South Carolina Department of Archives and History |
National Register Properties in South Carolina Gilmore House, Orangeburg County (State St. & Eutaw Rd., Holly Hill) |
(Shuler-Gilmore House) The Gilmore House, constructed around 1840 and prominently located on Hwy. 176, the Old State Road, is a local landmark thought to be the oldest standing residence in the small town of Holly Hill. The two-story white clapboard house is significant as the location of the town’s first official post office and architecturally as an exponent of the plantation plain, or I-House, house form, as embellished with Victorian era additions, which characterizes much of southeastern rural residential architecture. A ca. 1905 remodeling of the house probably added a long rear kitchen wing and the Victorian embellishments. Given characteristics like the irregular spacing between windows, the house is likely the work of a local builder. Interior spaces maintain a strong sense of their original spaces and detailing. According to a local source, the elaborately carved mantels in the house are said to be the work of Jacob and Frederick Rast, two well-known carpenters in the area at that time. The house’s original owner, Samuel Shuler, was the town’s first official postmaster. Subsequent ownership of the house around 1850 by Dr. James L. B. Gilmore Sr., a planter and physician, placed the house in the Gilmore family whose early descendants were community leaders in commerce and education. Two sheds, a storage building, and a root cellar contribute to the nominated property. Listed in the National Register September 19, 1988. It has since been demolished. Removed from the National Register December 8, 2005.
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