Kernersville

Enjoy a Historical Walking Tour of Downtown Kernersville with pictures of before and after!

Kernersville

Kernersville, North Carolina 27284, United States

Created By: Kernersville Museum

Tour Information

Historical Downtown Kernersville


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What You'll See on the Tour

Plunkett Place/Pierce Jefferson Funeral Home - Around 1856, the Masons opened what is said to be the first school in Kernersville. Parents had to pay tuition for the children attend this school. The school, called The Kernersville Academy, ... Read more
The Bellamy House was built in 1880 for Lizzie Sapp by her parents as a wedding gift. In 1919, George Harriss Bellamy, Jr. (1886-1964) and his wife, Iona Morton Bellamy (1892-1964), bought the house from Lizzie Sapp and moved in on July 4t... Read more
Looking East on Mountain Street. You can see the old Esso station up ahead and the back side of the Oak Ridge Military Academy billboard that sat on the corner.  
Kernersville Bank Building - Built in 1902 for the Bank of Kernersville (Est. 1903). The Bank of Kernersville was one of the most stable banks in the area. In 1933, when banks all over the country were locking their doors, this bank contin... Read more
A view of South Main Street in 1893. In this picture you can see the Bank Building in the foreground. In the next picture, we see South Main Street as it looks today, again the Bank Building is in the foreground. 
105 N. Main Street. P& N Store - This building was built in 1925. Before the P & N store, W. J. Johnson operated a variety store in this building. In 1940, H.C. Porter & E. T. Nance purchased the building and operated the popula... Read more
109 N. Main Street - Charlie Snow's Diner, now the site of Fitz on Main. Snow's Ice Cream and Sandwich Shoppe opened in downtown Kernersville in 1947. Charlie Snow ran the business for 37 years, serving up ice cream, good food, and convers... Read more
111 N. Main Street - Snow's Department Store, the building was built in 1925. Snow's Mercantile Company men's, women's, and children's shoes as well as handkerchiefs, thread, stationary, hoisery, belts, underwear, etc. The store operated fr... Read more
117 North Main Street - Built in 1940, this building once housed the Western Auto store in downtown Kernersville. In the second picture, you can see Western Auto behind a train in a 1948 4th of July Parade. 
125 N. Main Street - Built in 1877 by J.C. Roberts, the home was known as 'The Justice House' once Dr. & Mrs. J.T. Justice purchased the home. The home eventualy caught fire and had to be torn down. 
Built in 1950, this building was originally the home of Kernersville Furniture Store. Today, the building is home to Kernersville Brewing Company downstairs and Breathe Cocktail Lounge upstairs. Kernersville Brewing Company, KBC, is a 10 ba... Read more
World War II veteran and former the 321st US Army Infantry (A.K.A. Wildcats) Grover Bodenhamer owned and operated a general store at this location. According to the 1920 census, Grover now worked for his father as a salesman at the grocery ... Read more
235 North Main Street. The L. F. Davis & Son was a leading store in the Kernersville community when it was established in 1885.  In 1905, W.C. Stafford and & L.E. Griffin purchased the stock and merchandise and opened the establis... Read more
McCuiston House - Tomas C. McCuiston was born on July 16, 1872, he was married to Carrie Atkins (born July 21, 1872). Together, they built this house in 1908 on North Main Street. The house was eventually torn down, but in it's day it was a... Read more
McCuiston Hardware Store. This store stood just to the right of the McCuiston House. Here, Tom McCuiston stands in front of his Hardware store  circa 1915. He originally opened his business in 1896 repairing, servicing & selling bicycl... Read more
1873 Freight Depot - The Kernersville Historic Train Depot was built in 1873 and came with the arrival of the North Carolina railroad. A railroad line was constructed to connect Greensboro and Winston-Salem and eager to bring the train thro... Read more
Kernersville Passenger Depot - a passenger depot was construction on the opposite side of the tracks from the originally train depot. Once the passenger depot was built the old train depot was used mostly for storage. The last known passen... Read more
Located at 234 North Main Street and built in 1912 by D.W. Harmon, this building was originally a grocery store where Mr. Shep Nelson  & Mr. Billy Winfree sold groceries, dry goods and notions. Later, the building was the site of Tom ... Read more
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Originally Leak Tobacco Factory, built in 1884 by Brown, Sapp & Co. Later the building was converted to knitting mill by Mr. Leak.  Eventually it  was converted to a manufacturing plant for the Hooker Furniture Company.   
Pic Fair Theatre/Justice Theatre opened in 1934 under the name PicFair Theatre. The name came from two popular actors at that time, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Later, the name changed to the Justice Theatre. A popular place for ch... Read more
126 North Main Street - Built in 1916, The Main Street Baptist Church (formerly First Baptist Church) was completed in 1915-1916 to house the congregation that had been organized in 1884. It is a two-story, cross-gabled brick building, exe... Read more
116 North Main Street - Built in 1935, this was the first home of local grocery store, Musten & Crutchfield. Since then, other merchants have occupied the space. 
103 E. Mountain Street - the sight of Dobson's Tavern, later sold to Joseph Kerner and known as Kerner's Crossroads. In 1771 William Dobson purchased the land at the crossroads and would soon build a tavern for travelers who were using the ... Read more
A view of North Main Street from 1909, and then a view of North Main Street today
Located at 101 South Main St. This 2-story brick family drugstore was established "on the square" in 1904 by J. M. Pinnix. Three generations of the Pinnix family had run it by the time it closed in 1986 as the oldest drug store in North Car... Read more
104 South Main Street - Mr. John King built this brick structure in 1879. In 1882 Jim King, John's brother purchased the building and opened a general store. Later, Fulp & Linville purchased the property and ran a general store in the s... Read more
152 South Main Street - D. W. Harmon built this small building for his office in 1927. Harmon was busy man, serving on the Town Board of Commissioners, and the local school board. He was appointed to the Board of Highway Commissioners in 19... Read more
149 Sout Main Street, built in 1860 by Julius Harmon, grandson of town founder, Joseph Kerner. Julius Harmon's children, D.W. Harmon and Tilly Harmon would live in the house throughout their lives. The house was remolded by DeWitt (D.W.) in... Read more
215 South Main Street - Current site of Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden. Orginially, the Elias Kerner Huff House, built around 1880, sat in this spot. A picturesque Victorian cottage, the exterior includes the hipped roof and tower with rou... Read more
225 South Main Street - Circa 1870, this is a typical two-story common brick Italianate style house. It is typical of tthe Kerner houses built in the last quarter of the 19th century. This "L" shaped house follows a center hall plan with a ... Read more
303 South Main Street - Built 1892 by Henry Clay Korner for his mother, Aunt Salie, second wife and widow of Philip Korner. The house is "L" shaped with a center hall plan. There are two unequal rooms on each side of the hall and a rear ell... Read more
306 South Main Street - Circa 1922, the original church was built in 1837 on land donated by John Fredrick Kerner, son of Joseph Kerner. In 1837, the building was sold to St. Paul United Methodist Church and moved. A second building was bui... Read more
Bodenhamer's Store / Quality Gas Station - Built in 1913. This two story commerical structure in the "V" of Salisbury & S. Main Street Streets was built by Joseph J. Korner. The store retains much of its original detailing in spite of i... Read more
312 S. Main Street - Built in 1857, this two-story Greek Revival style home has bracketed cornices and is built of common bond brick. The main block and rear ell are sheltered under the gabled roof. Rooms have been added to the rear and sou... Read more
402 South Main Street - Circa 1884, this is the oldest remaining tobacco factory building in Forsyth County. In the 1800's tobacco was the principal manufacturing industry in Kernersville, with its prime product being plug tobacco. Built by... Read more
413 South Main Street - Körner's Folly, Construction began in 1878 and was complete in 1880. Built by artist and interior decorator, Jule Gilmer Körner, it contains 22 rooms on 7 levels (which equal about 3 and 1/2 floors) with 15 firepl... Read more
414 South Main Street - Built 1857,  this is a two-story common bond brick house, five bays wide, with a three-bay , two tiered, gabled portico and exterior end chimneys. There is a two-story frame addition and an one-story shed rear addi... Read more
419 South Main Street, Circa 1837-1841. This house has seen seven major alterations, yet it still retains most of its decorative gable ends and the cedar shingling on the second floor structure. The gable ends have the original stained-glas... Read more
418 South Main Street - Circa 1891, this two-story frame gabled dwelling with a "triple-A roof" has decorative shingling in the gable ends. There is a one story rear ell and a single-stepped chimney on the north end of the house. The entry ... Read more
504 South Main Street - Built in 1867. In 1867, John Fredrick Kerner, eldest child of Joseph Kerner, deeded almost two acres of land for a church & graveyard for the Moravian Church. John Fredrick and his two sons, Nathaniel & Elias... Read more
511 South Main Street - Circa 1900, this one story Greek Revival cottage was rebuilt after a fire destroyed the house in 1893. As the fire started in the top of the house, neighbors removed most of the furniture and handmade mantels from th... Read more
620 South Main Street - Built in 1877, this house is considered a typical architectonic  "Kerner" house. It is a two-story, "L" shaped, handmade brick house with 14-inch thick walls. It has bays that are arched with a decorative brick drip... Read more
707 South Main Street - Circa 1861, this two story frame dwelling was originally built around 1861 for John W. Gentry, a local merchant, and his wife, Parmelia Kerner Gentry, daughter of John Fredrick Kerner. In 1881, the house was purchase... Read more
711 South Main Street - Circia 1840, originally a two-story cabin, in 1856 Francis Stafford added the living room and a bedroom above it. In 1905 William Cornelius Stafford, the son of Francis, purchased the house and property from his fath... Read more
Located behind the Stafford House - This is a pre-Civil War black graveyard belonging to St. Paul Unted Methodist Church. Slaves from this area are buried here along with other members of the black community. It continues to serve as a buri... Read more

 

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