Home is Where the Heart is: the Stuart Motor Building
“Home is where the heart is” sounds like a worn-out cliché. However, it still rings true for us here at Atlas Law as we launch into a new exciting chapter of our business. We are stationed in Suite D of the beautiful, historic Stuart Building in downtown Kernersville, North Carolina. The vast, rich history of this building is a fascinating journey that our firm is extremely proud to share with our clients!
The Stuart Building is named after its builder and founder, Ned R. Stuart. During the 1920s, Ned Stuart was a burgeoning young businessman with experience as a fire truck driver as well as a military vehicle operator. Stuart grew up surrounded by ingenuity and industry as his father was a wagon builder and later a blacksmith. His desire to construct the Stuart building finally became a reality when the first brick was laid on Mountain Street in 1926.
The original Stuart Building was designed as an automobile garage and showroom, the first ever to be built in Kernersville. A full suite was constructed in the upstairs portion where Ned and his family lived throughout his lifetime and is still rented to this day. True to the typical style of the 1920’s, the building features red brick and tilt-out steel frame windows. The large garage style door, now located in Atlas Law’s conference room, served as the entry-way for many vehicles during this period. After a few destructive fires ripped through the Kernersville area in the early 1920’s, Stuart led the charge to purchase a fire truck and found a volunteer fire department. The original fire truck was stored in the Stuart building until the town built its first designated fire station.
The next phase of the Stuart building’s history began in the 1930’s when Ned Stuart ran dealerships for Ford and Essick brand vehicles. He faithfully ran his dealerships with honesty and integrity. Once World War II began, all vehicle manufacturers switched to producing war materials. During this time, Stuart also acted as a Civil Defense Warden. In 1946, Ford awarded the dealership to another businessman so Stuart moved into different roles within the Kernersville community, including Office of the Fire Chief, Police Commissioner, Town Commissioner, Head of the School Board, Town Building Inspector.
The Stuart Building was eventually restored in 1986 by Ned Stuart Jr. and his family and officially entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. After the building was sold to the Coltrane family in 2004, the Coltranes fully restored the building in accordance with National Park Service historic properties standard. Today, the Stuart Building is home to multiple offices and renters. It stands sturdy and strong, a symbol of integrity and industry to the citizens of Kernersville.
Our team at Atlas Law is incredibly proud to walk into the Stuart Building each day and serve our community. We hope to continue the grand legacy of this historic site as we launch into the future! To our clients, don’t forget to stop by the window display in our lobby to see all the Stuart Building memorabilia curated by Joe Coltrane!
-written by Landis Hinnant
