3 Lexington Buildings Earn Historic Preservation Awards

The Town of Lexington recently recognized three property owners for preserving buildings that have been in Lexington since the 1800s or early 1900s. 

The town's Historic Preservation Board presented awards to the owners of the Jean Derrick Law Office, the Simmons-Harth Gantt House and Rhoten's Country Store on Oct. 25 at the 4th Annual Historic Preservation Awards.

The Simmons-Harth Gantt House at 102 Gantt Street is the oldest of the three buildings. It was built around 1830, and is now home to Lexington Art Studio. The Simmons and Harth families operated the Village of Lexington post office from the home until the late 1800s. 

The building that now houses the Jean Derrick Law Office at 205 West Main Street was built around 1875.

Rhoten's Country Store was built around 1932, and the Rhoten family has been operating it since 1945. The building is located across the street from Lexington's Old Mill on East Main Street. Mill workers used to shop at the Rhoten family's small grocery store on credit until payday.

To qualify for an Historic Preservation Award, a building must be listed on the town’s historic inventory list and must be adaptively re-used if it is a former residence-turned-commercial. It also must be restored to period and keep with the original integrity.