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Photograph of Gaffney Commercial Historic District
Photograph by Bill Fitzpatrick, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Gaffney Commercial Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

From the record

“Gaffney Commercial Historic District is a national historic district located in Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina. The district encompasses 41 contributing buildings in the central business district of Gaffney.”

Wikipedia article Gaffney Commercial Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 14 National Register listings published here for Cherokee County · listed in 1986 · category: District.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • Address. Roughly N. Limestone St. between Cherokee Ave. and E. Meadow St., Gaffney, 29340
  • When was it listed? March 1986
  • Category. district
  • Also known as. Gaffney MRA
  • Census division. Gaffney
  • Architectural style. Renaissance Revival architecture
  • National Register reference number. 86000602 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

248 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 248 fires within 5 miles of Gaffney Commercial Historic District between 1992 and 2020, burning about 837 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 13 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined141
Debris and open burning40
Misuse of fire by a minor19
Equipment and vehicle use14
Arson/incendiarism13
Smoking6
Recreation and ceremony5
Railroad operations and maintenance5
Natural3
Other causes1
Fireworks1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 1992Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 2007Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1999Debris and open burning5.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
3 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
29 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
25 September 1998Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
23 September 2005Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
23 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Every fire recorded in Cherokee County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 69 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 69 workings within 5 miles of Gaffney Commercial Historic District: 61 unknowns, 4 past producers, 3 producers, 1 prospect. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Gold, Clay, Thorium, REE. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Bennet Brick and Tile Company MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Cameron MineSilver, Lead, Copper, Sulfur, IronUnknown1861
Cameron MineSilver, Lead, CopperUnknown1850
Northern Trib Cherokee Creek Monazite PlacerThorium, REE, Corundum, Gold, TinUnknown1910, 1911
Sullivan-Ballinger FarmsManganeseProspect
Thicketty Creek Monazite Placer Eastern TributaryThorium, REE, Tin, Corundum, GoldUnknown1910, 1911
Unnamed Garnet Occurrence Gl-102GarnetUnknownStratabound
Unnamed Mica Prospect Gl - 052MicaUnknown1931
Upper Cole Creek Monazite PlacerThorium, REE, Gold, Corundum, TinUnknown1910, 1911
Draytonville QuarryStone, DimensionUnknownMetamorphosed Beds

Every working recorded in Cherokee County

Storms near this property

60 of 139 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gaffney, the town this property stands in, in 139 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 81 thunderstorm wind, 43 hail, 9 lightning, 2 flash flood. The reports record 1 death and 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2022Thunderstorm WindGaffney1 killed, $100,000Multiple sources reported multiple trees blown down from the north side of Gaffney northeast along Highway 18. One tree fell on a house and another fell on a mobile home on E Jefferies St in Gaffney. A 78-year-old occupant of the mobile home was killed while sitting on the porch.
July 2012LightningGaffney1 hurtLightning struck and critically injured a man working outdoors on North Granard St.
April 2023LightningGaffney1 hurtno account filed
June 2001LightningGaffney$1,000,000Lightning blew a transformer at a manufacturing plant, shutting it down for more than 24 hours and keeping 1000 employees off the job.
June 1994HailGaffney$500,000no account filed
June 1994Thunderstorm WindGaffney$500,000no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindGaffney$100,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across northern and eastern sections of Gaffney. Three trees fell on and damaged 3 homes. Other trees fell on automobiles. About 10 outbuildings were detroyed in the parking lot of a retail store. Penny size hail was also reported.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindGaffney$100,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Part of a roof was blown off a house in Blacksburg. A roof was blown off a building in Gaffney.
September 2004Tornado (F1)Gaffney$88,000This tornado destroyed a mobile home and blew down numerous trees and power lines.
July 2008LightningGaffney$50,000Lightning struck a home on highway 11, igniting a fire that destroyed half the home.
June 2004LightningGaffney$50,000Lightning ignited fires at 3 homes across the city.
July 2004LightningGaffney$50,000Lightning ignited a fire at a small house, destroying the house and much of its contents.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindGaffney$50,000A fallen tree destroyed a mobile home.
May 1994Thunderstorm WindGaffney$50,000Lightning set a home afire slightly injuring a man. Thunderstorm winds downed power lines and blew down some trees.
May 1993Thunderstorm WindGaffney$50,000Several thunderstorms became severe during the afternoon. A couple of storms became quite strong producing golf ball-size hail at Greenwood and near Clinton. This was the second major hail event of the season for both of these communities, although these storms did not affect as large an area as the earlier storms. As the storms moved east they produced more gusty winds than hail. The tin was torn off some barns near Reidville along with downed trees and in Cherokee County a number of trees were downed causing scattered power outages. The hail there, although plentiful, had decreased to less than severe size.
May 1996Thunderstorm WindGaffney$25,000no account filed
April 1998Thunderstorm WindGaffney$20,000no account filed
June 2008LightningGaffney$15,000Lightning struck a tree, which fell on and destroyed 2 vehicles. There was also minor damage to an adjacent home.
April 2003LightningGaffney$15,000no account filed
June 2023Thunderstorm WindGaffney$10,000Emergency manager reported multiple trees blown down in and around Gaffney, with one tree on a house.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindGaffney$10,000County comms reported multiple trees and power lines blown down with at least one tree on a home.
August 2008Heavy RainGaffney$10,000Very heavy rainfall combined with clogged storm drains to produce deep standing water in a neighborhood on the east side of Gaffney. A couple of automobiles were submerged.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindGaffney$10,000Numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted. Some trees fell on houses and barns. A barn had half of its roof blown off. The damage was concentrated in the State Line Road community.
October 2023Thunderstorm WindGaffney$5,000Emergency manager reported a large piece of metal roofing blown off a building at the intersection of Railroad Ave and Walnut St.
November 2003Thunderstorm WindGaffney$5,000Some trees were blown down. Two vehicles were damaged by fallen trees. An antenna was blown out of a support on a mobile home.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindGaffney$5,000The roof of a convenience store received some damage.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindGaffney$5,000Supercell thunderstorm which lasted for many hours developed west of Pickens and produced two tornadoes in the upstate. The first tornado was weak but still caused nuisance type damage - blowing out underpinning from mobile homes, blowing over sheds, etc. The second tornado which developed after the storm strengthened was a strong FO tornado and caused a fair amount of damage from Gaffney to Blacksburg. Inflow into the tornado blew down a storage building and knocked down some trees in the city of Gaffney. Along Interstate 85 the tornado's winds blew down some billboards, trees and power lines. Several people saw the tornado funnel. There were a number of reports of pea to marble-size hail with the storm. The supercell and its severe weather moved into North Carolina.
August 2003Heavy RainGaffney$5,000no account filed
August 2003Thunderstorm WindGaffney$2,000no account filed
June 1995Thunderstorm WindGaffney$2,000no account filed
January 2005Thunderstorm WindGaffney$1,000The underpinning was torn off of a mobile home, and power lines were blown down on Bonner Rd.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindGaffney$1,000Several trees were blown down across Sirrine Drive.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindGaffney$1,000Some powerlines were blown down.
May 2025HailGaffney-Emergency manager reported pea to quarter size hail.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindEast Gaffney-Emergency manager reported a few trees and powerlines blown down between East Gaffney and Cherokee Falls.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindGaffney-County comms reported numerous trees and powerlines blown down across the city of Gaffney, with additional trees down in the Blacksburg area.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Public reported (via Social Media) reported a tree and several large limbs blown down in Gaffney.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindGaffney-County comms reported multiple trees and power lines blown down in the Gaffney area.
April 2020HailGaffney-Amateur radio reported quarter size hail in downtown Gaffney. Media reported golf ball size hail in Blacksburg.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindGaffney-County comms reported several trees blown down between Gaffney and Cowpens.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Newspaper reported multiple trees blown down in Gaffney, including along Thompson St and E Jefferies St.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindGaffney-A tree was blown down on a house on Woodside Dr and trees were blown down, blocking the road on Wilkinsville Highway about 3 miles southeast of Gaffney.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Trees were blown down on Oneal St south of town. Trees were blown onto power lines on Frederick St and Union St in the city as well.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Trees were blown down near the highway 29/105 intersection.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Several trees blown down near the intersection of Gold Mine Rd and Draytonville Rd.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Multiple trees and large limbs were blown down on Barclay Ave. A tree fell on a home near the Beech St intersection. Other trees were blown down along New St and Oneal St.
May 2010HailEast Gaffney-Penny size hail was reported on I-85 at the Broad River bridge.
May 2010HailGaffney-Dime size hail fell near the intersection of highways 18 and 105.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Scattered trees were blown down in and around the city, including one on a home on Sycamore St.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindEast Gaffney-Multiple trees were from down from the intersection of Grubb St and 13th St, to the intersection of Peoples Creek Rd and Draytonville Rd. One tree fell on a car on Peoples Creek Rd. Trees were also blown down on Ford Rd about 4 miles east of Gaffney.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindEast Gaffney-A couple of trees were blown down at Teague St and highway 29.
July 2009HailGaffney-Hail was reported at the intersection of highway 29 and Oneal St.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Several tress were blown down around Gaffney.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Trees were blown down on Holmes Rd.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Trees blown down across highway 29 in the Thicketty community.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindGaffney-A tree was blown onto a house on Florence St. Trees were downed on N Gate Rd at the Brookside Subdivision. A large tree blew down on Blackwell Rd, and trees were blown down in the Antioch community.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Several trees were blown down.
July 2008HailGaffney-Nickel size hail reported between Potter Rd and State Line Rd.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Trees down in the area around Cowpens National Battlefield.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindGaffney-Two trees blown down.

Every storm recorded in Cherokee County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Carnegie Free Library0.2 miles2000
Gaffney Residential Historic District0.3 miles1986
Irene Mill Finishing Plant0.3 miles1986
Jefferies House0.4 miles1986
Settlemyer House0.6 miles1986
Winnie Davis Hall1.0 miles1977

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 86000602 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Cherokee CountyAll 14 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.