South Carolina Department of Archives and History |
National Register Properties in South Carolina Salley Historic District, Aiken County (bounded by Pine, Ferguson, Poplar & Aldrich Sts., Salley) |
Page 1 of 3 |
Salley is historically significant as a commercial and transportation center for agricultural goods during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Salley is also representative of rural community life in South Carolina during this period. The town’s architecture is characteristic of the economic boom which took place in many such railroad towns during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While most of the residential and commercial architecture in the Salley Historic District is vernacular in character, some surviving examples represent more widely stylistic influences such as Victorian, Colonial Revival, and Bungalow. There are 99 contributing and 51 non-contributing resources within the district. The district consists primarily of one- to two-story masonry commercial buildings and one- to two-story residential weatherboard buildings built between the town’s incorporation in 1887 and 1949. Possibly as early as 1735, British colonials arrived in the area upon which the town of Salley developed. The present-day town formed during the decade of the 1880s on a 1,000-acre plantation located two miles southeast of John Town. D. H. Salley, the plantation’s owner and a member of the South Carolina General Assembly, had become aware of plans for railroad transportation of kaolin from a mine in nearby Sievern. He laid out a plan of streets and avenues, and also established the first school in the area on his property. He successfully negotiated the train’s path through his land and later secured incorporation papers for the community of Salley. Listed in the National Register October 27, 2000.
View a map showing the boundaries of the Salley Historic District.
View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property.
Most National Register properties are privately owned and are not open to the public. The privacy of owners should be respected. Not all properties retain the same integrity as when originally documented and listed in the National Register due to changes and modifications over time.
Images and texts on these pages are intended for research or educational use. Please read our statement on use and reproduction for further information on how to obtain a photocopy or how to cite an item.
Images provided by the
South Carolina Department of Archives and History.