Caldwell-Hutchison Farm, County Road 93, Lowndesville

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS SC,1-LOWN.V,4-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Caldwell-Hutchison Farm features a two-story log dogtrot house and log smokehouse dating from the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. Origin- ally a one-story single-pen dwelling, the house was gradually expanded into a two-story dogtrot with frame front additions and an attached frame kitchen and dining room. The farmstead has not been altered significantly since ca. and the major struc- tures on the site are in excellent condition. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History: 1. Date of erection: The first pen of the Caldwell-Hutchi- son House may have been built by Aaron Steel prior to but was more likely built by John Caldwell for his son, James, and his wife, or by James himself ca. 2. Architect: Not known. 3.

Original and Subsequent Owners: The Abbeville County Courthouse was destroyed by fire in so deeds before that year are not obtainable. The following chain of title is pieced together from censuses, genealogical sources, and Harold Carlisle, a local historian. ca. Estate of Aaron Steele to John Caldwell CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (Page 2) ca. John Caldwell to James Caldwell, his son In the census, James Caldwell is listed in his own household, presumably this farm. In John Caldwell*s will (Box 16, pack dated he left to his son, James, his "smith tools in addi- tion to what he has already got," indicating that James had already received this farm from him.

James Caldwell to his estate James Caldwell last appeared in the census and presumably died in the It is not known what happened to his farm, but it appears to have stayed in family hands. Estate of James Caldwell to Joseph Burton It is possible that Burton acquired the farm when he moved here in Joseph Burton (his father-in-law) or Robert Hutchi- son (his father) to R. B. Hutchison. When Malley B. Hutchison, son, was still alive, he told Harold Carlisle that his family moved from Hogskin Creek, near Due Vest, to this farm in when he was three years old. Will in Box pack probate records Abbe- ville County. In his will, R. B. Hutchison left "the Home Place" to his widow. His son Malley B. Hutchison had moved there in about and probably acquired it shortly thereafter from his mother.

After Malley B. Hutchsion died in the estate apparently passed to his children. Katherine and Bandon continue to occupy the farm. 4. Original plans and construction: The original structure consisted of one room with a fireplace and was construct- ed of hewn logs joined by half-dovetail notching. 5. Alterations and additions: It is likely that the first additions were made between and when the newly married Caldwells had five children. West of the origin- al section, a second pen was added with a breezeway in between. The roof was raised by three logs to create two second-story rooms and an interior stair was added in the west room to provide access. CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (Page 3) Two frame rooms were added to the front of the house.

According to Katherine Hutchison, these dated from about when the next family moved into the house. The addition of the detached frame kitchen might also have occurred at this time. At some point, the porch on the kitchen was enclosed, and as a final addition, the dining room was built to connect the kitchen with the main house. The wood-shingled roof was replaced with tin by Bandon Hutchison. The northeast room originally had a chimney; it fell into disrepair ca. and was not replaced. That section of the wall was re~clapboarded at that time. The house was electrified from to When the generator broke it was never replaced. Katherine prefers drawing water from the well by hand and cooking on a wood stove. B.

Historical Context: See the history of the Ridge Community included with the Harper-Featherstone Farm, HABS No. The Caldwells first appear in this area in the census. John Caldwell is listed in the vicinity of the Ridge neighborhood near the Savannah River. It is likely that Caldwell built his home southwest of the Caldwell- Hutchison Farm ca. when he married. Aaron and James Steel are listed in the census as living on either side of John Caldwell. Aaron Steel died in and it is likely that John Caldwell acquired this land from the estate. In the census, John Caldwell is seen living next door to his son James. In his will, Caldwell left land to three of his sons.

His omission of his son James, leaving him only "smith tools in addition to what he has already got," surely indicates that he had already received land. After James Caldwell disappeared from the censuses and presumably died. In Thomas F. Caldwell, James' nephew and the son of his brother William H., is found as manager of James Caldwell's farm. According to the census, the farm had 808 acres, 171 acres under cultivation and 637 acres in wood- land, pasture and idle fields. The value of the plantation was The farm had worth of tools and implements and worth of livestock. According to Harold Carlisle, Rev. Joseph Manning lived in the Caldwell-Hutchison house from until sometime before Joseph Manning was probably living and farming on the property by along with William A.

Shaw, since the Agricultural Cen- sus lists Thomas F. Caldwell, Shaw, and Manning consecu- tively and give identical amounts of woodland and unimproved land for each acres). Shaw is listed as farming 54 acres and Joseph Manning, 45 acres. The farm, then, was probably 907 acres total and worth CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (Page 4) The Burtons were probably the next family to live on the Caldwell-Hutchison tract. In Joseph Burton moved to the Lowndesville area from Anderson County, South Carolina, and it is most probable that he farmed the Caldwell-Hutchison farm, judging from the relative placement of farmers on the Agri- cultural Census list of and the neighbors listed in the population census of that same year.

Joseph Burton is listed as farming 175 acres with 325 acres of woodland on a farm worth in that census. The Burtons came from Anderson County, where R. B. Hutchison had a farm. In R. B. Hutchison was listed in the Popu- lation Census of Anderson County, as single, living near his uncles and aunts John and Eva Hutchison and Sam and Mary Hutchison, in the 4th Regiment District of Anderson County. He is credited there with real estate valued at and his total property was valued at Robert Barney Hutchison married America Burton in R, B. Hutchison's father, Robert Hutchison, was a prom- inent landowner in Abbeville County, although he was not part of the Ridge Community, residing further east towards Lowndes- ville near Harper's Ferry Road.

Robert Hutchison may have acquired the Caldwell-Hutchison land for his son at this time and rented it to his in-laws, the Burtons, or Joseph Burton may have bought it and later sold it to his son-in-law. At any rate, Joseph Burton was still on the farm in according to the Population Schedules for that year, and in the Agricultural Schedules he is listed as farming 50 acres, with 60 acres in woodland and 44 acres unimproved.

The value of his farm was listed in as In Burton raised (among other crops) 150 bushels of corn and three bales of cotton; the estimated value of his farm produce for that year was Alternately, the Burtons may have rented or sharecropped that part of the original James Caldwell estate now known as the Caldwell-Hutchison Farm until when the last of the Caldwells in the neighborhood, the younger William H. (son of William H., who had married Jane Hutchison) moved to Missouri, where he later died. At that time Robert Hutchison may have bought the farm for his son, or R. B. may have used the proceeds from the sale of his farm in Anderson County. It is fairly certain that R. B. Hutchison moved to the Caldwell-Hutchison Farm in or This is confirmed by Malley B.

Hutchison's recollection of moving there when he was three years old, and by the census, which shows R. B. Hutchison and his family living in Lowndesville Township. In CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (Page 5) according to the Census Agricultural Schedules, R. Barney Hutchison had 75 acres under cultivation, 75 acres of woodland, and 122 acres of old fields and unimproved land for a total of 272 acres. The total value of his farm was listed at with worth of machinery and worth of livestock. He spent $30 the preceding year for fence repair, and paid out in salaries including the value of board provided his employees. The value of all farm production for the preceding year was estimated at On June 1, R. B.

Hutchison had one horse, one mule, two milk cows, two other cattle, four hogs, and fifteen fowl. In the farm produced 90 pounds of butter and 15 dozen eggs. Barney Hutchison planted typical southern crops in 30 acres of corn bu.), 10 acres of oats (30 bu.) 12 acres of wheat (50 bu.), 20 acres of cotton (7 bales), one acre of sorghum (18 gals, syrup), 50 acres of cow peas, and one-half acre of sweet potatoes (20 bu.). He had ten bearing apple trees and 75 peach trees, and in he cut 75 cords of timber. Compared to his immediate neighbors, the yield per acre was substantially lower on R. B. Hutchison's farm, indi- cating early soil exhaustion due to many years of intensive cultivation.

Robert Barney's son, Malley Bandon, married Mary Lou Kelley; they began living on the Caldwell-Hutchison farmstead ca. In late or early Robert Barney and his wife moved up the road to the old Thomas Place, a four-acre tract that R. B. Hutchison had purchased in for (Book 26, p. Deed Records, Abbeville Co.). They had lived there only a few months when R. B. died on March 28, In his will (Box pack Probate Records, Abbeville Co.), he left his wife "the Home Place and the house and lot known as the 'Thomas Place.IM To his son, Malley B., he left the 90-acre Bartley Tucker, place. Malley B. Hutchison and his family took over the Caldwell- Hutchison Farm and continued the subsistence farming common in the post-Civil War era in the Ridge Community.

In about the family and their tenants farmed more than 400 acres with two mules and a yoke of oxen. They also had milk cows and sold cream commercially in Lowndesville, where it was shipped by train to Anderson. In addition to dairy cows they raised 40 to 50 head of sheep and goats. For assistance in farming they employed a sharecropper or two, and one or two hired hands, Malley B. Hutchison died in The Home Place, 383 acres, was appraised at at that time. After her father died, Katherine Hutchison (born who never married, remained on the farm. She and her brother, A. Bandon (born con- tinue to farm the family land, much as they always have, by hand. CALDWELL-HuTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (Page 6) PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General statement: 1.

Architectural character: This structure was originally a single-pen log structure expanded to a double-pen dogtrot, further expanded by later additions. 2. Condition, of fabric: good E. Description of exterior 1. Overall dimensions: This L-shaped structure with a two- story central section measures x 2. Foundations: Mostly fieldstone piers, There are some log piers under the kitchen section. 3. Walls: The walls of the main house are of log construc- tion. The east log wall and two thirds of the west wall are covered with clapboards- The other sections of the house are clapboard over frame. The breezeway walls of the two front rooms are vertical planks, 11" wide and 1" thick. 4. Structural system, framing: The main house is log con- struction with half-dovetail joints.

The logs average 13" high, with some and are 6" thick. They are hand-hewn with the bark still on the unhewn side. Above the second story, the logs run all the way across. The ceiling joists are cut lumber, 7" x 5", 3' on center, spanning north-south. The front rooms are mortise and tenon construction. The studs are 3 V x spaced on center, with some diagonal bracing. The connections are made with pegs- The kitchen is also of mortise and tenon construction. The studs are cut lumber, 3\" x 3V an(^ half logs, 4" to 5" in diameter, spaced 3' on center. The ceiling joists are hewn, 3" x 6" on center, spanning east-west. t CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (Page 7) The dining room construction was not ascertainable, but judging from its sizable members, it is probably mortise and tenon framing.

The top plate measures 3V x 6V' and the studs 4" x 4". The ceiling joists are 2" x 6", on center, spanning north-south. The kitchen porch was probably enclosed at the turn of the twentieth century, judging from the use of 2" x 4"s and wire nails. The rafters are notched into the top plate and the top plates are notched together. The ceiling joists are 3" x 5", spaced 2* -7" on center, spanning east-west. 5. Porches: The breezeway, or dogtrot, through the center of the house is wide. The porch on the west side of the kitchen is 6' -5" wide. It is covered by an extension of the kitchen roof, has walls up to about 3', and screening above that. 6. Chimneys: There are three chimneys.

The chimney on the east side of the living room is cut and rough fieldstone to about the second-floor level, with brick above. The chimney on the south end of the kitchen is fieldstone to about 6* above grade with brick above. The third chimney, in the center of the kitchen, is a brick outlet for the stove pipe. 7. Openings: a. Doorways and doors: All of the doors are vertical planks, thick, with horizontal braces. Most of them have porcelain doorknobs and box locks. The door from the living room to the breezeway has been divided in half, dutch door style. b. Windows and shutters: All windows have six-over- six-light double-hung sash. Most of the windows have vertical-plank shutters. 8.

Roof: The gable roof over the main house runs east-west; the gable roof over the kitchen runs north-south. Both of these roofs have pegged mortise and tenon joints at the roof peak. There are shed roofs over the front rooms and the dining room. The eaves are boxed. CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (page 8) C. Description of Interior: 1. Floor plans: The structure is a double-pen dogtrot, with two rooms on either side of a breezeway. The dining room and kitchen form an ell on the east end of the south side. 2. Stairways: The stairway in the northeast corner of the southwest room has winders to make a quarter turn. 3. Flooring: All of the flooring in the house is tongue- and-groove planking.

In the living room, the flooring around the fireplace hearth is 2" boards, with 6" boards in the rest of the room. The approximate widths of the boards and the directions in which they are laid are ob- tainable from the measured drawings that accompany this report. Most of the rooms had linoleum laid over the boards. The linoleum is now worn away to different degrees. A. Wall and ceiling finish: The living room walls are covered with newspapers held up with a flour paste. There is a log surface underneath. The bedroom west of the living room has horizontal board walls. Both of these rooms have ceilings that were once whitewashed, consisting of the second-story floor with exposed ceiling joists. The exposed corners are beaded.

In the northeast room, half of the north wall is covered with cardboard, while the other half is open to the ex- terior clapboards. The east wall has 6" wide horizontal boards. The west wall has some cardboard and the exterior vertical boards. The south wall is log. The ceiling is pine planking 12" wide. The northwest room walls are cardboarded with newspapers underneath and newspaper insulation in the ceiling above dropped ceiling panels, 16" x The dining room walls were covered with a pink wallpaper which has fallen down to reveal horizontal boards ranging between 6" and 14" in width. The ceiling is part planks and part open to the shed roof. The kitchen has no wall finish, with vertical members and the exterior siding exposed on the interior.

The ceiling has some planking but it, too, is open in places to the roof. CALDWELL-fflJTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (page 9) The second-floor rooms have log walls, with only a few boards across the crevices. Many of the spaces are open to the exterior. There is no ceiling; the roof rafters are exposed. 5. Doorways and doors: Each door is framed by 4" wide boards. 6. Decorative features: The fireplace in the living room has a brick hearth, a wood surround, and a simply molded mantel. 7. Mechanical equipment: There is a propane heater in the northwest bedroom and a wood stove in the kitchen. There is no plumbing but the house is wired for electricity. D. Outbuildings Smokehouse: The smokehouse, probably built at about the same time as the main section of the house, ca.

has the same half-dovetail notching that is found on the house. The one-story smokehouse, which measures x is constructed of logs joined by half-dovetail notching. The ceiling joists are 5" in diameter, 5' on center. The rafters, 2\" in diameter, 3' on center, are notched and pegged at the peak. There is a wood shake gable roof. There is a vertical plank door in the east gable end. On the interior, there is a dirt floor and shelves for storage. Blacksmith Shop: The blacksmith shop probably dates from ca. The gable-roofed frame structure was used ca. by Malley B. Hutchison. The forge and bellows are still in place in the shop, and the building is cur- rently used to store Malley Hutchison's turn-of-the- century agricultural equipment and blacksmith tools.

The one-story blacksmith shop, which measures x has a mortise-and-tenon frame construction cover- ed with weatherboard siding. The rafters are 2" in diameter, spaced on center. The gable roof is covered with wood shakes. There is a wide barn-type door on the west side, and window openings on each gable end. On the interior, there is a brick blast furnace. Well House: The well house was built in the early twen- tieth century. The first well, northwest of the house caved in. The present well was re-rocked in the Hutchison). CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (page 10) The well house is a simple frame construction with cedar posts. The west wall and the gables are covered with weatherboards. The gable roof is covered with wood shakes. There is a concrete pad for the well base.

The well is 75' deep. A. Corn Crib/Mule Barn: The corn crib was built ca. The mule barn shed addition was made by Bandon Hutchison in the twentieth century. The corn crib is of simple frame construction. There is weatherboard siding three-fourths of the way up. Above that, there are horizontal wood slats, IV wide, spaced IV apart. The gable ends are fully covered with weath- erboards. The structure is set on stone piers and has deck flooring. The gable roof is covered with standing- seam metal. The mule barn addition is constructed of cedar logs with board and batten siding. It has a shed roof. 5. Ox and Mule Barn: This structure replaced a previous barn ca. This barn was a transverse-crib frame barn with a gable roof. The barn had five stalls and a feed room.

The loft is still used for hay storage even though the barn has collapsed. The gables had weather- board siding and the roof was covered with standing-seam metal. 6. Chicken House: The chicken house was built ca. by Bandon Hutchison. It consists of vertical planks, much deteriorated. 7. Machinery Shed: The machinery shed, a cedar post con- struction with a low-pitched gable roof and a shed addi- tion, was built ca. 8. Garage: The garage, a cedar post construction with a gable roof, was built in 9. Wagon Shed: This structure, apparently an open-sided building, has collapsed upon a wagon. 10. Cotton Shed: The cotton shed, a gable-roofed structure, has also collapsed. The shed was divided into two rooms. 11.

Structures No Longer Extant: Behind the house are the foundations of a one-room structure inhabited by the hired man. It was a log building erected by R. B. Hutch- ison (A.B. Hutchison). A shuck house between the new and old barns was used to store corn shucks until they were used as cattle fodder. The woodhouse, a frame structure, stood northeast of the house where the woodpile is today. CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (Page 11) 12. Fencing: One small segment of rail fencing remains on the farmstead, located in the front yard of the house. This section was part of the fence used to enclose the pasture which was located in front of the house. The Hutchisons began replacing the rail fence with barbed wire ca.

Hutchison), and by the almost all the fencing was converted to post and wire (Kelson). PART III. SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Early Views: USCS photos of the farm, ca. in possession of Katherine and Bandon Hutchison and B. B. Hutchison. B. Interviews: Carlisle, Harold, interviewed at his hardware store in Calhoun Falls, on July 9, and August 24, and notes from an interview by Steve Grable of The History Group, Inc., Atlanta, Ga. , on March 21, Hutchison, A. Bandon, interview and site tour on June 30, Hutchison, A. Bandon and Katherine, interviewed at their home on July 5, Hutchison, Bryan B., interviewed at his home near Lowndesville, and notes from an interview by Steve Grable of The History Group, Inc., Atlanta, Ga. on March 19, Nelson, Mr.

and Randolph, interviewed at their home near Lowndesville, July 11, C.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS SC,1-LOWN.V,4-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

1. Primary and unpublished sources: Deed Records, Abbeville County Courthouse, Fragment of Robert Hutchison Family Bible, in the posses- sion of B. B. Hutchison, typescript in files of The History Group, Atlanta, Ga. CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (page 12) Probate Records, Abbeville County, James Caldwell, Box 16, pack James Caldwell, Box 23, Pack William H. Caldwell, Box Pack Jane Caldwell, Box Pack James Caldwell, Sr. , Box 20, pack John Caldwell, Box 16, pack Research files, Harold Carlisle of Calhoun Falls, Research Files, Upper Savannah Council of Governments, Ruth LaForge, Preservation Planner. Research files, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Real Estate Office, Elberton, Ga. U. S. Census, Abbeville County and Anderson County, Population Schedules, Agricultural Schedules, 2.

Secondary and published sources: Bonds, Neil C. "Hutchison," Abbeville County Family History, published by Press and Banner and Abbeville Medium, pp. "Hutchison Home Possible Candidate for Historic Register," Clarks Hill-Russell Highlights, September-October p. 1. Padgett, Beth. "It's So Quiet You Never Know What Day is Sunday," Greenwood, Index-Journal, June 3, Siceloff, Bruce. "Dam Project to Surround Home," Greenville, News, June 7, Prepared by: LeAnne Baird, Project Historian Richard J. Cronenberger, Project Supervisor Historic American Buildings Survey Summer PART IV. 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 (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 CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM HABS NO. (Page 13) 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 ADDENDUM TO HABS No.

CALDWELL-HUTCHINSON FARM County Road 93 Uf\&~ Lowndesville vicinity nHo.3 Abbeville County ^Q, South Carolina ,> f>\,iN^\{. XEROGRAPHIC COPIES OF COLOR TRANSPARENCIES HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, DC ADDENDUM TO: HABS CALDWELL-HUTCHISON FARM SC,1-LOWN.V,4- County Road 93 Lowndesville vicinity Abbeville County South Carolina

Field Records Historic American Buildings Survey

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior C Street NW Washington, DC