Clinton Commercial Historic District
National Register Listing
Street Address:
Main, Broad, Pitts, Musgrove and Gary Sts., Clinton, SC (Laurens County)
NRHP Nomination
Boundary Increase and Decrease Documentation
NRHP Maps
Record Number:
S10817730014
Description and Narrative:
The Clinton Commercial Historic District is a collection of thirty-seven contributing properties centrally located in Clinton. The district is comprised of late nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings associated with the commercial life of the city. Commercial buildings are predominant, but the district also contains two bank buildings; a five-section warehouse; a former city hall; a large, industrial building; a Masonic temple; and a small, landscaped park. The district is locally significant as a tangible record of the period of Clinton’s greatest commercial growth from the 1870s to the 1930s. Buildings in the district display a variety of architectural features, including ornamental brickwork of the Victorian era, pressed-metal cornices and ceilings of the early twentieth century, and geometric designs of the Art Moderne style. The city of Clinton was founded in 1852 on the Laurens Railroad, which was then under construction. In September of that year, twenty-eight lots were sold and the town soon developed into a trading center for the surrounding agricultural area. The name Clinton was chosen to honor Henry Clinton Young of Laurens, who was active in the movement to construct the railroad. Listed in the National Register November 15, 1984. Boundary increase to add one non-contributing and eight contributing buildings along West Main Street and boundary decrease following the demolition of one non-contributing and five contributing buildings March 16, 2020.
Period of Significance:
1875 – 1935
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Architecture;Commerce;Other
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
November 15 1984
Date of Boundary Increase:
March 16 2020
