Located south of US Route 202 and Route 137 on Main Street, Water Street, Neck Road, and Canton Street and west of China Lake, the China Village Historic District consists of 47 structures. Most of these structures are residential, but the district also includes a post office, church, commercial building, library, and two fraternal buildings. The Town of China was first surveyed in 1773 and 1774. It was originally known as Jones Plantation but incorporated in 1796 as Harlem. The town boundaries were refined to its current borders in 1818. It is unknown when the use of the name China became commonplace. The village was initially sustained by surrounding farms and the establishment of local manufacturing enterprises, such as a saw mill and grist mill. The oldest house in the district is the 1809 Farnsworth House (pictured here), a two-story Federal-style structure with a hipped roof and front entry accented by simple pilasters and entablature. The district also includes an early nineteenth-century farm property, the Brown Farm. The Brown Farm house sits back from Neck Road and is also two stories with a symmetrical facade.
Year Listed: 1978
For More Information: https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=2ac6fa94-13ea-4e10-ba11-ce785cfeb30a