Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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PAGE EIGHT THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA THURSDAY, MAY 26, 1966 Society hears information on local homes The Newberry County Histor ical Society met on May 17, at 8; o’clock in the Community Hall with Dr. James C. Kinard presiding. The invocation was given by Rev. Dewey Brazill, pastor of the Newberry Meth odist Circuit. Reports from several committees were heard, it was announced that the next meeting would be held in Oct ober at which time officers and directors for the coming year will be elected Following the brief business session, Keitt Purcell, program committee chairman, recogniz ed Owen Holmes, chairman of the historical sites committee and program chairman for the evening. Mr. Purcell referred to Mr. Holmes as “almost the father of the Historical Soc iety,” since he was instrumen tal in its formation. ' Mr. Holmes, in turn, pre sented four members of the society who gave most inter estingly informative and fac tual accounts of some of the houses and public buildings of historical significance in New berry county. The Rock House, located 3 miles south of Newberry near the old Bush River-Charleston road, was the first to be dis cussed, by William C. Carter. This house, Mr. Carter labeled as “one of the truly patriach houses of the interior of South Carolina.” It stands on the land now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Furman Long. A two-story structure of lo cal field stone, it measures 18 feet by 32 feet. The walls are 18 inches thick laid in mud, and the house follows the floor plan of many early German houses, built by the Pennsylvania Dutch, with two rooms on each floor. A narrpw, winding stair way set ih a nook of the chim ney wall leads to the second floor. Set in the garret are two small iron-barred windows. Des olate and abandoned now save for its occasional use for the storage of hay, the house gives a feeling of patient dignity guarded by a single oak. Without scientific analysis of the wood, a definite date cannot be assigned to the Rock House, though much evidence indicates it was erected at least a decade before the Revolution. The few nails used were individually hammered out. The machine for cutting nails was invented in 1790, so it dates prior to that time. Also, the use of a huge oaken beam supporting the front of the chimney suggests that iron was not available. In New England iron supports wese first used in 1650. It can not be established this was the case in this house, but it does suggest an early erection date. The original grant was to Jacob Hoffman, probably an In dian trader, in 1756. Since then this structure has had many owners. While others of his time were building of logs, Hoffman built of stone. He ob viously built well, as his house still stands after 200 years. Most probably- it is the oldest house in the upcountry. “Belfast*’, a historical house and landmark of this area, was next described by Martyn Cav anaugh. Although it lies in Lau rens County, approximately 15 miles from Newberry, only the road (S. C. Highway 56) in front of the house separates it from Newberry County. Built in 1785 by Col. John W. Simpson, “Belfast” was so nam ed in memory of Simpson’s old home in Belfast, Ireland. Mr. Cavanaugh recognized Joe Simp son, a descendant, of Whitmire, who was present at the meeting. The architecture of this state ly house could be described as “colonial plain Georgian style.” It is a large two-and-a-half story brick house consisting of six bedrooms, a large hallway and staircase, and four bath rooms. It has a four-column front porch. The brick, carved mantles, cornices, doors, and window casings, all hand- wrought, came from England. The walls are over a foot in thickness. The floor of longleaf pine was laid with wooden pegs. The carved mantles, stair rail ings, and balustrade are made of black walnut. In the early days when mail was carried by men on horse back, “Belfast” served as the only post office between Lau rens and Newberry. It has been said that some of the marks on the south side of the building resulted from sniper fire during the Civil War. The house has since been own ed by the Wallace’s, later of Newberry County, and was pur chased by Champion Papers, Inc. in 1946. In renovating it, Champion has taken great care to retain its original design and beauty. The biggest change has been the addition of the kitchen to the rear. All of the furnish ings now are massive, hand made pieces of solid cherry. Mr. Cavanaugh extended an invitation to the historical so ciety to hold one of its meet ings there. Thomas H. Pope, the present owner of the old Job Johnstone house on Boundary Street, and now called “ Coateswood’, open ed his remarks with the history of the Long House. This house, immediately to the rear of his residence and a part of his property, was built in 1827 by Mr. Johnstone, whose birthplace was Fairfield County. In all, the original property covered 5000 acres, though the house was built on 197 acres in its present location. Mud obtained from the adja cent sunken gardens was used to make the brick, kilned on the place, to construct the Long House. Basically Scotch, the house is a story and a half. One room was used at Johnstone’s study and one as the kitchen, containing a fireplace six feet wide. Another is an extremely long room, and another, the smoke house. Mr. Johnstone practiced law in partnership with Mr. John Belton O’Neall, both of whom later became Supreme Court justices. Judge O’Nealls was the grandfather of Mr. Pope. Al though the large house in front of the Long House is believed to have been designed by Rob- Critics okay 23 tests PET FRESH MILK is tested 23 times for quality. No wonder it wins the seal of approval... for Mom! Everybody likes PET, YOU BET1 Milk $ Summer ert Mills, Mr. Pope said that he had no actual proof. Mr. Mills reportedly drew the plans for the house while Mr. Johnstone was clerk of the Senate—A two- and-a half story house, but his plans were not followed com pletely. Instead, it was built as a three-and-a-half story house with a veranda around the low er front and sides added. When the late Alan John stone acquired ownership of the house, he said he found sketches of it by Robert Mills in the Li brary of Congress. In 1941, with the aid of the Federal Govern ment, Alan Johnstone had the third story removed, lowered the roof, removed the piazzas, and had it declared a historic building. Conflicting information pre vents the present owners from knowing the exact year in which construction of this house was begun. It no doubt was some time between 1835 and 1841, but Mr. Pope said he was in clined to believe it was either 1835 or 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Pope have done much to continue the restora tion of this lovely house since they purchased it in 1951. At that time, and at the present, it contains the original hardware. Some of the door knobs are brass and some are nickle-plat- ed. The doors, floors, and stair- treads are heart pine, while the pickets and handrails are ma hogany. In the absence of Mr. Elliott, president of the Civic League, Mr. Pope, in behalf of his wife who is a member, extended an invitation to the Historical So ciety to attend the meeting of the Civic League next week, at which time Mrs. Dreher of Co lumbia will show slides of Ains- ley Hall and its restoration. Since the “Old Court House”, now commonly known as the Community Hall, is the place where the Historical Society meets, it was most fitting that it be discussed. Ed Cannon pre sented much information about this building and its back grounds. The land on which the town of Newberry now stands was originally granted to a man named John Jones. In 1783, the districts of South Carolina were ordered to be divided into coun ties. Edgefield, Abbeville, and Newberry resulted from the di vision into counties. Edgefield, Abbeville, and Newberry result ed from the division of the Ninety-Six District. In 1785, an act was passed to hold court in each county every three months. The first court-session for New berry (then spelled Newbury) was held in the residence x>f Col. Robert Rutherford. After much deliberation as to where the court house should be, Mr. John Coates contribut ed two acres, bounded by Pratt Street (now Main Street), Cald well Street, Boyce Street,-, and RITZ Theatre THURSDAY, FRIDAY & SATURDAY LADIES BARGAIN HOUR All ladies attending the movie between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. will be admitted for 50c. Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Mont- albam, Agnes Moorehead, Chad Everett, Ed Sullivan and Guest Star Greer Garson. THE SINGING NUN MONDAY & TUESDAY LADIES BARGAIN HOUR be tween 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. All ladies admitted for 50c. Sophia Loren, Peter Finch, Jack Hawkins JUDITH Drive-In Theatre BEGINNING FRIDAY, MAY 27, THE DRIVE-IN WILL BE OPEN EVERY NIGHT. FRIDAY & SATURDAY CHEYENNE AUTUMN James Stewart, Carroll Baker, Richard Widmark SUNDAY, MONDAY A TUESDAY Von Ryan’s Express Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard Always A Color Cartoon McKibben Street. Thus, in 1789, the town of Newberry was born and it is on this site that the “Old Court House” stands. The first building was wood en and constructed in 1789-90. It served until 1799 and was moved across the street and converted into a tavern. Court House No. 2 was begun in 1799. It was a brick building and served until 1850, when it was removed to make way for the present structure — Court House No. 3. John B. Carwile in his book, Reminiscences of Newberry, says that the brick court house (No. 2) was a bet ter looking structure than the one which took its place. In the fall of 1850, construc tion on the present building was begun. The contractor was Wal lace A. Cline and the architect was Jacob Graves. The building is Greek Revival in style with six large fluted Doric columns. The symbolism on the front gable was added by Mr. Osborne Wells in 1876. The palmetto tree, taken from the S. C. coat of arms, designates the State government uprooted, being held in the beak of an eagle (the Federal Government), who weighs in the scale of justice the people of the state—not subdued in spirit and represent ed by a crowing cock which stands at the base of the tree. At the other end among the fronds of the palmetto is the Dove of Peace with its olive branch. Vaccine for measles is now available A vaccine for the prevention of measles is now available for children from nine months of age through preschool age at county health departments throughout the state, according to Dr. G. S. T. Peeples, State Health Officer. This vaccine is for the pre vention of rubeola or “regular” measles which last about ten days to two weeks. It offers no protection against “three day” German measles. Development of an effective vaccine against German measles has been re ported by two government scientists, but this vaccine still is in the test stage. In announcing the availability of the vaccine. Dr. Peeples stat ed that now that an effective vaccine has been perfected against “regular” measles it’s you, the taxpayer. According to the National Office of Educa tion, “the survey is being con ducted to ascertain inequality of educational opportunity among the six minority groups.” In case you didn’t know, these groups are Negro, Mexican-Am- erican, American Indian, Puer to Rican, Oriental, and disad vantaged White. However, the student is asked only to tell how many of his friends, his classmates, his potential friends, and his teachers are White, not American Indian or disadvant aged White. Although the tests will be given to about five per cent of the Nation’s public school stu dents, they will by no means cover a true cross-section. The Office of Education notes that “schools with a high percent age of children from minority groups have a higher probabil ity of appearing in the sample.” In other words, the Office al ready knows how many white An Authoritative Guidebook on Alcoholism Defeating Alcoholism, The Fairview Way by Maxie C. Collins, B.A., ThJVI. Essential reading for doctors, pastors, socila workers, lay counsellors, alcoholics, and for anyone who drinks and every one who wants to understand alcoholism. Brialliantly written b the direc tor of the famed Fairview Cen ter, this book gives detailed de scriptions of all types of alco holism and alcoholics and ex plains the Fairview “team” ap proach which has proven so successful. 340 pp, 5%x8, cloth, 66-12381, $5.00 Whitmore Publishing Co. 1809 Callowhill St. Philadelphia, Pa. 19130 On sale locally by: THE PEOPLES BOOK STORE Contrary to popular belief, Dr. Peeples pointed out, the number of deaths resulting from measles has been higher than those from polio through the years and, of course, is even more so now that polio immuni zation has become widespread. In fact, he added, measles deaths in 1963 far exceeded the total number of actual cases of polio reported for that year. “Measles is a highly conta gious disease,” Dr. Peeples re ported, “and now it’s complete ly preventable. It’s more wide spread than any other conta gious or infectious disease in the United States. Between 90 and 95 percent of the population get the disease, mostly before the age of 15; about half by the time they are five years old.” In alerting parents to the measles threat, Dr. Peeples ex plained that the South Carolina State Board of Health is parti cipating in a nationwide effort to eradicate the disease. Parents are urged to consult their pri vate doctors about measles vac cination or to seek protection for their young children at their couny health department. All children, especially those in the preschool period from nine months to six years of age, are particularly susceptible to measles and its more serious complications. Among the most dreaded of these is encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. It affects one in every 600 to 1,000 reported measles cases. This represents a higher inci dence than any of the other in fectious diseases, sufch as mumps, chickenpox, and Ger man measles, which have also been known to trigger encephal- tis. While many affected chil dren recover, others are left with permanent brain damage resulting in partial paralysis, inability to speak properly, seizures, or mental retardation. Some die. In very young chil dren brain damage may not show up until later when a teacher may discover that a chiM is slower mentally than his classmates, or that he has become a behavior problem. “These are risks no parent should take,” Dr. Peeples de clared, “and we urge that all susceptible children be vaccinat ed against measles as soon af ter nine months of age as pos sible.” If a child already has had regular measles, there is no need for vaccination since he will have built up his own nat ural immunity. FORT KNOX, Ky. (AHTNC) —Pvt. William D. Brooks, son of Mr. and Mrs. William M. Brooks, Route 3, Bix 190, New berry, completed an automotive course under the Reserve En listment Program at the Army Armor School, Fort Knox, Ky., May 13. During the eight-week course. Brooks was trained to maintain and repair fuel and electrical systems, engines, transmission and chassis units of the Army’s armored vehicles. buried here F. M. Bradley F. M. Bradley of Old Fort, N. C., husband of the former Miss Emily Hoof of Newberry, died Monday morning. Funeral services were held Tuesday in Old Fort, with graveside serv ices conducted Tuesday after noon at Rosemont Cemetery, Newberry. COUNCIL CHAIRMEN ANNOUNCED AT COLLEGE Judy Half acre, Prosperity, and Bill Singleton, Clearwater, Fla., will serve as chairmen of the Women’s Council and Men’s Council respectively at New berry College next year. They were named in a recent student election. Singleton defeated two other candidates for the post. Miss Halfacre was elected without opposition. The new chairmen’s parents are Mr. and Mrs. G. L. Half acre, Route 3, Prosperity, and Mrs. Mary A. Singleton, 355 Barbara Circle, Clearwater. The Women’s Council and Men’s Council are part of the Student Government Associa tion. Motorists are . \ 1 urged to watch for cyclists Many schools will be closed for summer vacation within a few days and when that hap pens, automobile drivers will have to increase their vigilance, State Highway Department of ficials warned today. Youngsters, freed from their class rooms, will be eager to romp and play in the warm sun shine. Unfortunately, some of this playing will be in streets and roadways. A special problem will btf that of young bicycle riders who bravely, if not capably, ride their steeds out into the traffic pattern where one mistake can spell tragedy. The Highway Department notes that six bike riders have been killed already this year despite the limited houfs avail able for play because of school. With vacation, time around the corner, enforcement authori ties are fearful least a summer surge of accidents will send the toll spiraling above last 'year’s 16 fatalities. For the past two years 16 riders have been killed. In 1963 fifteen were killed, making the three-year toll 47 victims. This figure has remained surpris ingly constant, although the number of motor, vehicles has grown to well over one million, thus speaking well of the care and caution shown by South Carolina drivers. However, each youngster killed is a very real tragedy to some family, a trag- Dooley is I Action Candidate FOR Senator SEAT No. 1—Lexington, Newberry, Saluda Counties edy that could have been avoid ed if someone had been a little more careful either with his driving or bike riding. On May 14, nine-year-old Bruce Walker of McCormick was struck and killed by a truck while riding a bicycle just inside the McCormick city limits. The accident occurred at 6:40 p.m. Let’s make Bruce Walker’s death the last bike fatality in South Carolina in 1965, the Highway Department urges. L>< Give incomparable excellence from our BUL0VA Collection of fine i watches. Bulova excellence is outstand- • ing. A Bulova is something spe cial. 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