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Excerpts from

A Fairfield Sketchbook

by
Julian Stevenson Bolick
copyright 1963 by Julian Bolick, Ltd. Ed 750 copies (out of print)
printed Clinton, SC, Jacobs Brothers

Extracts by Doris Johnston copied Mar 1999

Links added Jan 2008

SECTION I. HISTORY OF RIDGEWAY AND LONGTOWN
Charles E. Thomas

LONGTOWN, the easternmost settlement in Fairfield, and the oldest in that part of the county, is perhaps the least chronicled. It is probably due to its antiquity that much of Longtown's early history has been lost, for many of its oldest and grandest homes have been destroyed by fire and other ravages of time and war.

"Through the wooded land ran a picturesque Indian trail" is the way one historian described the beginning of Longtown. This was the Indian fur-trade route from North Carolina and the Piedmont area of South Carolina that followed the western slope of the Wateree River south to the Santee River and Georgetown, Charleston, and Savannah . . . first known as Log-Town because of the log houses built along the Indian trail, the name later becoming Longtown, well named, for it is hard to define the limits of Longtown.

The "town" of Longtown is that area which borders the Ridgeway-Camden Road and covers the area from near Fairview, the old Ridgeway Hunting Club, southwest to the Kershaw County line, and east from the Wateree River to Dutchman's Creek, and west to the old Winnsboro Road . . .

. . . Charles Tidwell came down the Indian trail from the area of Jamestown, Virginia, and settled in the Bryant Hill section of Longtown. His grave at Bryant Hill Cemetery, with his birthdate of 1690, might well be the earliest gravestone extant in the county. . .

There was an academy near the Kershaw County line, with Professor McCandless (or McCandlers) in charge. He was said to have come from Georgia and was "an educator of high type." Boarding students came from Camden and Liberty Hill with day scholars from the entire Longtown area. The professor had many visits from irate mothers, whose sons he is said to have whipped on frequent occasions . . .
Longtown's Baptist Church was a great force in the early years . . . it has been the burial place of some of the earlier families. The church building no longer remains, however, the Presbyterian Church which flourishes today has generally been supplied by the paster of Ridgeway's historic Aimwell Church. Its cemetery is now the burial place of many influential Longtown families, some of whom had been among the earliest settlers . . .

Note separate brick kitchen to left side of house

BLINK BONNIE,* in the Longtown section of Fairfield, commands one of the most majestic views in the county. From its spacious veranda portions of several counties, towns, and settlements may be clearly seen without the aid of binoculars. In the summer the varying shades of green melt away into purple tints where the heavenly blue of the sky meets the horion. Several glistening creeks, the Wateree River, and Lake Wateree cut their own patterns through the forest. The panorama from this point is a challenge to any artist who might try to capture it on canvas.

In 1822 a Camden banker, Darling Jones, built this house for a summer residence. The design and construction of the commodious home show that the builder had all the good taste and hospital traits of the era . . . After the death of Darling Jones the place passed to his son, Abram Jones, who continued to use it in the same manner as his father. The Jones' entertained on a lavish scale, and this fine old home was the social center of the community where the Virginia reels, quadrilles, and cotillions were danced. It was probably the inspiration for the fabulous Peay mansion, MELROSE, which was built in the 1850s.

When the Confederate War ended, there was a great change at BLINK BONNIE. The war had cost the Jones family their fortune. The plantation was sold at public auction and was bought by W. O. Robertson, who with his family occupied the place for many years. When the Robertson family moved away, BLINK BONNIE was used as a stage house or "station." Then it was rented to a long succession of tenants. Finally, after falling into bad repair, it became vacant for some time, a sad reminder of bygone splendor.

This deplorable plight ended in 1950 when the plantation was purchased by the M. A. Kirklands. Kirkland, a native of Camden and a descendant of the Kirklands who were among the first settlers in this section, before the Revolutionary War, had long admired the old place. He and his talented wife began a restoration of the house immediately after they bought the property. Today BLINK BONNIE again stands proud and majestic in all the magnificence and grandeur that made her famous in the past . . .

* Blink Bonnie is Scotch for "beautiful view."

DIXON HOUSE
Harrison - Moores - Harrison - Dixon

This old landmark is sadly in need of restoration but it still stands, defying time, in spite of its sad plight. The front doorway is still beautiful and outstanding in design, giving the old place a lasting semblance of dignity and refinement.

The place belonged to Reuben Harrison, a Revolutionary soldier. In the period before the war he was associated with Thomas Woodward, the "Regulator," in keeping law and order. He was twice married: Lucy Burge was the first wife and Nancy Kirkland the second. He died in 1835 and left each of his eight children two thousand acres of land. In addition to this he built homes for his three daughters, leaving the home place to his widow for her life.

One daughter, Frances, married a Brevard. Her home was behind the Darling Jones House [Blink Bonnie, which I visited - Doris] and was built similar to it. It was razed a few years ago but the fine old mantels and woodwork were saved and are now still in use in a house near Camden. Nancy the second daughter, married a Rochelle, and their big three-story house stood on a hill near what is now "Fairview," The Alcoholic Rehabilitation Center. It finally fell into disuse and was taken down a few years ago. The third daughter, Mary, married Charles Moore, and their house is the only one left standing of the many Harrison homes.

About 1830 all of the daughters and their families sold their property and moved West. John Harrison bought most of his family's estate as his brothers and sisters moved away. He was a very rich man, owning thousands of acres of land and listed as one of the largest slave owners in the upcountry. He was also a sportsman and lover of fine horses. His animals were raced on all of the South Carolina tracks, taking many honors and trophies. His son Eli Hunt Harrison, who married Elizabeth Fleming Douglas, became owner of the Moores' place. Eli and his three sons were all in the Confederate Army. His daughter, Lucy Rives, married Samuel Dixon, from Liberty Hill and owned and lived at the Moores' place which is now called the Dixon place. It is still owned and occupied by their daughters who are all well along in years . . .

. . . according to family tradition, Cornwallis passed by and rested at the site of this place on his way from Camden to Winnsboro during the Revolutionary War.

GOZA HOUSE
Tidwell - Harrison - Rochelle - Harrison - Goza

This old house stood on a high hill below FAIRVIEW until it was razed during the past decade . . . The property on which the house was located was a part of the original Harrison tract that was granted the first of that family to come to South Carolina from Virginia before the Revolutionary War. Reuben Harrison, a son of the first settler, owned this property after the Revolution. He built the house for one of his daughters who married into the Rochelle family. The Rochelles moved West with other members of the family in the 1830s and in 1835 Mrs. Rochelle's brother, John Harrison, purchased her property.

Little can be learned of the place from this point until after the War Between the States when the place was occupied by the Goza family. They lived here for many years and the plantation became known as the Goza House . . . When the Gozas left the house several tenants inhabited it and the last to live here was a Negro family. After them it remained abandoned and vacant. It was a bleak, eerie-looking old building, with its porch gone and rear wing faling in, as its empty windows seemed to peer down the road from the lofty perch on a rough hilltop. Many stories and legends became linked with the place and it finally became known as a "haunted house" or the "Ghosty House." The latter name probably originated with and became confused in pronunciation with "Goza."
[pp. 48-53, extracted by Doris ~ was told the house burned a few years ago].

ELLIOTT HOUSE
Campbell - Elliott - Sitgreaves - Elliott

Diagonally across Congress Street from Winnsboro's post office is one of the town's traditional landmarks, the old ELLIOTT HOUSE.

The building is another typical "mosquito cottage," a design that became popular in Fairfield County during the 1820s and was still used during the Confederate War era. The footings are massive granite blocks under the thick brick walls of the basement or first floor, which is below the ground level on the front but well above on the rear. Oversized chimneys afford fireplaces for all the rooms, from the first to the third floor.

The interior is adorned with fine mantels and woodwork, adding much to the dignity of the high-ceilinged rooms and halls.

The front of the building is almost classic, with a gabled portico across the central portion, supported by stout, fluted, square columns. The gable of the portico is plain. It does not have the usual ornamental window or fanlight in the center. In the old days there was in front of this house a public well which supplied water for several of the buildings in the vicinity and was a popular watering place for horses and livestock.

In 1810 Reuben Harrison sold the lot on which this house now stands to William McCreight. At that time a house on the lot was referred to as "Lot No. 187 on east corner of Congress and College Streets where David Campbell formerly lived." The house referred to was later moved to the rear of the lot and enlarged. It is the house now owned and occupied by Mrs. Maymie W. Stevenson . . .
[extracted from pp. 110, 112 by Doris]

NOTE: Harrison and William McCreight, and Darling Jones had many grants, deeds and mortgage transactions in Kershaw Dist., Fairfield Co., and the State Grant Books in Columbia

 

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