Featherstone Tenant Farm, County Road 81, Lowndesville

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS SC,1-LOWN.V,3-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This log structure illustrates vernacular building techniques in the Upper Savannah River Region. PART

Historical Information

Little historical information could be gathered on the house, which apparently was moved to this site at the turn of the century. The house, constructed of hewn logs and a frame addition, dates from the nineteenth century. The structure may have been built as slave quar- ters, but its original location is unknown. The fireplace appears to have been removed before the house was moved, but it is thought that someone lived in the structure at the present site. It is now located on the Harper-Featherstone Farm (see HABS No. . Since about the house has been used to store hay. The nearby barn was built ca. for Douglas Featherstone while Robert Morrow was a tenant on Featherstone's farm. Timber for the barn was logged by the Morrows with a mule and two-wheeled cart.

A contractor named Burriss brought his tractor-powered sawmill to the farm to saw the boards. The barn was built on top of the old well for the adjoining tenant house. The well was dry before the barn was built; it was filled during construction but continued to sink in the ensuing years. The barn was used to house cattle and hay. (Information from Gaines Morrow, interviewed July 1, Prepared by: LeAnne Baird Project Historian HABS Summer FEATHERSTONE TENANT FARM HABS NO. (page 2) PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement: 1. Architectural character: This structure is a small log cabin with a frame addition on the north end. 2. Condition of fabric: Deteriorated. On the north end, the east wall and floor were damaged by a tree which fell onto the building. B.

Description of Exterior: 1. Overall dimensions: The one-story structure measures x 2. Foundations: The west wall of the south section rests directly on the ground. The other three walls rest on stone piers. The north section has stone piers at the corners. 3. Walls: The south section has no exterior wall finish. The north section has weatherboard siding. There is weatherboard siding on both gables, 4. Structural system, framing: The south section is con- structed of hewn logs joined by half-dovetail notching. The logs are approximately 1' -2" x 6" in size, and the crevices in some places are covered with horizontal boards. The sills are log in both the north and south sections. The south section is framed with sawn 2" x 4"s and diagonal bracing.

In both sections, the floor joists are log beams running east-west. The rafters also run east-west, and are log in the south section and sawn timbers in the north. The roof of the south section is constructed of small log rafters pegged at the top. The north roof is sawn timber framing. 5. Openings: a. Doorways and doors: The doors are vertical planks with horizontal bracing. b. Windows: The one window is on the north side. It has no glass, but a casement shutter of vertical boards. 6. Roof: The gable roof with the ridge running north-south is covered with standing-seam metal. The cornice of the south section is a log pegged at the ends. In the north section, there is a sawn timber cornice. FEATHERSTONE TENANT FARM HABS NO. (page 3) C. Description of Interior: 1. Floor plan: Two rooms. 2.

Flooring: Planks running north-south. 3. Wall and ceiling finish: none, except where horizontal planks cover the crevices between the logs. D. Site 1. General setting: The cabin is located along an old log- ging road which parallels the slope of the hill. There is a pecan orchard to the southwest. 2. Outbuildings: The large cattle barn, located just 18' north of the house, measures x The barn is frame construction, using 3" x 4" studs and 3" x 6" posts. The 4" x 8" sills rest on log and stone piers. The roof is framed by a Howe-type truss with no vertical members. It is supported by a post wall which runs the length of the structure. These posts are 7" square. The rafters are 3" x 6" and approximately 24' long. The gable roof runs north-south and is covered with standing- seam metal.

The walls are covered with weatherboards. The floor plan is divided into two sections lengthwise by the post wall. Large barn doors are located on all sides with double doors on the north side. There is a cattle- loading ramp in the northeast corner and a well in the southeast corner. The floor is dirt. Prepared by: Mark Schara Architect Richard J. Cronenberger Project Supervisor HABS Summer PART III. PROJECT INFORMATION The documentation of the historic resources within the Richard B. Russell Dam project was undertaken by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), of the National Architectural and Engineering Record (NAER), a division of the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service in cooperation with Interagency Archeological Services FEATHERSTONE TENANT FARM HABS NO.

(page 4) (IAS), Atlanta, Georgia, and cosponsored by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District Office in compliance with Executive Order as a mitigative effort in construction of the dam. The project was executed under the direction of Robert Kapsch, Chief of NAER; John Poppeliers, Chief of HABS; and Kenneth L. Anderson, Principal Architect, in the HABS field office, Elberton, Georgia. Recording was conducted during the summer of by Richard J. Cronen- berger (staff architect), project supervisor; LeAnne Baird (University of Nebraska), project historian; Marcie L. Robertson (University of Georgia), assistant historian; Dennis M. O'Kain (University of Georgia), project photographer; Reginald A.

Berry (staff architect), foreman; William F, Hand (Auburn University) foreman; and student architects Carol B. DeGroote (University of Maryland), Dale R. Gerber (University of Minnesota), Cynthia Wilson-Glicksman (University of Arizona), and Mark Schara (University of Michigan). The Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) historian was John P. Johnson. The clerk-typist was Teena Kenimer (University of Georgia). The written data were edited in the HABS Washington Office by Alison K. Hoagland in February