Dating to 1782 when tradition holds that Jacob Boon founded the community, the Boones Mill Historic District emerged during the 19th and 20th centuries as a commercial center in Franklin County, serving agricultural and industrial producers. In 1892 the arrival of the Norfolk & Western Railway boosted economic activity and in 1927 Boones Mill was incorporated as a town. Today, the Boones Mill Historic District contains a collection of distinct and varied commercial and residential buildings, spanning the eras from its early settlement through the mid-20th century. The Boones Mill Historic District exhibits a range of architectural styles: bungalows, foursquares, and cottages with Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and Folk Victorian detailing; a stylish Tudor Revival dwelling as well as Italianate buildings, including a church and railroad depot; farm buildings; and commercial architecture that displays detailed early-20th-century masonry as well as modern mid-20th-century buildings. Two notable early landmarks are the late 18th-century Boon-Angell-Ferguson House and the early-19th-century Boon-Abshire House.