The Train Depot

The 1911 built Garibaldi P&N depot. Who's name was later changed to Belmont Junction. Was built circa 1911. By prominent charlotte architect Charles Christian hook it was built to almost the same specs as the depot in mount holly. Only differance wasthe size. The interior consented of the whites only waiting room with a pot belly stove and ticket window with benches. A wall once divided the whites only waiting room from the colored waiting room which has a seperate door on the side of the station. In frount of the colored waiting room was the ticket office/telegraph office as well as the station masters office . Then u went up a set of stairs and into the fraight room which u believe once contained a fraight scale there most likely would have been a cast concrete bench at the end of the depot under what is now the concrete fraight platform. The station was used until 1951 when passenger service on the P&N was discontinued fraight was still handled there I belive until the P&N was absorbed into the seaboard in 69

Former Main Street Methodist Church at 208 South Main Street

Built in 1912, this handsome Gothic Revival style church was constructed by a congregation in 1911, whose name was later changed, in 1949, to Main Street Methodist. 

Since 1976, Alexander Memorial Baptist Church has occupied the church and holds regular services. The sanctuary is well-detailed and features perforated rafters and gracefully curved pews. 

The gable-fronted main block is dominated by a pair of buttressed square entrance towers, both with pyramidal roofs. The original slate roof was removed several years ago and replaced by a more modern shingle-style roof covering. If you are a former or current member, we would love to hear any additional information or stories you may have to share!

Bank of Belmont (aka Wells Fargo) building at 32 N Main Street

Built in 1926, this handsome three story Renaissance Revival bank is considered the most impressive in the downtown commercial district due to is size and sophistication.

The Bank of Belmont was organized in 1906 by R.L. Stowe and it was the originally housed in the Belmont Hotel Building. 

The lavish interior details abound, including the impressive lobby with marble sheathed walls and pilasters and barrel ceiling whose metallic ribs are painted in a floral design that is carried to the classic moldings and marble fixtures.

If you've never been inside this beautiful building, be sure to take a moment peak inside and enjoy the fine architecture of the lobby.

Samuel Pinkney Stowe, Sr. House (Stowe Manor)

Completed in 1924, the home burned before occupancy and was rebuilt in 9 months. If you look closely, there is still evidence of char from the fire on the basement walls. 

This lovely Renaissance Revival home was designed by noted architect Hugh White for Samuel Pinkney Stowe Sr., a leading textile executive in Gaston County. 

Today the home, known as Stowe Manor, is used for special events and weddings. It is indisputably, one of the grandest homes in Belmont and Gaston County. 

Photo Credits: Tiffany Patheal

Stowe Mills Office Building

The building was designed by noted architect J. M. McMichael and constructed in 1914 as the corporate offices for several mill companies. 

In the early 1970s the companies run by Pickney Stowe moved out and Stowe Mills bought their share of the building. The building underwent a dramatic transformation and was aesthetically re-designed by John (Skipper) Graham. He painted it white and changed the windows, entrance, and the interior décor. 

In 1988, a modern addition was added which was designed by Mike Tribble then of Clark, Tribble, Harris & Li. Today, the building is owned by a real estate investment trust and leased as offices. See before & after photos below.
Content Credit - Many thanks to Robert L. Stowe III & Photo Credit: thanks to Millican Pictorial History 

Hotel Belmont

It's right there beside Cherubs Cafe & Candy Bouquet by Holy Angels, but remains a mystery to most.... So, here's three facts about the Hotel Belmont: 

It opened in 1906 when Main Street was a dirt road and was built by George Milton Gullick. 

In its heyday, ads boasted:: “Hotel Belmont, Hot and Cold Water in Every Room, Home Cooked Foods. Price $1.25 & $1.50. Clean Cool Rooms.” 

The hotel has been totally renovated and currently serves as a residence to the great grandchildren of Mr. Gullick. If you happen to see Jonathan Taylor sitting outside on the sidewalk one day, ask him to tell you the ghost story about a young widowed WWI-war bride.

Abraham Stowe House

This house was built by Abraham Stowe, a Confederate Veteran, in the years immediately following the Civil War. Mr. Stowe (1842-1897) was Belmont's first Mayor and also served as the Postmaster.

The house was later used as a teacherage and was part of a private school.

Today this beautiful historic home, at 35 Catawba Avenue, houses the Millican Pictorial History Museum Owned and operated by Allen Millican, this unique shop sells the largest collection of historic photos of Gaston County that you will find for sale anywhere! If you haven't been in here, you are in for a real treat!

Yates Abernathy House

This house was moved from the Acme Mill Village in North Belmont to it's current location behind the Belmont Historical Society. 

This house is a typical example of the various 14 mill villages in and around Belmont and is decorated with period furnishings. 

Built in 1920, the home features four rooms and was heated with a coal fireplace and had indoor plumbing on the back porch. The home is open to the public and worth a visit to see what life in Belmont used to be like!

The Robert Lee Stowe, Sr. House at 32 East Catawba Ave

It's currently serves as a museum and cultural learning center for the Belmont Historical Society (If you haven't been, you need to go!) 

It was built in 1899 and was the first Belmont home of Gaston County's foremost textile magnate, Robert Lee Stowe, Sr. and believed to be the 3rd oldest house in Belmont. 

The house is a charming example of turn of the century architecture and features the original separate kitchen located at the rear of the house as well as a mill house decorated with period furnishings. 

Albert Hand House

The Albert Hand house located on North Main St:

The high quality exterior brick is said to be imported from Europe. 

The neo-classical house was built in 1907 by Albert Hand who was a farmer from Charlotte that inherited the land. He reportedly closely supervised it's construction. 

At one time the house served as the Lutheran parsonage and it is currently listed on the Gaston County Local Landmarks register.

Even though this home is listed on the local register and located in a National Historic District, it along with ALL the other homes and buildings in the historic district are scheduled be rezoned to high density in near future IF the proposed Land Plan is passed on Monday May 5th by City Council. These historic designations in no prevent these historic structures from being torn down in the future do build high density dwellings. 

Learn more about how you can get involved and become a preservation advocate on our facebook page at Historic Belmont Foundation. 

Your help is needed and you can make a difference!

Chronicle Mill

Here's three interesting facts about the Chronicle Mill. 

It was the first mill built in Belmont, Circa 1901.

In 1906, it was one of the first buildings in the US to be air conditioned, then called a humidification system.

It operated under the Stowe Mills legacy until it closed in 2009 and has been vacant since that time.

Update: Demolition began in 2013, but the developer quickly saw the potential of the 110,000 square foot structure and decided to save it. Unfortunately, due to significant changes and additions over the years the building did not qualify for federal tax credits that would have helped off-set the cost of renovations. The ultimate fate of the building remains to be seen, but we're keeping our fingers crossed!

Question: What would you like to see this old mill transformed into?

The Belmont General Store

We have been provided some interesting insider history from Mr. Robert Stowe, who's grandfather started the store. This is a quote from Mr. Stowes email used with his permission:

"The business was started in 1889 by my grandfather and his brother-in-law as Stowe and Puett as retail dealer in general merchandise long before the mills were started. They sold everything including caskets. Mr. Puett’s health declined and he sold his interest to my grandfather’s brother S. P. Stowe and they changed the name to Stowe Brothers Company. The original store building was where the P&N depot is now. When Southern (Duke)Power wanted that location for their depot, they built the present building next door in 1904. The Chronicle and Imperial mills were already in operation when they sold the business not the building to the Horsleys and the Dixons. All of the mills in Belmont worked out deal with the new owners to allow their employees to charge merchandise at the store and have the charges deducted from their pay. This continued in into the 1980’s when our company was the last to end the practice. I bought the business and the building in 1986 and turned it into a True Value Hardware store which operated for about six years. When I closed the business, Dan Stowe bought the building and rented out for retail. After Dan died the building went to his heirs. We sold the building to LaVecchia and Matinata. The painting of the building is the kind of thing I worry about more than what the building is used for. Painting it as well as the building on the other side of street impaired their historic significance. The Stowe Merc. building is constructed of sun-dried brick. Removing the paint will be difficult if not impossible without damaging the brick." ~ end of quote.

City Hall

Prior to 1972 it was the US Post Office. 

It boasts a period 1939 mural in the lobby worth seeing. 

It is one of only 3 structures in Belmont listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A.C. Lineberger House

This Renaissance Revival style home was built in 1921 for the A.C. Lineberger family who were partners in Lineberger-Stowe Mills. 

The elegant dining room (pictured here) features the original, hand painted rice paper of Oriental design. 

The third floor was originally a ballroom, but in 1949 with his young family in the house, Mr. Lineberger commissioned an Austrian painter to create a circus playroom painting whimsical life-size circus characters under the "big-top" circus tent formed by the slope of the roof.

Mr. Robert L. Stowe Home

Built in 1917, this imposing brick Colonial Revival house was built for textile pioneer Mr. Robert Lee Stowe and his wife Nellie Rhyne. 

The architectural description reads as such: the truncated hip slate roof is crowned by a balustrade, and flanked by projecting side gabled wings, whose pedimented ends contain fanlights. The wide elliptical arched entrance contains leaded glass sidelights and fanlight, and is sheltered by a one-story central bay portico with a flat roof encircled by a balustrade, and supported by ionic columns. The ionic columns of the portico are carried to the porte-cochere on the north side. Above the dentil cornice rises a central-bay gabled dormer containing a gracefully detailed Palladian window. To the south is an enclosed sun porch. 

The large entrance hall features paneled wainscoting and Doric-columned partitions. It is dominated by a central staircase that doubles back to a large second floor central hallway. Numerous mantels carry out the Colonial Revival style detailing the exterior. 

Main Street - Smith Home

Built in 1908, this Colonial Revival, two story frame house was built for R.B. Suggs. Mr. Suggs owned the Belmont Drug Store and founded both the Bank of Belmont and the Acme Spinning Company. 

Mrs. R.B. Suggs later rented rooms to local teachers at Belmont High School, so the home became known as a teacherage. For a short time In the 1960's the home was used as a restaurant known as The Evergreens, named after the Magnolia tree in the front yard. 

The home has stayed in the same family for over 100 years, with the 5th generation of descendants currently being raised there. In 2014, Mr. Suggs great grandson, Tanner Smith, who is the current owner, completed a major renovation on the home, which included removing the old aluminum siding among other things. The home was listed on the Gaston County Historic Register in 2014, making it one of approximately 38 properties individually listed historic landmarks in the entire county. Tanner also serves as Vice President on the Historic Belmont Foundation's board of directors.

James W. Stowe Home

This handsome two-and-a-half story Colonial Revival style home was built Circa 1913 for James William Stowe and his wife Zada Rankin Stowe. Stowe was the president of Eagle Yarn Mills, which was torn down to make room for the Eagle Park subdivision. He was the brother of Robert Lee Stowe, Sr, George Washington Stowe and Samuel Pickney Stowe, Sr and had four sisters. His wife Zada was a daughter of Whiten Robertus Rankin and Judith McKee Rankin, and their homeplace stood where South Point High School is today.

The house was designed by Louis Asbury of Charlotte. He was the first professionally trained, full time architect in the state of North Carolina and was very active during the 1910’s and 1920’s and went on to become quite famous. He is remembered for several styles of architecture, including the Colonial Revival style of this home. He designed many famous buildings and homes in the region which still stand today. Noteworthy are the Mecklenburg County Courthouse and Myers Park United Methodist Church. It is thought that the plans for this house were among his earliest work since the original blueprints and specs bear no number or date.

The home has been in the Stowe family for over 100 years and is affectionately known to them as "The Homeplace". The current owners, Joe and Janice Stowe, moved into the house in 1982 with their three children. Before the move, almost a year was spent in making upgrades and adding some modern amenities like central air and heat. The exterior has never been changed much, though the screen on the front porch was removed, and a large deck was added off the back. The house still boasts 8 fireplaces, four on each floor. In the beginning it also had a chimney in the kitchen for wood cookstove. There was never a well on the property as water was taken from the community well across the street. Though only two families have lived in the home, it has been a gathering place for the generations. The Stowes' six grandchildren have as much fun as earlier generations playing on the stairs and running through the yard and woods. Jim and Zada’s legacy lives on with the offspring of their 5 children, 9 grandchildren, and innumerable great grandchildren.

Bonus Fun Fact: the same floor plan was later used for the brick home which sits next to Alexander Memorial Baptist Church but the floor plan was reversed !

The architectural description reads as such: The three-bay frame house has a hip roof with a slightly raised central gable, accentuated by modillion blocks. A one-story, wraparound porch with pedimented entrance bay is supported by columns.

The Abbey Basilica of Mary Help

The basilica was built in neo-Gothic style in 1892, and was completely renovated in 1965 in a most striking manner. Peter Dederichs (1856-1924) a Detroit architect, designed the church. The design of the building forms a Latin cross, eight bays by two. The narrow width eliminates the need for interior vaulting. the slate roof is steeply pitched, with ornament in wood and metal. The west facade is dominated by two towers, one is one hundred fifty feet high, the other is one hundred feet. The two towers serve no structural purpose, but together house 5 bells weighing over 2000 pounds. 

The Abbey Basilica of Maryhelp, under the patronage of Mary Help of Christians, is the central figure in the composition of Belmont Abbey and of the Belmont Abbey Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. It is axial in both design and function. The Abbey Basilica is one of only three structures in Belmont, NC individually listed on the National Register of Historic places. The basilica has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973. It held cathedral rank until 1977. In 1998, the church was named a minor Basilica by the Vatican. 

One of the many noteworthy features of the Basilica is located in the Narthex. It is a massive block of granite believed to a Native American alter and later used as a slave block. Today the granite has been hewed for use as a baptismal font. The brass legend explains the present use: "Upon this rock men once were sold into slavery. Now upon this rock, through the waters of Baptism, men become free children of God."

Please follow this link for lots more interesting facts about the magnificent stained glass German windows, the Nave, the remarkable acoustics, the 1877 Madonna and child statue, the Sanctuary, and the Transepts. This is by far, the most important historic site in Belmont and perhaps the State!

Content Credit: http://belmontabbey.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Basilica-brochure-4-pages.pdf

Photo Credit: Matthew Gregory

Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, Belmont Abbey

 — at Belmont Abbey, North Carolina.

Construction begins on the Abbey Church of Mary Help of Christians in 1892 and it is completed in 1894. More commonly known as the Belmont Abbey Basilica, the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.