Ashtabula (Pendleton, South Carolina) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Ashtabula
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Ashtabula in 2009
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 Location in South Carolina
Location in the United States
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| Location | 2725 Old Greenville Highway |
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| Nearest city | Pendleton, South Carolina |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1828 |
| Architectural style | Central Hall, Double-pile |
| Part of | Pendleton Historic District (ID70000560) |
| NRHP reference No. | 72001186 |
| Added to NRHP | March 23, 1972 |
Ashtabula is a historic house located near Pendleton, South Carolina. It is also known by names like the Gibbes-Broyles-Latta-Pelzer House. This special house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 23, 1972. It's a great example of a "Lowcountry" style house built in the early 1800s. This style was popular in the coastal areas of South Carolina. Ashtabula is also part of the larger Pendleton Historic District.
Contents
The Story of Ashtabula
Early Days and a Tavern
Around 1790, a man named Thomas Lofton built a two-story brick house on this spot. Later, the Gassaway family owned the house. They turned it into a tavern. A tavern was like a hotel and restaurant for travelers. It was located on the main road from Pendleton to Pickensville and Greenville.
The Gibbes Family Home
In the mid-1820s, Lewis Ladson Gibbes from Charleston built the main house we now call Ashtabula. Sadly, his wife, Maria Drayton, passed away in 1826. Lewis himself died in 1828, just before the house was finished. Some of their children later lived in the house.
New Owners and Farm Innovations
In 1837, Dr. Ozey R. Broyles bought Ashtabula. He was very interested in farming. He even invented a special plow that worked underground. In 1845, the farm set a "world's record" for growing rice. They produced 110 bushels of rice per acre! Each bushel weighed about 43.75 pounds (20 kg). This was much more than the average of 40 bushels per acre in South Carolina at that time.
In 1851, James Latta bought the farm. He brought some of the first Hereford cattle from England to improve the local cows.
Civil War and a Detailed Diary
When the Civil War began, Robert Adger of Charleston bought the house. He bought it for his daughter, Clarissa, and her husband, O. A. Bowen. Clarissa kept a detailed diary about her life on the farm. This diary was later published in 1973.
Robert Adger's other daughter, Sarah E. Adger, and her husband, William D. Warner, started a dairy farm. A neighbor, J. C. Stribling, helped manage it. They were the first to bring Jersey cattle into South Carolina.
Later Owners and Becoming a Museum
In 1880, Francis J. Pelzer bought the property. He was famous for building the Pelzer Manufacturing Company. After him, several other people from South Carolina owned the house. The last private owner was Frederick W. Symmes of Greenville. He owned it from 1940 to 1957.
Then, the Mead Paper Company bought Ashtabula. In 1961, they gave the house to a group called the Foundation for the Historic Restoration in the Pendleton Area. This group's name later changed to the Pendleton Historic Foundation in the 1990s.
Today, Ashtabula is a house museum run by the Pendleton Historic Foundation. The house is filled with furniture from the "antebellum era," which means before the Civil War. You can visit the house from April to October, Tuesday through Friday and on Sunday afternoons.
Ashtabula's Design
The house is a two-story building. It is almost square and has four sections across its front. The roof is a hip roof, which slopes down on all four sides. There are two chimneys inside the house. At the very top, there is a widow's walk. This is a small platform often found on old coastal homes.
Inside, there are two rooms on each side of a central hallway on both floors. The ceilings are very high, about 12 feet (3.7 meters) tall. The house has covered porches, called piazzas, on three sides. These porches are supported by square columns.
The front door is special. It has narrow windows on the sides, called sidelights. Above the door, there is a five-light transom, which is a window with five small panes of glass. The other windows are "six over six light sash windows." This means they have two parts that slide up and down, and each part has six small panes of glass. The windows in the drawing room are French windows. These are like doors with glass panels that open onto the porch.
The inside walls are made of wide, flat wooden planks covered with wallpaper. The main staircase has been moved. Now, it's a U-shaped staircase with a landing above the back entrance.
A walkway connects the main house to the original brick building from 1790. This older building was used as the kitchen and for servants' living areas. It also has a hip roof and a central chimney.
