Claim: Harlan Commercial District was founded much earlier as a rural town and nearly all of the buildings feature commercial-style architecture, it was later added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Evidence: While Harlan was founded much earlier as a rural town, it grew considerably when the Louisville & Nashville Railroad built a line through the city in 1911; all of the contributing buildings within the district were built between 1910 and 1936. Nearly all of the buildings feature commercial-style architecture; the exceptions are the Classical Revival courthouse and post office and one Moderne commercial building. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 1986.