The old Delta Democrat Times Building, built c.1881, is significant for its historic association with the development of Greenville. Also, it is one of the few surviving late nineteenth-century commercial buildings left in the downtown area after Urban Renewal. The one-story building adjacent to the two-story building--traditionally they are thought of as one--is associated with the Delta Democrat Times. It is not known precisely when this building was constructed, but the earliest deeds pertinent to the property are dated 1880-1883. In late 1880, John G. Archer and Samuel Brown acquired the property for $700, and in 1883, they leased the second floor of the building to the Greenville Temple Association (DB P2, p. 212). This would indicate that the building was constructed sometime between 1880 and 1882. The building was then referred to as the "Temple Building." The Temple Association used the second floor as a Masonic lodge hall for Greenville Lodge No. 206, F&AM, until April 1914, when it moved into its new Masonic lodge hall. The Greenville Bank and Trust Company occupied the ground floor of this building from 1906 to 1910. This building was individually listed on the National Register on 25 March 1982. It was later included as a previously-listed element (element #1) in the Greenville Commercial Historic District, which was placed on the National Register on 10 October 1997, and it was subsequently included as a previously-listed element (element #1) within the enlarged Greenville Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase 1), which was placed on the National Register on 14 November 2012. |