Facade	Main Entrance	Front Gable Detail	Right Oblique	Right Elevation
Left Oblique	Left Rear Oblique

The Major John Hammond Fordham House reflects the achievements of the original owner. Fordham was a lawyer and prominent citizen of Orangeburg, who was able to take advantage of expanded opportunities for African American South Carolinians in the period between the end of the Civil War and the disfranchisement and Jim Crow legislation of the turn of the century. Besides practicing law, Fordham served in several appointive governmental positions and was a leader in the Republican Party in the state. The house is also significant as an example of the work of William Wilson Cooke, a pioneer African American architect. Built in 1903, the one-and-a-half story framed Victorian cottage residence has a pyramidal roof with two tall brick chimneys. The basicly square plan has a projecting gabled ell with a polygonal bay on the north side of the façade. A bracketed cornice and a rooftop balustrade are carried around the bay. The gable end has shingle siding and an oval attic window. A porch with paired colonettes on brick bases shelters the façade. Listed in the National Register September 20, 1985.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property. In addition, the Historic Resources of Orangeburg, ca. 1850-ca. 1935 includes historical background information for this and other related National Register properties.

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.

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