) -- Colonial Revival
7. Doll Abernethy House (c.1870) -- Colonial Revival

   

8. George W. Hall House (c.1906) -- This is a two-story weatherboarded Colonial Revival house, three bays wide and covered by a high balustrade deck on the hip roof. The front elevation is dominated by a pedimented center bay portico with colossal Ionic columns with scamozzi capitals. George W. Hall founded the pioneering Hickory Manufacturing Company.

   

9. H. Ellis McComb House (1889) -- This two-story, asymmetrically composed, weatherboarded house has a principal west elevation containing two pedimented gables flanking a recessed central entrance. H. Ellis McComb operated a meat market, grocery story, and dairy in Hickory's early development days.
10. First Methodist Church (1952) -- Colonial Revival/Neo-Greek
11. Charlotte Cere Grothe House (c.1935) -- Double Pile Brick Veneer
12. Luther G. Boliek House (c.1945) -- Colonial Revival

    

13. Warner-McComb House (1928) -- This is one of the finest examples of the Tudor Revival style in the Claremont District. Built on a cross gable plan, its prominent features include a varied silhouette created by projecting wings and multiple half-timbered and stuccoed gables and a compound recessed entryway. Mrs. H. W. Warner built the house following her husband's death in 1928. The next owner, R. H. McComb was mayor of Hickory for several years.
14. Dr. Hunsucker Office (c.1950) -- Traditional 20th Century
15. Dr. Charles Hunsucker House (c.1922) -- Square House
16. Thomas P. Pruitt House (1919) -- Bungalow

    

17. Walter J. Shuford House (1909) -- This is an outstanding example of an early twentieth century bungalow of Craftsman style influence. The lot is landscaped with numerous trees and shrubbery which creates a setting that complements the natural character of the house. Walter J. Shuford was an early settler in Hickory and a member of the State Board of Agriculture.
18. Rusk G. Henry House (1923) -- Colonial Revival
19. Thomas P. Johnston House (1907) -- Queen Anne
20. Herman-Tuttle House (1913-15) -- Bungalow
21. Shuford-Heald-Nau House (c.1907) -- Late Queen Anne
22. Reid-Shuford House (c.1907) -- Colonial Revival
23. Duplex (c.1970) -- Brick Veneer

    

24. Adolphus L. Shuford House, Maple Grove (c.1875) -- This is a well preserved two-story frame house. The home's most prominent architectural feature is its well ornamented two-story porch which extends nearly the full length of the main facade. The house was built by Adolphus L. Shuford and served as the seat of his dairy operation; one of the first to use Jersey cows in the Western Piedmont.
25. Fox-Ingold House (c.1906) -- Colonial Revival
26. Colin M. Yoder House (1920-21) -- Bungalow
27. Cloninger-Lohr House (1923-24) -- Square House
28. Clinard-Cilley House (c.1905) -- Colonial Revival
29. Warlick-Waggoner House (c.1905) -- Colonial Revival
30. Harris Apts. (c.1905) -- Colonial Revival
31. Mrs. H. C. Dixon House (c.1914) -- Colonial Revival

    

32. John L. Riddle House (1918) -- This is one of the finest bungalows in Claremont. It is a two-story weatherboarded and wood shingled structure. John Riddle was a long-time resident of Hickory, who managed Hickory Grocery Company.

    

33. Judge W. B. Councill House (1902) -- This is one of the two finest Queen Anne style houses still in existence in Hickory. Built on an irregular plan containing multiple receding and projecting walls the house has a number of characteristic features including an octagonal tower and a wraparound porch. William B. Councill, an attorney, served for 10 years as Judge of District Superior Court.
34. Alonzo M. West House (c.1924) -- Colonial Revival
35. George L. Baily House (c.1911) -- Craftsman Style Bungalow
36. Herbert H. Miller House (1912) -- Square House
37. Brian Jones House (1919-25) -- Square House
38. Grover P. Fowler House (c.1919) -- Bungalow
39. Moss Apts. (c.1927) -- Elongated Square House
40. Duplex (1919-25) -- Square House

    

41. Carolina Park (1904) -- Acquired in 1904 by the City of Hickory from the estate of John W. Robinson for $3,275, the park has since undergone numerous beautification programs and changes in its recreational facilities. Originally the site of a mineral spring with supposedly healing waters, Carolina Park is now a large outdoor arboretum containing some 250 species of trees and plantings.
42. Milas M. Sigmond House (1923-25) -- 20th Century
43. Ward Yoder House (c.1931) -- 20th Century Vernacular
44. James L. Whitener House (1927-33) -- Traditional 20th Century
45. Philip G. Menzies House (c.1940) -- Colonial Revival
46. Donald S. Menzies House (1931) -- Traditional 20th Century

    

47. Marshall R. Wagner House (1938) -- This house is another fine example of the Tudor Revival style in the Claremont District. It presents an extremely varied silhouette created by numerous projecting and recessed brick veneered walls capped by steeply pitched half-timbered and stuccoed intersecting gables. Marshall Wagner was the owner of Wagner Furniture Company.

    

48. William B. Menzies House (1902) -- This richly asymmetrical two-story Queen Anne house has a cross gable plan. A wraparound porch on the first story is set on Tuscan Columns and has a pedimented entrance gable. William B. Menzies was manager of Hickory Manufacturing Company for many years.
49. Mrs. William Menzies Sr. House (c.1898) --Queen Anne
50. Ranch-Type Duplex (c.1956) -- Ranch

    

51. Kenneth C. Menzies House (c.1897) -- This is an imposing weatherboarded two-story, three-bay Colonial Revival house which was substantially altered in 1909. Its exterior features include a high hip roof, two interior chimneys, and a wraparound porch. Kenneth C. Menzies was named President of the First National Bank of Catawba County when three local banks merged in 1946.

    

52. Shuford L. Whitener House (c.1897) -- Remodeled before the mid 1900s from what was probably a large Queen Anne house built in 1897, the Colonial Revival Shuford L. Whitener house is two stories in height, three bays wide, and two rooms deep. Shuford L. Whitener established one of Hickory's early grocery stores and was mayor of the city for four terms.
53. Dr. Ralston W. Carver House (c.1924) -- Bungalow