City Directories and History: Buck Building/Nissen Todd Dept. Store
The Conway Downtown Historic District is significant as the focal public commercial and social center of the city of Conway; as a collection of buildings associated with the commercial and governmental growth and development of Conway from ca. 1824 to ca. 1950; and as a typical example of architectural and commercial development and evolution in a small southern coastal town in the first half of the twentieth century. The Conway Downtown Historic District is a collection of forty commercial buildings, one public building, and one structure in the downtown area centered on Main Street and also including properties on Laurel Street, Third Avenue, and Fourth Avenue. Thirty-three buildings and one structure contribute to the character of the historic district, while eight buildings are non-contributing. The contributing properties were constructed from 1824 to ca. 1950, with the majority constructed between ca. 1900 to ca. 1940. Many of the historic commercial buildings in downtown Conway were built shortly after an 1897 fire destroyed several downtown businesses. The new brick buildings which were constructed on Main Street from ca. 1900 to ca. 1910 became the core of the city’s business district, an area which grew still larger from ca. 1910 to ca. 1940. The most significant and rapid growth occurred from ca. 1890 to ca. 1930, and was due to a large extent on the successful introduction of tobacco as a cash crop. Listed in the National Register August 19, 1994; Boundary increase March 31, 2010.
View a map showing the boundaries of the Conway Downtown Historic District.
View the complete text of the nomination form and the boundary increase (2010) for this National Register property. In addition, the Historic Resources of Conway, ca. 1850-ca. 1930 includes historical background information for this and other related National Register properties.
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