Market House repairs to maintain safety and historic appearance

Published on April 24, 2025

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — The city of Fayetteville is making necessary repairs on the Historic Market House in downtown which will last the next several months. Scaffolding will soon rise around Fayetteville’s Market House as carpenters begin a months-long effort to replace deteriorated woodwork on the nearly 200-year-old landmark.

American Woodworkery, a Cumberland County contractor that specializes in historic preservation, will replace rotted louvers, windows, trim and four wooden columns. The project also calls for repainting the clock tower portion once the new millwork is in place. 

Crews finished installing a waist-high water-wall barrier April 21 along the Green and Gillespie Street sides of the circular structure. Construction fencing is scheduled to follow by May 5. 

The most visible phase starts May 5, when workers close the 100 blocks of Person, Hay, Green and Gillespie streets for three days to erect scaffolding on the Hay and Person facades. Similar closures, each lasting one to three days, will be required later when the columns and the Market House’s four clock faces are taken down and reinstalled. 

“It’s a necessary repair to address the bad wood, shore up the framing behind the clocks and give the building a fresh coat of paint,” said Fayetteville spokesman Loren Bymer. “We want to ensure its safe for decades without changing its historic appearance.” 

While the clock faces are down, a specialty vendor will overhaul the mechanisms and recalibrate the hands.  American Woodworkery estimates approximately five months until completion of the project which accounts for potential weather delays and any unforeseen circumstances.  

Built in 1832 after a fire leveled Fayetteville’s first courthouse and market, the two-story brick Market House is a National Historic Landmark and one of North Carolina’s most photographed civic buildings. 

Detour routes will be posted before each street closure.

###