Fort Hill, Clemson University Campus, Clemson

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS SC,39-CLEM,1-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Clemson University Campus, Clemson, Pickens County, South Carolina. Clemson University Campus, near the intersection of Fort Hill Street and Calhoun Drive, Clemson, Pickens County, South Carolina. Fort Hill sits atop a slight hill, facing north, on a five acre green space in the center of the Clemson University campus. The outbuildings include Calhoun's Office, a reconstructed kitchen, and a partially restored spring house. Present Owner and Occupant: Clemson University, State of South Carolina.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS SC,39-CLEM,1-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

For the last 25 years of his life, Fort Hill was the home of John C. Calhoun one of America's most prominent politicians and political theorists. Later, the house was occupied by Calhoun's son-in-law, Thomas G. Clemson scientist, agriculturalist, and founder of Clemson University. Architecturally, the house is interesting for its Greek Revival details and evolutionary development. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History: 1. Dates of erection: ca. 2. Architect: Unknown. 3. Original and subsequent owners: The original owner was the Reverend James McElhenny, pastor of the Old Stone Church. Upon McElhenny's death, the house passed into the hands of John Ewing Calhoun, John C. Calhoun's mother-in-law. From until John C.

Calhoun rented the property from her and then gained full possession upon her death. Calhoun died in but the house remained in family possession. Notably, Calhoun's son-in-law, Thomas G. Clemson was owner from In his will the property was given to the State of South Carolina for the establishment of an agricultural college. The will also stipulated that the house be preserved in perpetuity. 4. Alterations and additions: The original ca. portion of the house was a simple four-room building with its front entrance on the north facade. During their years there, the Calhouns enlarged the house to its present fourteen-room size, added the portico and porches, and reoriented the main entrance to the east. Many of these alterations were designed by Floride Bonneau Calhoun, Calhoun's wife.

During the the house ws restored by the South Carolina Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. FORT HILL (McElhenny - Calhoun - Clemson House) HABS No. (Page 2) B. Historical Context: John c. Calhoun came to live at Fort Hill in the year that he was inaugurated as Vice-President of the United States. During the previous two decades, Calhoun had served in a variety of political posts, including State legislator, United States Congressman and Secretary of War. During the and Calhoun expounded and developed his theories of state's rights, suggesting in the recourse of state nullification of federal law.

After resigning the Vice Presidency, he went on to serve as Secretary of State and United States Senator while remaining the champion of state sovereignty and of the rights of minority factions. Fort Hill was Calhoun's much beloved retreat from public life, and it is there that much of his influential political philosophy was formulated and drafted. Calhoun's son-in-law, Thomas G. Clemson, was another noted resident of Fort Hill, and one who profoundly impacted the house's future.

Clemson lived with the Calhouns at Fort Hill during the and returned there as owner during his old age in the and A scientist and agriculturalist, Clemson was appointed as the country's first Superintendent of Agriculture in His interest in agriculture and science led him to the decision to promote an agricultural and mechanical college in South Carolina. In the terms of his will, Fort Hill and its surrounding acreage were deeded to the state for that purpose, although the house itself was specifically required to be preserved. Thus, as a result of Clemson's will, Fort Hill is presently a historic house museum, surrounded by the buildings of Clemson University. PART II . ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement: 1.

Architectural character: Developed over the years from a simple 4-room house, the present 14-room building is distinguished by large Greek Revival porches and porticos. 2. Condition of fabric: Good. B. Description of Exterior: 1. over-all dimensions: L-shaped; 2 1/2 stories; 1-story addition to rear. 2. Foundations: Fieldstone walls, brick piers. 3. Walls: Frame, sheathed in clapboards and flush siding. FORT HILL (McElhenny - calhoun - Clemson House) HABS No. (Page 3) 4. Porches: On the north facade there is a pedimented portico supported by four Tuscan columns of molded brick. On the east facade is a 2-story, 4-bay porch supported by similar columns. On the southern portion of the western facade is a similar porch, partially enclosed, supported by wooden columns. 5.

Chimneys: Three exterior and one interior chimneys; brick covered by stucco. 6. Openings: a. Doorways and doors: Entrance on north facade; two entrances on east front; wooden panelled doors; north door and one of east doors capped by transoms. b. Windows: 9/9 double hung sashes on first floor; 6/9 sashes on second floor; louvered shutters. 7. Roof: a. Shape: Gable roofs; shed-roof porches and rear addition. b. Cornice: Sirrple cornice, with shallow panelled rnodillion blocks. c. Description of Interior: 1. Floor plans: Asymmetrical arrangement of fourteen rooms. A. First floor: Small hall at entrance. South room is the parlor, north room is the formal dining room. Adjoining the dining room is the master bedroom. There is another hall at the northern entrance.

To the right of this hall is the original kitchen of the house. b. Second floor: Bedrooms, several with adjoining closets or dressing rooms. 2. Stairways: Main stair at east entrance hall is steep and has winders. A second stair rises in the corner off the original kitchen. 3. Flooring: Random width pine boards. 4. Wall and ceiling finish: Variable, including plaster, canvas, paper, and paneling. Circular molding in the center of parlor ceiling. FORI' HILL (McElhenny - Calhoun - Clemson House) HABS No. (Page 4) 5. Decorative features and trim: Several finely carved mantels imported from Charleston. Simple baseboards, door and window surrounds. D. Site: 1.

General setting and orientation: Now surrounded by the buildings of Clemson University, the building's principal entrance (as used by the Calhouns) is on the east facade. 2. Historic landscape design: A number of original plantings remain, including trees which Calhoun received as gifts, such as a varnish tree from Corrnnodore Stephen Decatur, a hemlock from Daniel Webster, and an arborvitae from Henry Clay. 3. Outbuildings: See HABS No. SC-344A and PARI' III. SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Built about Fort Hill was substantially enlarged by Vice President John C.

Calhoun and was his residence between and Fort Hill was later home to his widow, Floride; their eldest son, Crew Pickens Calhoun, from to and finally to the Calhouns' daughter Anna Maria Calhoun, during the years and her husband, Thomas G. Clemson founder of the University that bears his name. In addition to its role as the family's home, Fort Hill was Senator Calhoun's power base for meetings with his lowcountry constituents who summered in the Pendleton District. As such, the historical significance of Fort Hill rests on the national stature of Calhoun. John C.

Calhoun served almost continually in national politics from until his death in In his office at Fort Hill, Vice-President Calhoun reflected on the Constitution; there, in the fall of he formulated the ideas that were anonymously published as "The South Carolina Exposition and Protest." In July he penned his famous "Fort Hill Address," outlining his Doctrine of Nullification, that was based on the concept of states' rights. Calhoun was a graduate of Yale and of the Tapping Reeve Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut.

During his forty years in politics, the statesman served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, Secretary of War, with James Monroe; Vice-President of the United States, with John Quincy Adams; Vice-President of the United States, with Andrew Jackson; United States Senator, Secretary of State, with John Tyler; and United States Senator, He is best remembered as part of the "Great Triumvirate" in the Senate with Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 6) With the exception of the mythical Tara, no singular home and owner typifies the spirit of the antebellum South in the study of American history. Calhoun's legacy was underscored by President John F.

Kennedy in Kennedy, as a senator from Massachusetts, chaired the committee that selected Calhoun as one of the five greatest senators in American history. Kennedy praised the career of John C. Calhoun by saying Forceful logician of state sovereignty, masterful defender of the rights of a political minority against the dangers of an unchecked majority, his profoundly penetrating and original understanding of the social bases of government has significantly influenced American political theory and practice. Sincerely devoted to the public good as he saw it, the ultimate tragedy of his final cause neither detracts from the greatness of his leadership nor tarnishes his efforts to avert bloodshed.

Outspoken yet respected, intellectual yet loved, his leadership on every major issue in that critical era of transition significantly shaped the role of the Senate and the destiny of the nation. Because of its national significance, Calhoun's Piedmont plantation was designated a National Historic Landmark in December by the Department of the Interior. Fort Hill was included with the first 70 of the nation's most important and highly recognizable sites, including the U.S. Capitol and other biographical historic houses (e.g., Mount Vernon, Monticello and The Hermitage). This designation preceded the establishment of the National Register of Historic Places On the eve of the Bicentennial, Fort Hill's designation as a National Historic Landmark was confirmed.

However, today Fort Hill is listed as a "Threatened and Endangered" priority landmark in need of restoration by the Department oflnterior's National Historic Landmarks Program. Fort Hill came into public ownership on November 27, by an Act of the General Assembly entitled, "Act to Accept the Devise and Bequest of Thomas G. Clemson and to Establish an Agricultural College." Thomas Clemson stated in his will: "It is my desire that the dwelling house on Fort Hill shall never be tom down or altered, but shall be kept in repair, with all the articles of furniture and vesture which I hereinafter give for that purpose, and shall always be open for the inspection of visitors,[ ...

]." Thomas Clemson envisioned "the preservation of the home of the illustrious man who spent his life in the public service of his country" as a museum. As an historic house museum, Fort Hill contains a priceless of artifacts. Moreover, the core of the collection has never left the house. Many more objects have been returned. The fine arts collection includes family portraits, such as a Eugene DeBlock portrait of Calhoun painted in Belgium for Clemson and based on a Matthew Brady daguerreotype. The furniture collection includes Calhoun's Duncan Phyfe dining table and twelve chairs as well as a mahogany sideboard made of wood from the USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides." PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History ADDENDUM TO HABS No.

FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 7) 1. Date of erection: ca. The first date for the erection of the house known as "Clergy Hall" is John C. Calhoun renamed the plantation house "Fort Hill" and also added significant square footage to the structure between and Calhoun had moved to Clergy Hall (permanently) by the summer of he did so after John Calhoun, experienced health problems. Calhoun wrote to Martin van Buren that "the Physician recommends traveling, and we have concluded to go South, so soon as the state of his health will permit.

Our residence in [South] Carolina is near the mountains in a delightful and healthy climate." to Martin Van Buren, 7 July To his brother-in-law, John Ewing Colhoun, he wrote, "have Clergy Hall repaired, so as to answer for a temporary residence. We wish the piazza to be ["prepared" canceled and "repaired" interlined] and such as enlargement of the space, through which the stair case passes, as will give a pantry of good size, and a comfortable bed chamber instead of the little room, that Andrew [Pickens Calhoun] used to occupy, with a door to open between it an[d] your mother's [Floride Bonneau Colhoun's] chamber. [ ... ] It is my intention to build immediately on the Hill to the left to the road to the court house.(June 14, "The V. P.

and family are at Clergy Hall, all well and very busily engaged in farming, building and overhauling every thing, with a view to a permanent settlement. Their furniture and other things have arrived from Washington, and the house will soon be completed; so remodeled you will not know it." (John Ewing Colhoun, to James Edward Colhoun, May 4, "I am here so much out of the circle of politicks ... I am now devoted to reading, exercise and farming, the last of which possesses many attractions for me." to Samuel L. Southhard, August 27, The constant attention to the renovation made Calhoun comment that he "regreted" that the plantation ["business" interlined] seemed to go on so badly after I left home.

I suppose, however, there was great interruption, in consequence of the building." to John Ewing Colhoun, January 31, Calhoun rented the Fort Hill plantation from his mother-in-law for around per year until her death in However, uring those eleven years, he had enlarged the estate. One of the best descriptions of his opinion on building came two years after he had clear title to Fort Hill. She [Floride Colhoun Calhoun] writes me that she is anxious to commence an addition to our House for[th]with on her return to Pendleton. I think it would not be advisable on many accounts, till after my return. I cannot obtain Andrew's carpenter till after my return, and I have long since learned by sad experience, what it is to build in my absence.

It would cost me twice as much and the work then will not be half as well done. By getting Andrew's carpenter after my return, and throwing in with him Mr. Stevens & Daniel, so soon as the crop is finished, I could build at comparatively small expense, and have it well done under my own eye. I wish you to add your weight to mine to reconcile her ["not" canceled] to the course I suggest. to James Edward Colhoun, April 21, ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 8) As the editor of the Calhoun Papers notes, "Fort Hill was tasteful and comfortable but by no means luxurious-or imposing by the standards of later generations.

His labours on the farm gave him a taste for agriculture, which he has always retained, and in the pursuit of which he finds delightful occupation for his intervals ofleisure from public duties." 2. Architect: Not known. 3. Original and subsequent owners, occupants, uses: The earliest settlement of the area followed exploration into Cherokee territory in the vicinity of Essenaca. During the Revolution, the property was a part of Fort Rutledge, an outpost erected to protect the vicinity from the lower Cherokee nation who were supporters of the British. It was because of the military history of the Fort that Calhoun later renamed his plantation Fort Hill.

Nothing remains today of the Fort, although a historical marker was placed near the Seneca River (now Lake Hartwell) by the Daughters of the American Revolution in Following the Hopewell Treaties negotiated by General Andrew Pickens, portions of the land were granted to further settlement. The first record of the property was in a land grant to Robert Tate in ca. There is little indication of a structure being built and the land was acquired by John Ewing Colhoun, of the nearby Keowee Heights or Twelve Mile Plantation who sold the property to Reverend James McElhenny. McElhenny, pastor of the nearby Old Stone Church in Pendleton, was the builder and original owner of the house on the site called Clergy Hall.

Following McElhenny's death, his heirs sold the property to John Ewing Calhoun (Floride Bonneau Calhoun), who was John C. Calhoun's cousin by marriage and later became his new mother-in-law. Between and John C. Calhoun paid rent to Floride Bonneau Colhoun for Fort Hill until her death, and at that time, Calhoun took title to the property. Following Calhoun's death in his widow Floride Calhoun Calhoun lived in Fort Hill for four more years. In she sold the estate to her eldest son Andrew who lived there through the Civil War. It returned to her ownership through foreclosure on Andrew's widow. At her death, Calhoun willed the property to her daughter Anna Maria and her husband Thomas G.

Clemson, who then retired to Fort Hill in When Clemson's will was probated in the property was given to the State of South Carolina for establishment an agricultural and scientific college as he requested. Clemson's will also stipulated the preservation of Fort Hill as a museum. Dates of property transfers: Land grant to Robert Tate John Ewing Colhoun, to Rev. James McElhenny Rev. James McElhenny to John Ewing Colhoun, Sr. John Ewing Colhoun, Sr. to John C. Calhoun Floride Calhoun to Andrew Pickens Calhoun Floride Calhoun to Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson to Thomas G. Clemson ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 9) Thomas G. Clemson to State of South Carolina 4.

Builder, contractor, suppliers: There is historical evidence that the many additions to the house were constructed by enslaved Africans. Many supplies, such as bricks and timber, were locally produced. Tradition holds that Calhoun acquired some of the mantelpieces from Charleston. 5. Original plans and construction: An early nineteenth-century illustration of Clergy Hall, hand drawn and initialed (Floride Calhoun) provides the earliest view of what became Fort Hill. It shows a simple Federal-style house with a central two-story structure, two end chimneys, a one-story addition to the right and what appears to be a one-story detached kitchen to the left.

Although there has never been any archaeology on the site, there is considerable architectural evidence of the earlier structure within the attic and crawl space of Fort Hill. In the attic for example, sheathing that was once an exterior wall is encapsulated. In the crawl space, there are several depth changes which may indicate cellar or cold storage The copy of the illustration is provided.) 6. Alterations and additions: The house received several major and permanent structural additions during the occupancy of John C. Calhoun. A tradition associated with the house was that Floride Calhoun added a room each time Calhoun went to Washington. The original ca. portion of the house was a simple four-room building with its front entrance on the north facade.

The house evolved into a fourteen-room mansion, highlighted by Tuscan columned verandas and was possibly reoriented with a formal entrance to the east. Various cyclical restorations have taken place. Beginning in a major restoration was begun by the University with the assistance of the John C. Calhoun Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the South Carolina Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. B. Historical Context The House & Its Restoration From a sideboard made of wood from the USS Constitution to memorabilia from the launching of the USS Calhoun Polaris submarine the interpretative mission of Fort Hill traditionally has emphasized association and relics over a humanistic interpretation of universal themes of daily life on property.

Thus, the preservation, restoration and collection of material culture are all inextricably intertwined in what is visible today and interpreted at Fort Hill. Fort Hill was the name chosen by the statesman John C. Calhoun to christen his enlarged homestead and plantation in the Pendleton District around on the site of the earlier McElhenny home, Clergy Hall (ca. Eventually Thomas Clemson, almost through attrition of the family, ended up with Fort Hill. As soon as the first drafts of his will were written, the preservation of Fort Hill became prominent in the establishment of a college on the old plantation.

Addendum to Babs

No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 10) Preservationists at Clemson College were led by the college's founder Thomas Green Clemson. He stated in his will that Fort Hill, the home of his father-in-law John C. Calhoun, should be preserved. It was his wish (as recorded in a letter to Corcoran dated October 29, that after his death: to convert Fort Hill into such a purpose, and thus save from desecration that beautiful hallowed spot, and pass it down for future time to the diffusion and investigation. If the state was not going to accept his will and its provisions, he sought another method for its preservation, known to us by a letter written to J. H.

Rion on April 27, But, finally, should the legislature decline to accept the bequest then after the period of seven years I give and bequeath the said estate of Fort Hill consisting as above stated of the dwelling and 800 acres of land to the women of South Carolina who by some legally constituted association such as now holds possession of Mt. Vernon may act as trustees for the preservation of the home of the illustrious man who spent his life in the public service of his country and who dignified a State which so long trusted and honored him. The preservation of Fort Hill was mandated in the final Will of Thomas G. Clemson dated August 14, revised November 6, with codicils on March 26, and probated on April 20, Specifically dealing with Fort Hill are: Item 4.

It is my desire that the dwelling house on Fort Hill shall never be tom down or altered, but shall be kept in repair, with all articles of furniture and vesture which I hereinafter give for that purpose, and shall always be open for the inspection of visitors, but a part of the house may be used by such of the professors as the trustees may direct. Item 9. I give and bequeath to my executor, or to be held by him subject to the trusts and conditions ... of this my will, and for the purpose of adorning the Fort Hill residence as provided in Item 4 of this my will, all of my permanent furniture, relics and articles of vesture, pictures and paintings, including the large painting or picture of John C.

Calhoun, now hanging in my sitting room, and not otherwise disposed of herein, and all of my books. Codicil Item 9. I hereby authorize and direct my executor to employ such persons as he may deem necessary to take charge of the Fort Hill dwelling house and the articles therein donated ... Item 14. 1 authorize and empower my executor to expend such sums of money as he may deem necessary to keep the Fort Hill dwelling house and premises in repair, and the Fort Hill farm in good condition. As the Clemson College opened in so did Fort Hill open as a museum. In a newspaper account in the Greenville Mountaineer on July 12, "The Historic Mansion at Fort Hill" was described: ADDENDUM TO BABS No.

FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 11) A long, narrow apartment opening on the east front of the house is the art gallery, containing a rare collection of pictures and brick- a- brae. Here are a chair given to Mr. Clemson by the King of the Belgians, another chair said to have been used by George Washington, a sideboard made from the hull of the old frigate "Constitution" presented to Calhoun by Henry Clay, to whom it had been given by officers of the frigate, and other quaint souvenirs of Calhoun's life. This room will be fitted up and retained as a museum of Calhoun relics . . . . Calhoun's old library is a little, single room house the yard a few steps from the mansion.

Its tables and shelves, with many of the books -- some of them rare relics in themselves -- are those used by the great statesman in his daily labors. The desk he wrote on is still there, and in one of its drawers are the remains of his supply of goose quill pens. Following Clemson's death, his house-keeper Jane Prince continued to live in a portion of the house until Clemson's will stated that portions of the house could be used by the Trustees of the College as was necessary for faculty residence space. Some rooms were used for the first President of Clemson College, President Aubrey Strode. Other rooms were set aside for trustees (until the nearby Trustee House was built) and later some rooms were set aside for single faculty members.

In John Francis Calhoun and Rebekah (Rebecca) Noble Calhoun moved into Fort Hill at the College where he took a job as "bursar for the mess hall." (Jane Prince, who had been Thomas Clemson's housekeeper, was relocated to a house in the old town of Calhoun by the College). John Francis was a grand - nephew of John C. Calhoun. Members of this second Calhoun family, especially John Francis' daughters, lived in the house, cared for the historic house, and kept open to the public a "Relic Room." The Relic Room was the first interpretation of a museum setting in Fort Hill. In the context of its era, the room was a "cabinet of curiosities" or not arranged in any order.

The children of John Francis Calhoun who lived at Fort Hill were: Miss Ida Alexander Calhoun, postmistress; Floride Calhoun McDermid, wife of professor Chalmers McDermid; Samuel W. Evans, wife of Clemson College's secretary-treasurer; and Rebekah Calhoun Shiver, wife of a professor. Members of the Evans and Shiver families along with Ida Calhoun lived in the house up to Ida Calhoun continued as the "hostess-curator" of the house until shortly before her death in It was said she "clung with devotion" to her duties as hostess there and she lived in or worked as curator in the house for over fifty years. Restoration The first true interior restoration efforts began at the same time that the "second Calhoun family" was living at Fort Hill.

This movement can be traced back to Annie White Mell (wife of the fourth Clemson president, Dr. Patrick H. Mell). She wrote three articles about the house that were published in the Clemson Chronicle in As Mell took on the restoration of Fort Hill, the museum sections of the ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 12) house were expanded from the Relic Room to three rooms-- the parlor, the dining room, and one upstairs bedroom. In prefacing her remarks in one article, Mell noted that "The boys of Clemson College should feel that it is their duty and a great privilege to visit this historic home.

No graduate should leave the place without being thoroughly familiar with the home of Calhoun, its furnishings, association and cherished traditions." Here she described that the eastern colonnade had been selected as a public entrance when the school was opened to "not encroach upon the private rooms of the family occupying the other part of the house." Mell also gave clues to the earlier relic room writing, The parlor has another door opening out upon the eastern colonnade; a railing inside to this door was used formerly to prevent visitors from crowding into the room and handling the numerous articles too roughly. People came in throngs upon excursion trains, and it is said that the floor threatened to give way upon one occasion from the number in the room.

Mell listed many items that are familiar to visitors today: "two busts of Calhoun, a piano of English make, a handsome set of chairs -- ten straight-backed chairs and two arm chairs, mahogany center table with black Spanish marble top." However, she also described items that are no longer on view such as "a small engraving of Calhoun [that] is framed in a home-made frame of seeds, [and] the dilapidated remnants of what was once a magnificent cloak of otter skins, given Mr. Calhoun by an Indian Chief." Clemson University historian Alester G. Holmes, author with George Sherrill, of a biography of Thomas Clemson noted that "she did an excellent piece of work as far as it went and her resources allowed. But by the same situation had again arisen.

Only one room was open to the public and virtually all of the furniture was crowded into this." Another simultaneous restoration effort was begun in Calhoun's office by representatives of the Andrew Pickens Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Fred Ward Calhoun described in her manuscript, Long-Long-Ago. that the former State Historian of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Regent of the local chapter, Prexy, took on a Fort Hill project that: was the restoration of the little office building in the rear of the Calhoun mansion. When in residence, John C. used this to conduct plantation business, and to write many letters and pamphlets. She had found an old magazine which pictured the room as it was in his day. In this project she found me a willing aide.

Stored in the loft, we found old maps, charts, and a little carriage trunk, evidently used when they drove to Washington. We arranged the furniture as shown in the picture -- a table in the center of the room, his desk in a comer, flanked by a cabinet with drawers above and a cupboard below. On the black marble mantel we placed a model of the ship Constitution and a picture bearing this inscription: 'This is the only correct likeness ever taken of me. Davy Crockett.' An easy chair stood by the fireplace. On the wall hung a quaint old map of the United States, ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 13) made before the Mexican War, when knowledge of the West was still sketchy and inaccurate.

The picture she referred to was in a Scribners Monthly Illustrated Magazine article of April a very important document for interpreting the room. Unfortunately, the Davy Crockett engraving is evidently lost. From those rooms or portions of those rooms were open to the public. Second Restoration The second restoration of Fort Hill was begun in earnest following the recommendation of a committee chaired by Clemson President Enoch Sikes in The Committee set up by President Sikes included A. B. Bryan, J. C. Littlejohn and A. G. Holmes. A major change initiated was the discontinued use of the west sections of the house as faculty residence space.

(The Littlejohn and Holmes Papers in Clemson University's Archives & Special Collections describe the preparation of the rooms by the college and other interior changes). Floors were sanded, walls were papered, and older light fixtures were removed. The committee also sought to invite groups to help undertake the room by room restoration of the entire house. Another recommendation was to invite patriotic organizations such as the Colonial Dames, Daughters of the American Revolution, and United Daughters of the Confederacy to participate in the restoration. Of the groups invited, the local chapter John C. Calhoun Chapter U.D.C. volunteered to aid in the restoration and the house was opened by for commencement. Lila Holmes, wife Alester Holmes, was the first curator of the house.

Holmes was part of a Calhoun Mansion Restoration Committee which included J. H. Mitchell, Crawford, Lemaster, Klugh, McColl um. Later the Fort Hill project was enlarged beyond the Chapter to a state project of the South Carolina Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy. Under the direction of Lila Holmes, the furniture was rearranged to room settings and one wallpaper sample was reproduced for a bedroom over the parlor. Curtains were designed to incorporate the colors of the original dining room cornices that had been rediscovered in a closet. Major objects collected were the purchase of the Constitution sideboard from an antique dealer in New York, and the acquisition of the Calhoun bedstead and Calhoun flatware out of donations to the restoration collected at Fort Hill.

Numerous other artifacts were donated to Fort Hill by descendants who wished to help refurnish the numerous rooms. A pageant held on the nearby Riggs Field dramatically detailed the history of the house. Much of this second restoration is visible today, from the wallpaper to the iron gates. The gates were made on campus as were reproduction textiles for curtains. Many other items were donated by individuals and companies. This phase of the restoration is well documented in the Littlejohn and Holmes Papers. Following Holmes tenure, others carried on the restoration efforts which were sponsored by the college and the U.D.C. Further research by Ethel Mitchell provided clues to the plantation ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 14) layout.

Later projects and were the reconstruction of the plantation kitchen under the direction of David Watson and the partial restoration of the spring house. Fort Hill came to be considered a shrine. Harriet Hefner Cook, curator until noted in the preface of her book, John C. Calhoun. The Man, that she would "revere each precious heirloom within its hallowed walls." In addition to the J. C. Calhoun and Thomas Clemson families, other households are depicted by some of artifacts at Fort Hill. For example, the households of Floride Calhoun at Twelve Mile or Keowee Heights and Cold Spring, Andrew's Canebrake Plantation in Alabama, Calhoun's home Mi Casa in Pendleton, and Clemson's homes in Saluda and "The Home," in Maryland.

Fort Hill, therefore, has been a collective repository ofrelics from various eras ofrelations to the Calhoun/Clemson family. Material Culture Fort Hill has evolved from residence to shrine to historic house or from mansion to museum. The material fabric of the structure, its artifacts, and its site-specific past provide clues to the building's future and its educational and tourism mission within the University context. The residence is the most visible and largest object in the collection. It was crafted under the direction of the Calhouns and built largely by the hands of African - American carpenters. Unfortunately, while there are few references to the building in correspondence, there are even less about the individual objects.

The earliest records of the collection date to Anna Clemson's journal (ca. She itemized the artifacts in the house, upon her arrival back from Belgium two years after her father's death. Also in this inventory is a list of her husband's art collection that was stored temporarily at Fort Hill. This inventory is one of the earliest primary documents relating to the collection and has been used as a guide for future restoration efforts. Later inventories conducted at the deaths of Andrew Pickens Calhoun, Floride Calhoun, and Anna Calhoun Clemson provide additional evidence relating to the artifacts. An overview of the Papers of John C. Calhoun provides few clues about particular artifacts.

However, other sources that were consulted include a twentieth-century oral interview with Jane Prince (just prior to her death). This information gives a picture of the house in Clemson's time. Unfortunately, Prince's memories cannot help with the interpretation during Calhoun's era. Both Calhoun and Clemson were collectors of mementos in a similar vein with Thomas Jefferson's possessions found at Monticello. Calhoun, for example, collected books, maps, and other artifacts. These objects give visitors clues to the historical era in which they lived, especially when traditional forms of documentary evidence is scarce. The most appropriate place to interpret Calhoun is in his office. If there is one area that might best represent the life of a politician and farmer, it is in his office.

A description of the office from the states: ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 15) But the statesman's favorite haunt was his library, which occupies a square, one-storied structure by itself, a hundred feet or so in the rear of the house. One gets a good idea of the grandeur of the old estate from the porch of the little building, ... The library has its sides filled with bookshelves, and these are packed with volumes of every description, though largely the literature of the law and the rostrum. Calhoun's own speeches appear in several editions, and there are many books that bear the marks of his pen.

A marble bust of the senator occupies a pedestal in the comer, and here are the table at which he wrote, the chair in which he sat, the pictures that pleased his taste. It is a dark and somber room, though; there is not a bit of brightness or light to relieve the sober array of books, the heavy furniture, the dark paint, and dull, grained ceiling. As is true with modem day politicians, there are examples of the hardware of his career including desks and chairs associated to various periods of his career. There are three desks at Fort Hill that are important to point out. Probably one of the most historically important is the "Plantation style" desk which currently greets visitors in the lower hallway.

This desk was the one used in Calhoun's office where he penned, among other things, the document that bears the name of the plantation, his Fort Hill address. This desk was in the office during the Mell - DAR restoration but was moved into the hallway during the Holmes restoration, to serve as a stand for a guest register, where it sits out of context today. Other desks in the collection include a knee-hole desk from his law office and an elaborate Swiss-Oak Desk, a gift to Calhoun when he was Vice President. The two more prominent chairs include a leather office chair and a horse-hair upholstered senate chair. Unfortunately, of the Calhoun books, some were sold and some were destroyed in an fire in the main building, after the books were moved to the College's library.

The Scribners' article, one of the most valuable reports of Fort Hill and contains the earliest image of the office, was available to the Mell - DAR restoration. This article notes: Entering the broad hall in the center of the mansion, the eye rests upon a large number of antlers, all of deer killed close by and some with the senator's own rifle ... In the sitting-room, which opens at the left of the hall, everything is substantially as Mr. Calhoun left it, and all is plain and worn, The old fashioned side-board was constructed of historic wood, and resides much family plate, it was ornamented by two great polished horns of African oxen, handsomely mounted in gold, a gilt clock of the time of Louis XVI, and other lesser articles of virtu, all gifts to Mr. Calhoun.

Another interesting relic was the straight-backed, sprawl-legged arm-chair which Washington used at Trenton. In the more reserved "parlor" beyond this room, are many family portraits in antique frames including a queer one of Calhoun's mother when a girl, with her hair done up in an inconceivably bushy manner. ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 16) Two important strains are found in this description. First, this is the earliest record of other associations of articles, such as the "historic wood" (the Constitution sideboard), and the "Washington relic" of the Windsor chair. Second, it is apparent that the restoration emasculated the room. No longer are the antlers, fishing rods, rifles, or gender specific items preserved.

Other important items at Fort Hill include Calhoun's nullification cane engraved and dated pocket watch, calling card stencil, traveling trunk, and a paper weight with his initials. Fort Hill is full of associations to the Calhouns and Clemsons and to a host of other individuals and events. Two trees, an arbivitae and Canadian hemlock, were gifts of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. The sideboard made of wood from the USS Constitution was another gift from Clay. The house also holds a bed said to have been slept in by the Marquis Lafayette and a chair belonging to George Washington. Then there are the legends of James H. Rion, who lived at Fort Hill, was the French dauphin, and last but not least, the that Calhoun was Abraham Lincoln's father.

Needless to say, the folklore that surrounds Fort Hill is strong. The eagle backed sofa in the parlor illustrates one of these associations. Even to Mell's time, the legend of Washington possibly using the eagle design from this sofa as inspiration for coinage was told. Over the years researchers in Texas, New York, and Washington have shown great interest in this sofa. Their interest was not because of its association with Washington; instead they valued it as an example of the decorative arts.

Moreover, the researchers agree that the sofa could not have been President Washington's because its artistic design and construction techniques date to a later era The mission of the Fort Hill restoration is to interpret the house between and This period showed great changes in styles of furniture and decorating that are often categorized as moving from the Federal and Empire Period to the Late Victorian Era. Major themes are of the lives of the families, including the political career of Calhoun; the Calhoun-Clemson women; the labor of the African-Americans during the plantation era; and the life of the Clemsons that led to the founding of the college. Other important stories that visitors are interested in include those of Rev.

McElhenny, Andrew Pickens Calhoun, the house during the Civil War, John Francis Calhoun, and Ida Calhoun. More recent items include memorials to Calhoun such as memorabilia from the USS Calhoun submarine to the flag that flew over the Capital on the two hundredth anniversary of his birth. These further complicate the period rooms with anachronisms. Although the interpretation of Fort Hill as the John C. Calhoun Shrine can create a mausoleum effect and a stagnant house museum, the opportunity exists for Fort Hill to become the intellectual center of the campus.

For information about the life and career of John Caldwell Calhoun, the life and career of Thomas Green Clemson, biographical data on the five generations of Calhoun & Clemson women, and material regarding the African-Americans at Fort Hill between and please see the field notes accompanying this record.**** ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson Bouse) (page 17) PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement: Fort Hill evolved from an earlier federal-era dwelling into a fourteen room house accented by formal porticoes and porches. The central four room core, known as "Clergy Hill," was built for the Reverend James McElhenny around Calhoun added ten rooms to this structure, over several different renovations.

He then renamed the property "Fort Hill" in The Fort Hill complex consists of the house, Calhoun's office, a reconstructed kitchen, and a partially restored spring house. Fort Hill's architectural style reflects Calhoun's interest in Classical art and political models. Fort Hill is a Greek Revival-style structure with Federal period details. Monumental Doric columns highlight three facades and the porticoes. The interior is simple, yet elegant, or a Piedmont farmhouse made of local materials. The Greek Revival-style motifs include mantelpieces, paneling, and molding. B. Condition of Fabric: Currently, Fort Hill is in fair to poor condition. The House suffers from improper maintenance and so is in a deteriorated state.

The interior, in particular, has cracking plaster, moisture damage, and general disrepair. C. Description of the Exterior 1. Overall dimensions: Fort Hill has an L-shaped footprint. The main block is two and half stories tall, is organized around a center passage, and measures approximately 69' x There is a one- story addition to the rear (the ell) that measures approximately 32' x 2. Foundations: The foundation walls are of fieldstone and structural members are supported primarily by a system of brick piers. 3. Walls: The walls are of timber framing covered by wood clapboard or weather boarding. The siding under the three porches is flush. 4. Structural Systems: The house is of timber frame construction ranging from hewn to cut studs and joists.

Mortise and tenon joints hold the framing together. The roof rafters are both pegged and nailed. Cut nails are used primarily. 5. Porches, stoops: The porches, located to the front, rear, and east, are all supported by Doric monumental columns. An historic (early nineteenth century) sketch of the federal-style Clergy Hall predates the porches, thereby placing the construction of the porches to the Calhoun era. On the north facade is a pedimented portico supported by four Tuscan columns made of molded brick. The brick is covered with stucco which is painted white. Wood Tuscan pilasters mirror the columns. On the east facade is a two-story, four bay porch or veranda supported by four heavier Tuscan columns, also made of molded bricks. Again the bricks are stuccoed.

Wood Tuscan pilasters mirror th columns. To the south side of the west facade is a colonnaded porch, partially enclosed, supported by wood columns. Two Tuscan pilasters (also made from wood) mirror the columns. ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 18) 6. Chimneys: There are three exterior and one interior chimneys; brick covered by stucco. There are four total chimneys. The central chimney's stucco finish is in poor condition. The east exterior chimney is stuccoed and rusticated to simulate a block pattern. It has appears to have been coated with a later, raked stucco on the lower section. The shape of the end chimney is comprised of two steps or paired set-offs.

The chimney features a narrow shouldered width between the second story windows and narrows again above the roof line. The south exterior chimney is stuccoed and rusticated and appears to have been recently hand scraped and repainted. The current paint is failing. The shape of the chimney is the same on both the first and second floor level. The shouldered set-offs are beaded. The corbeling is more ornate than the other chimneys. The south west chimney is in the worst condition. It seems either to be separating from the wall or the house is separating from the chimney. It is stained where the gutter system is failing. The base of the chimney in the basement shows structural cracking and checking. The shape of the chimney is the same on both the first and second floor levels.

A portion of the base is enclosed in a modem steam room which was formerly a light well to the basement. All chimneys are tapered with corbeled lips. 7. Openings a. Doorways and doors: The house has four exterior doorways, one each to the north front and south rear facades of the first story, one each to the first story of the east and west facade to the kitchen; and two into the basement, one at the south porch and the other at the west facade to the kitchen. The front doorway has matched paired doors with a rectangular transom window. Above the transom on the north door are two unique stars on the left and right comer. The most unique feature of the stars is that they appear to be rotated to fit in a square space.

The east doorway and south doorway also have matched paired doors and transoms. The finish on the east doors is poor. The three paired sets of doors are paneled, although the paneled arrangement varies slightly. They have a natural finish on the exterior and are painted on the interior. The single east door is quite wide and is covered with a louvered shutter type outer door somewhat like a screen door which would have allowed ventilation but provided privacy. The west door to the kitchen is a simple board-and-batten door of vertical boards and is natural on the interior. b. Windows and shutters: The typical window is a nine-over-nine-light, double-hung sash, slightly longer in the first floor that in the second.

The exception is outside the master bedroom where it appears the fenestration was changed to accommodate two six-over-six casement windows that are so close to each other that the shutters overlap. The window surrounds consist of bead and stop for the sash. All have flat wood lintels and sills. ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 19) An historic photograph shows the louvered shutters. The hinges are wrought iron strap hinges. Some have L hinges and a few have modem door hinges or are nailed in place. The shutters are held open by latches. Many shutters have Roman numerals on the reverse. One unique set of shutters are on the master bedroom which correspond with the different pane arrangement.

The north entrance has louvered full length shutters that match the doors. An historic photograph shows the shutters closed on the house. There is hardware extant for similar shutters hanging on the two other paired doors to the east and south. A single shutter type louvered door is on the exterior of a separate doorway from the parlor to the east porch. The basement windows in the three light wells are fixed. There are three windows in the north light well. (One is temporarily removed to install a window air conditioner.) There are two windows toward the west and the kitchen and there are two windows in the south light well now covered by metal roof for the steam room. 8. Roof a.

Shape, covering: The roof of both the east end of the main block and the ell are gabled and covered with cedar shakes. The roof of the north portico is a pediment roof. The roof of the south end, toward the kitchen, has the appearance of a saltbox or catslide roof. The gable roof of the parlor ell has a lower sloping roof line with flared eaves over the twin rear porches. Metal copper gutters and down- spouts are reproductions but the hooks appear older. Historic photographs show earlier gutters in place and several former gutter drains exist but are no longer in use. The materials are cedar shakes with the exception of a metal roof above the master bedroom and the south west bedroom. The current metal roof is recent (ca. and is oflead coated copper sandwiched together.

It replaced an earlier sheet tin roof which was rusted. b. Cornice, eaves: The cornice for the main block was made in the Tuscan style, however, the cornice eaves on the rear wing ell is very ornate and simulates a modillion which has commonly become known as a dental. D. Description oflnterior 1. Floor plans: The floor plans show an asymmetrical design featuring fourteen rooms. a. Basement: There is a basement with a concrete floor under the west section of the main block. Currently, the basement is divided into two rooms, a large open room with two vaulted supports and a small kitchenette. Both rooms have fireplaces. There are two closets and a doorway into the restroom and ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 20) stairwell.

The walls are plaster and the ceiling has the appearance of modem sheet rock. A narrow un- floored dirt crawl space exists under the remainder of the structure from the east closet. b. First floor: There is a small hall at the entrance. The south room is the parlor, the north is the formal dining room. Adjoining the dining room are the master bedroom and nursery. There is another hall at the northern entrance. To the right of this hall is the original kitchen of the house and a former pantry. A small closet is under the main stairs. An opening to a earlier closet appears to have been under the servant stairs. A small water closet is attached to the south of the nursery with an opening to the left of the fireplace. There are two stairways to the second floor.

The grand stairway ascends along the state dining room wall. The simpler stair ascends from the family dining room. c. Second floor: Bedrooms, several with adjoining closets or dressing rooms comprise the second floor, which follows the same plan as the first with the exception of the master bedroom. An opening above the master bedroom shows wallpaper from an earlier period. There are two closets and a passageway in the central core. d. Attic: The hatch to the attic is entered above the west stair hall. Another smaller opening into the attic above the one-story master bedroom is in the same hall. There is a large open attic over both sections of the house. It is unfinished, with a low ceiling and exposed rafters, and no floor. 2.

Stairways: There are three stairways, one in the main block of the "Clergy Hall" and one outside the parlor to the ell. A third stairway goes from the south porch down to the basement. The stairway in the main block is simple, two flight open well, open string stair, with three simple railings. It rises seven steps, turns 90 degrees up, and continues up seven steps to the second floor hall. The newel post on the first floor is simple square design with a raised square. The newel post on the second floor is square with a diamond design and has the same hexagonal hand rail as the main stairs. The stairway in the ell is more elegant, two-flight, open well, open string stair, with a simple balustrade.

It rises eight steps to a landing, turns 90 degrees up, and then continues up seven steps to the second floor hall. The balustrade is squared with a hexagonal hand rail. The newel post has a square design with a two layer diamond. This is repeated on the second floor newel post and on the half post at the tum in the stairs and at the end of the baluster on the second floor. A small closet space was located beneath each staircase. The small closet under the main stair has shelves. The closet under the other stairs is in the master bedroom and was altered when the cabinets were installed in the adjacent family dining room. The stairway from the rear porch to the basement is enclosed and was recently (ca. renovated with brick pavers.

A simple oak hand rail with wrought iron braces was installed following the renovation ca. This stairway descends twenty steps into small hall with a single modem restroom which is used by the public but is inaccessible to handicapped visitors. 3. Flooring: The original flooring through the house is of unfinished pine board wooden planks of random width, laid north-south except in the first floor where it runs east-west in the family dining room and the state dining room. The state dining room floor was replaced because of termite damage ca. ADDENDUM TO HABS No.

FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 21) The restored floor was designed to show a north-south board which delineated the original end of "Clergy Hall." The board width in the master bedroom changes in the center of the room delineating a possible smaller room or porch which was enlarged. The basement floor in the west section main block has a concrete floor. The floor in the adjacent stairwell and public restroom was recently renovated (ca. with brick patterned pavers. 4. Wall and ceiling finish: Perhaps the most decorative wall elements are the chair rails with paneling below in the main halls. Every wall in the house has wall paper with the exception of the family dining room and the adjacent pantry which historically were also wall papered on canvas.

Only two samples of original paper are in existence. One is in the closet of the south east bedroom. The wall paper currently hanging in that room was reproduced for Fort Hill from those fragments ca. Another sample exists in the space above the master bedroom where the ceiling appears to have been altered. The remainder of the papers were commercially available papers ranging in age from the to the The most recent wall paper is in the parlor and was replaced following arson in [Note: Other wallpaper fragments are on file in the University archives when removed during initial restoration.] Under most of the walls are wood planks, with the exception of the rear ell which has plaster walls. The wall inside the door in the parlor has graffiti of A. P. Calhoun and aids to date that wing.

The ceiling finish in the house is wood planks with the exception of the ceilings in the parlor ell and in the Clemson bedroom. The most decorative ceiling is the circular design molding around the chandelier in the center of the parlor. 5. Openings a. Doorways and doors: The doorway surrounds vary from room to room. The interior doors range from multi-paneled doors to simple board-and-batten doors. The most elaborate existing paneled doors are from the hall to the family dining room and from the master bedroom to the nursery. The board-and-batten doors on the first floor are entering the pantry, the pantry closet door, entering the restroom off the nursery. The paneled doors on the second floor are dividing the hall outside the north central bedroom and the Clemson bedroom.

The basement doors are from entering the stair hall, entering the small kitchenette, and entering the two closets. A reproduction door with all modem hardware has been replaced on the smaller of the closets. In several cases, doors have been removed where iron gates were installed. This is particularly true of five important doors in the public areas of the house. Historic photographs show the pattern for the panels for future replication. Both doors into the state dining room are missing, along with the interior door into the parlor, and two doors into the master bedroom. The gates, however, contribute to the uniqueness of Port Hill. The iron gates were forged on the Clemson College campus ca. as a ADDENDUM TO BABS No.

FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 22) means of traffic control. The elaborate design is somewhat Art Deco and portrays com stalks, cotton bolls, and oak leaves. They are a unique feature of the evolution of the museum. b. Windows: The original window surround on the first floor is a symmetrical bead. There are two unique windows on the interior of the house. They both appear to have been left in place following additions. One is between the south east bedroom and the dressing room and the other is from the rear dressing room into the stair hall. Both may have been useful for light following the additions. The molding around the windows, like the doorways, differs from room to room.

The most unique features around the windows are the cornice boards in the parlor and dining room. The parlor has copper pressed into a classical design of grapes and vines. It is attached to a wood backing. One backing was destroyed by arson in and was replicated. The cornices in the dining room are also classical in a reeded quiver design of green and gold. The remainder of the window cornice boards are simple and used to cover curtain rods. 6. Decorative features and trim: On the first floor the most elaborate mantels are in the formal dining room and parlor. The elegant mantel features paired fluted columns supporting each end. The facing of the mantel board features roping on the wider sectioned two rows of notches throughout the middle.

The architrave features a pattern of four vertical groves [ I I I I + I I I I ] with a cross pattern. The parlor mantle varies the architrave to feature diagonal lines [ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ]. The master bedroom mantel features similar proportions with seven niched carvings on each pilaster. The nursery mantel was stepped Doric pilasters. The McElhenny kitchen mantel is of wide planks. On the second floor the mantels vary a great deal. The Clemson bedroom mantel is similar to the parlor and formal dining room but has a much simpler architrave. The north-central bedroom has a unique mantel. The pilasters have two vertical carvings with a vertical row of circular pattern. The capitals repeat a silhouette of a semicircular border.

The north east corner bedroom has a unique mantel with an off set capital and an X pattern on each corner. The south east bedroom features a ribbed pilaster with a ribbed cornice. The small south west bedroom above it is a plain pilaster. The two mantels in the basement are simple but well proportioned. The mantel in the small kitchen has no shelf. (The third mantel painted black is the office mantel.) There are ten mantels in the house and two each in the office and kitchen. 7. Hardware: Many of the original lock sets no longer exist but were replaced with first Yale and now Best lock sets. A few older locks are scattered through out the structure. The window locks vary as do the other hardware. 8. Mechanical equipment a.

Heating, air conditioning, ventilation: Heating historically was by fireplaces. The oldest fireplace was Rev. McElhenny's large kitchen hearth. This fireplace and Dutch oven were sealed over ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 23) for many years only to rediscovered in Many of the fireplaces were adapted to bum coal and so had coal grates installed. These grates were removed during the first restoration. Currently, four steam radiators are located on the first floor, one in the hallway, two in the family dining room, and one in the pantry that serves as the curator's office. Steam heat was installed ca. Air conditioning is provided by two window units. One is located on the first floor in the pantry I curator's office.

A second window unit is on the second floor on the east side in a dressing room. Additional ventilation is provided with fans. A third window unit was installed in the basement during the summer to provide workspace for the HABS team. b. Lighting: Electrical lighting was installed in the The lighting was redone in the to locate a single bulb above the doorway of most every room. Exterior lighting includes four flood lamps which highlight the house as security at night. c. Plumbing: The only functional plumbing is a public restroom in the basement and a kitchen sink in the basement kitchenette. A first floor restroom off the nursery contains a commode fixture but is no longer plumbed. d.

Sprinkler system: The sprinkler system is evident throughout the house and has the appearance of plumbing. The sprinkler system is suspended from the ceilings with upright nozzle heads. E. Site Landscape Desig:n Narrowed to approximately a city block, the grounds are bounded by Fort Hill Street to the north, by Calhoun Drive to the east and south, and by a memorial sidewalk donated by an alumni class that separates Fort Hill proper from dormitories to the west. Student traffic, however, has made the centennial sidewalk into Fort Hill's eastern boundary line.

Original fabric includes such historically significant plants as a arborvitae "tree of life" (Platycladus orientalis), gift of Henry Clay, north of the house; a Canadian (or Eastern) hemlock (Tsuga canandesis) [source of tannin] cedar, gift of Daniel Webster, east of the house; and a varnish tree, gift of Stephen Decatur. The grounds also included a magnificent Franklina (Franklinia alatabaha) a state champion with a circumference of 9", a height of 26' and a spread of 22' which stood on the southeast side of the site. Another Franklina has been planted in its spot. The carriage drive was bordered by an avenue of eastern red cedars (Juniper), some of which still exist today.

A southern red oak (Quercus rubra) has been planted to replace the original "Trustee Oak." The Trustee Oak was the site of the first trustee meeting to charter Clemson College. The plaque lists the names of the first trustees. The present tree was planted for the University's centennial and is called the "Second Century Oak." ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 24) The present landscape has been inappropriately planted in the last seventy years with English and American boxwood bordering paths, camellias and magnolias (Magnolia gradiflora), commonly portrayed in fiction as the Old South plantation landscape. Flowering trees such as crepe myrtle, dogwoods (Comus), together with variants of holly (Ilex) make up the majority of the landscape.

Absent from the landscape today are the arbor, orchard, vegetable garden, native roses such as the Cherokee Rose, rotodendrons, azaleas, and pines. John C. Calhoun collected and experimented with plant material from around the globe. A portion of his yard was planted as a memory garden or a "friendship garden" including trees from fellow politicians Webster and Clay and from explorer Stephen Decatur. Calhoun was the consummate experimental agriculturist and a member of the Pendleton Farmers Society. As an agriculturist Calhoun's interests ranged from cultivation techniques such as crop rotations, terracing and drainage, and deep plowing to fertilizing with a variety of crops in addition to cotton and com, including varieties of a cool climate sugar cane and a dry culture rice.

Those who have portrayed John C. Calhoun as a defender of one crop agriculture have read only his rhetoric and have not delved closely enough into his farming career. It is doubtful there ever was a formal landscape plan for Fort Hill in modem terms. However, Calhoun was probably familiar with the biological and horticultural studies of Mark Catesby, John James Audubon, and William Bartrum. He also may have been familiar with Thomas Jefferson's work in horticulture. He may have been less acquainted with the movement in horticulture and landscaping brought about by John Claudius Loundon (writing on trees and shrubs of Britain which was a best seller in the United States) and also the work of Andrew Jackson Downing on landscape gardening.

Vineyard and Ornamental On a terraced area on the west side of the house was a rose garden and a grape arbor extending toward the kitchen. Very little evidence of this area exists today except for the terracing walls and ha-ha walls. Calhoun's correspondence mentions little of the vineyard or any other ornamental plant material. Orchard and Fruit Trees The orchards included apple, peach, pears and orange trees. Some of the fruit trees came from Philadelphia and from other friends who either sent Calhoun a "stone" (seed) or a cutting. There is only one fruit tree today at Fort Hill. Near the office is a pear which is possibly the remaining offspring of the Calhoun's orchard. In the first two years at Fort Hill, Calhoun started his orchard with orange trees.

He planted fruits such as cantaloupe, vegetables such as yam potatoes, and blue grass as a ground cover. He also procured vines for grape and pomegranate. He experimented with fruits and grains and sugar cane from China. And he experimented with a dry culture rice and plaster of Paris as a fertilizer. ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 25) The door yard is filled with trees and shrubbery -- oaks that have stood there at least two hundred years, locusts, elms, willows, wild orange, and fig trees innumerable, the latter loaded with fruit. Attached is a very large garden filled with fruits, flowers, plants and vegetables of even description; not far distance are large apple and peach orchards.

(New York Herald Joseph Scoville) Vegetable Garden at Fort Hill The large vegetable garden was located where the Trustee House and Hardin Hall are situated today. The changes in the twenty-five years that John C. Calhoun lived at Fort Hill may best be described as an experimental farm. As a politician, Calhoun advocated the protection of cotton growers yet at home he sought new crops and methods including fertilizers, crop rotation, and terracing. Calhoun supported the work of the Pendleton Farmers Society and sought to develop at Fort Hill a model farm to be emulated by the smaller farmers in the district.

Later changes to Fort Hill were made between and Parts of the plantation that still exist in a natural environment are the fields at the Clemson Bottoms, planted as an experimental crop research and the Botanical Garden that exhibits the terracing on the plantation for drainage. At Fort Hill, the best interpretation resource is the house grounds. One such area already has been planted just off the south portico. Calhoun had a garden developed near the house for his daughter, Cornelia, who was crippled from a fall from a swing. This organic flower garden is representative where the crippled child would spend many an hour. In a design reminiscent of Frederick Law Olmsted, or more likely Andrew Jackson Downing, this area is a harmonious asymmetrical garden.

Patrick Calhoun placed many of these areas on a sketch as he remembered them. Other descendants and observers noted the plants at the house site. PART III. SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Architectural drawings: Sketch, "Clergy House," dated and signed Found in the front sheet of a late eighteenth- century book entitled A Dictionary of Quotations (London: Printed for and J. Robinson, Sketch, Calhoun's Office and Home, Fort Hill, Northeast Facade and interior of Calhoun's Office, Scribners Monthly, ca. Sketch, The approach to the House & Back View Fort Hill ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 26) Fort Hill: The Plantation of John C. Calhoun Conceptual layout of the plantation. Fort Hill: Home of John C. Calhoun, Joe Young, Retired Professor at Clemson University.

Carriage, Publication, CU. Sketch, Publication, CU. Sketch, Publication, CU. Atlas Sheets, CU. Northwest Wing of Calhoun Mansion, As it appeared Before Changes Made in Drawn by Geer, Clemson March 2, B. Early Views: From Special Collections, Clemson University, Clemson, Photograph, North Facade; Image shows Thomas Clemson seated in chair on front porch. Clemson on north portico; George Washington chair near door." Made by Joseph H Anderson of Charleston probably between and See letter from A.J. Tams berg of Charleston in Clemson University Archives file. ca. CU. Photograph, East lawn, Clemson in rocking chair, ca. CU. Photograph, South Facade; Image shows Thomas Clemson and dog. This view shows full length of rear facade from kitchen (west) to east piazza. Clemson and his dog.

The mother of this dog came from France, and as she understood no English, she was always hunted In French. " ca. CU. Photograph, South lawn, Clemson in chair; Image shows African-American servant posed on portico, ca. CU. Photograph, Northeast Facade; Image shows Jane Prince seated. In the foreground are Jim or Thomas and Francis Fruster, ca. CU. Photograph, Interior, Parlor; "Parlor -- many of the articles shown in the house today." ca. CU. Photograph, Interior, Parlor; "Slanted Camera." Shows parlor floor and pattern of carpet, ca. CU. Photograph, Interior, Formal Dining Room, View of Constitution Sideboard, ca. (CU). ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 27) Photograph, Exterior, North view, carriage in drive, ca. CU.

Photograph, Exterior, North angle, one man in foreground and one on porch, ca. CU. Photograph, North distance view, carriage posed, ca. CU. Photograph, North east facade; Image shows office, kitchen, and pediment of an outbuilding behind the kitchen. Source: Tillman Discovery, see Special Collections, ca. CU. Photograph, North angle, shows office and kitchen porch, ca. CU. Photograph, Interior, Relic Room, parlor, ca. CU. Photograph, Interior, Parlor, (Mell era), ca. CU. Photograph, Image of Altamont II kitchen and oven before reconstruction at Fort Hill, ca. CU. Photograph, Kitchen, construction, ca. CU. Spring house, with gazebo, ca. CU. Spring house gazebo with Fort Hill behind, ca. CU. Spring house in foreground of Fort Hill, ca. CU. Spring house restoration, ca. CU. C.

Maps: A Sketch of the Cherokee Country, Col. George Chicken (see back of map for additional information), Map Box 4, Special Collections, CU. 1" = 10 miles Map of the Cherokee Country and the Path Thereto in George Hunter, Map Box 2 Special Collections, CU. (no scale) Topographic Map of John C. Calhoun's Plantation, drawn by a Clemson University student from data obtained by J. H. Mitchell, Map Drawers, Architecture Library, CU. 1" = Pendleton District South Carolina, Surveyed by Scribling, Improved by Mills Atlas, Map Box 1 Special Collections, CU. 1" = 2 miles Laid off for Mr. Lee 118 and 170 acres Total 288 acres, M. L. Mcay, MSS 68 (Littlejohn), Special Collections, Clemson University. (no scale provided) ADDENDUM TO BABS No.

FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 28) Map of the Land Sold by John C. Calhoun to Andrew Pickens Calhoun in Map Box CU, Special Collections, CU (no scale) The Above Plat Represents the Lee Land, Smith, MSS 68 (Littlejohn), Special Collections, CU. l" = 20 chains Map of Part of Clemson College Grounds, Compiled from Surveys by College Classes, T. Brodie, Map Box CU Special Collections, CU Map of Clemson College Lands, Division of Drawings & Designing, from the files of The Office of Facilities, Planning and Management, CU. l" = Map of Calhoun, South Carolina, W. S. Goodman (Eng'r), from the files of The Office of Planning and Development, City of Clemson.

1" = 150 Map of Clemson College Lands, Division of Drawing & Designing, from the files of the Office of Facilities, Planning and Management, CU. 1" = The Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina, map copied from survey ofH. E. Glenn, from the files of The Office of Facilities, Planning and Management, Clemson University. l" - Clemson College, Clemson Housing Office, Map Box CU Special Collections, CU. Also included with this is a revised version of the same map. (no scale provided) Topographic Map, Clemson Quadrangle, South Carolina, Geological Survey, United States Department oflnterior, CU. 1" = Map of the Town of Clemson, South Carolina, Clemson chamber of Commerce, Drawn Rostron, Map Box CU Special Collections, Clemson University.

l"- Master Plan for the Development of Clemson Agricultural College, Perry, Shaw, & Hepburn, Map Box 2 Special Collections, Clemson University. l" = Topographic Map, Clemson Quadrangle, South Carolina, Geological Survey, United States Department of Interior, CU 11" SE B3, map from The Bible Plan, from the files of the Office of Facilities, Maintenance and Operations, Clemson University. 1" = 50" D.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS SC,39-CLEM,1-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

1. Primary and unpublished sources: National Register of Historic Places Inventory Form. 2. Secondary and published sources: South Carolina Writers' Project, South Carolina, A Guide to the Palmetto State, American Guide Series (New York: Oxford University Press, pp. The Southern Magazine, Vol. II, No. 10 (March-April, "The Restoration of Fort Hill" by A. G. Holmes. Harriet Hefner Cook, Fort Hill, John C. Calhoun Shrine (Clemson: Clemson College, Margaret L. Coit, John C. Calhoun (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., pp. ff. Prepared by: Druscilla J. Null Historian Historic American Buildings Survey July, ADDENDUM TO: HABS No.

FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) Hlle.5 Clemson University Campus SC Clemson 3q_ CLE/Yl, Pickens County South Carolina I- WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA REDUCED COPIES OF MEASURED DRAWINGS HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior C St. NW Washington, DC

Addendum to Babs

No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 5) HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) This report is an addendum to a four page report previously transmitted to the Library of Congress in 1. Primary and unpublished sources: ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 29) a. Oconee County Records (Walhalla, Land Records (deeds) Wills. Oconee County Courthouse, Thomas Clemson Inventories (probated estates), Anna Clemson Inventory b. U.S. Census Census of Population, Slave Schedule, c. Miscellaneous Primary Sources Calhoun Era, Joseph Scoville, "A Visit to Fort Hill, The Residence of the Hon. John C.

Calhoun, Near Pendleton, The New York Herald, July 26, (Lengthy contemporary description of plantation.) Clemson Era, Ernest Ingersoll, "The Calhoun Summer Home," Scribner's Monthly Illustrated Magazine (Century), Vol. XXI April No. 6, pp. (Contemporary description of Fort Hill with a sketch of the exterior and an important sketch of the interior of the office.) Restoration Era, Annie R. (White) Mell Patrick Hues Mell), "The Fort Hill Mansion," The Clemson College Chronicle, Vol. VIII, March - June (Details the Relic Room era.) Grace Ward Calhoun, Fred Harvey Hall Calhoun), "Long, Long Ago," February 24, (Includes restoration of the Office by the DAR ca. p. 16) Alester Holmes Collection, Papers, C.U. Special Collections (Professor Holmes and his wife were involved in the first restoration.

He authored a biography on Clemson and his wife Lila was a curator, Patrick Calhoun, "Description of Fort Hill Grounds for Restoration," October 25, (With letters written by Mr. Rudolph E. Lee, J.E. Hunter, and A. DuPre, in From Mr. Lee's Scrapbook - Copied C.U. [Includes information on non extant buildings, landscape, with a drawing of the immediate lawn. Information was gathered prior to the reconstruction of the kitchen and included notes with Jane Prince, the last housekeeper of Thomas Clemson, about the kitchen.] ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 30) J. C. Littlejohn Collection, Papers, C.U. Special Collections (Littlejohn was actively involved as the business manager and kept records of the restoration efforts.) Harriet Hefner Cook, Calhoun.

The Man. R. L. Bryan Company, (Cook was curator from the to 2. Secondary and published sources a. Selected Bibliography re: the life and career of John Caldwell Calhoun: Colt, Margaret L. John C. Calhoun: American Portrait. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Cook, Harriet Hefner. Fort Hill. John C. Calhoun Shrine. Clemson: Clemson College, Lander, Ernest McPherson, Jr. The Calhoun Family and Thomas Green Clemson: The Decline of a Southern Patriarchy. Columbia, University of South Carolina Press, Nivin, John. John C. Calhoun and the Price of Union: A Biography. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, Peterson, Merrill D. The Great Triumvirate: Webster. Clay, and Calhoun. New York: Oxford University Press, South Carolina Writer's Project. South Carolina. A Guide to the Palmetto State.

American Guide Series New York: Oxford University Press, The Southern Magazine, Vol. II, No. 10 (March/April, "The Restoration of Fort Hill" by A.G. Holmes. Wilson, Clyde N. John C. Calhoun: A Bibliography. Westport, Connecticut: Meckler, Wilson, Clyde N., ed. The Essential Calhoun: Selections from Writings, Speeches, and Letters. New Brunswick, Transaction Publishers, The Papers of John C. Calhoun. Vol. 1: Edited by Robert L. Meriwether; Vols. Edited by W. Edwin Hemphill; Vol. 10: Edited by Clyde N. Wilson and W. Edwin Hemphill; Vol. Edited by Clyde N. Wilson. Columbia, S. C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1959-Present. Wiltse, Charles M. John C. Calhoun, Nullifier.

Indianapolis & New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., [Scoville, Joseph], "A Visit to Fort Hill," (New York) Herald. July 26, ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 31) b. Selected Bibliography re: the life and career of Thomas Clemson Bettersworth, John K. People's College: A History of Mississippi State. University of Alabama Press, Callcott, George H. A History of the University of Maryland. Baltimore, Maryland: Maryland Historical Society, Colvard, Dean. W. The "Land Grant" Way in Mississippi: The Story of Mississippi State University. New York: The Newcomen Society, Crosland, Maurice. Gay-Lussac: Scientist and Bourgeois. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Ellis, William A., ed. Norwich University. Her History. Her Graduates Her Roll of Honor.

3 vols. Montpelier, Vermont, III. Harmon, Maj. Gen. Ernest N. Norwich University: Its Founder and His Ideals. New York: The Newcomen Society, Hollis, Daniel. The History of the University of South Carolina. 2 vols. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, II. Holmes, Alester G. and George R. Sherrill. Thomas Green Clemson: His Life and Work Richmond: Garrett and Massie, Lander, Jr. Ernest M. The Calhoun Family and Thomas Green Clemson: Decline of a Southern Patriarchy. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, Lord, Gary Thomas. Norwich University: Images of its Past. Louisville, Kentucky: Harmony House Publishers, Marszalek, John F. "Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College in A Model Institution," Mississippi State Alumnus (Winter McComas, James D.

Mississippi State University: A New Centwy. A New Dimension. New York: The Newcomen Society, McCully, Robert S. "Moses Waddel: Pioneer Pedagogue," in Illustrated History of South Carolina. West Columbia: Sandlapper Press, McKenna, Marian C. Tapping Reeve and The Litchfield Law School. New York: Oceana Publication, Inc., ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 32) Poole, Robert F. Thomas G. Clemson: His Influence in Developing Land-Grant Colleges. New York: The Newcomen Society, Rembert, Sarah H. "Barhamville: A Columbia Antebellum Girls' School,"in Illustrated History South Carolina. West Columbia: Sandlapper Press, c. Selected Bibliography re: Landscape Design and Horticulture. Haque, Mary and Bill Steirer.

"Patriarchs of the Past," October 23, Clemson University, News Services Press Release. Orser, Charles E. The Material Basis of the Postbellum Tenant Plantation: Historical Archaeology in the South Carolina Piedmont. Athens and London: The University of Georgia Press, Robertson, Ben. Red Hills and Cotton: An Upcountry Memory. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, reprint, E. Supplemental Material 1. Status: The preliminary preservation and conservation research on Fort Hill has been extensive over the last eight years. Beginning with a conservation report in by Dr. Nathan Stolow, following a near tragic fire, the research has evaluated the structure and material culture. In the architectural restoration firm of Phillips & Oppermann, PA.

provided a "Building Assessment for the Protection of the Collection" which addressed climate control and security issues. A subsequent Institute of Museum Services (I.M.S.) grant provided a Conservation Assessment Program (C.A.P.) conservation and condition study by restoration architect John Volz, ALA and conservator Shelley Reisman Paine which evaluated everything from structures to policies. Artifact appraisals have been conducted in and by William Belser and Frank Sarnowski, certified fine art appraisers for Insurance and risk management. The "Fort Hill: A Program for Restoration and Interpretation" was funded by The South Carolina Department of Archives and History, State Historic Preservation Office. A companion study on the landscape provided review guidelines assisted by Dr.

Murray Howard from the Jeffersonian Complex at the University of Virginia. These preliminary research projects combined with the Master Plan by Dr. William Seale and Joe Oppermann, AIA have provided substantial conservation planning. The State Historic Preservation Office provided which has been matched by in a private gift from the Clemson University Class of that will provide funding for a full Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation program including measured drawings, historical data sheet and large format photographs which will be coordinated by Frederick Lindstrom (HABS) with ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 33) photographs by Jack E.

Boucher to be completed by September Following the HABS documentation an Historic Structures Report is necessary prior to actual conservation work. 2. A visit to Calhoun's Home, After passing a great many neat and kept farming houses we arrived at the town. I wished to see while there the house of our highly esteemed thou much lamented statesman. we concluded to remain a day and thereby satisfy our desire To reach the dwelling we had to ascend a very steep and lofty hill by a circuitous pathway whose graceful winding not only please but interest the traveler. Upon reaching the top of the hill we were fully repaid for any fatigue we might have experienced we ascending by the beautiful scene that presented itself to our view.

The farm secured like a project the extensive garden spread out before us for as far as our eyes could see, they were met by luxuriant fields of waving grain, and orchards loaded with tempting fruits. The house stands nearby in the middle of the farm surrounded by majestic oaks and lofty poplars. In front of the house is a large flower garden filled with numerous kinds of rare and beautiful flowers The garden is surrounded by hedges of wild orange trees trimmed in beautiful and varied forms The flower beds are bordered with box trees about ten inches high a little beyond the house is a well of excellent water The water is brought up by means of a chain and pump.

The house is a handsome two story building with piazzas all around it on which are trained evergreen vines so tat in winter, these with evergreens in the yard gives the house the appearance of a spot of perpetual summer. This was the residence in life of our statesman Calhoun. Written by Felicia Canfield of Durpree's School, Aiken. 3. State of South Carolina, County of Oconee WILL OF THOMAS G. CLEMSON Whereas, I, Thos. G.

Clemson, of the county and State aforesaid, did, on the day of August, execute my last will and testament wherein I sought to provide for the establishment of a scientific institution upon the Fort Hill place, and therein provided what sciences should be taught in said institution; and, whereas, I am now satisfied that my intention and purpose therein may be misunderstood as intending that no other studies or sciences should be taught in said institution than those mention in said will, which was not my purpose or intention.

Now, desiring to make my purpose plain as well as to make some other changes in the distribution of my property, than made in said will, I do now make, publish and declare this instrument as and for my last will and testament, hereby revoking all previous wills and codicils by me made, especially the will above referred to, dated August Feeling a great sympathy for the farmers of this State, and the difficulties with which they have had to contend in their efforts to establish the business of agriculture upon a prosperous basis, and believing that there can be no permanent improvement in agriculture without a knowledge of those sciences which pertain particularly thereto, I have determined to devote the bulk of my property to the establishment of an agricultural college upon the Fort Hill place.

ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 34) This institution, I desire, to be under the control and management of a board of trustees, a part of whom are hereinafter appointed, and to be modeled after the Agricultural College of Mississippi as far as practicable.

My purpose is to establish an agricultural college which will afford useful information to farmers and mechanics, therefore it should afford through instruction in agriculture and the natural sciences connected therewith -- it should combine, if practicable, physical and intellectual education, and should be a high seminary of learning in which the graduate of the common schools can commence, pursue and finish the course of studies terminating in thorough theoretic and practical instruction in those sciences and arts which bear directly upon agriculture, but I desire to state plainly that I wish the trustees of said institution to have full authority and power to regulate all matters pertaining to said institution -- to fix the course of studies, to make rules for the government of the same, and to change them, as in their judgment, experience may prove necessary, but to always bear in mind that the benefits herein sought to be bestowed are intended to benefit agricultural and mechanical industries.

I trust that I do not exaggerate the importance of such an institution for developing the material resources of the State by affording to its youth the advantages of scientific culture, and that I do not overrate the intelligence of the legislature of South Carolina, ever distinguished for liberality, in assuming that such appropriation will be made as will be necessary to supplement the fund resulting from the bequest herein made. Item 1. I therefore give and devise to my executor, hereinafter named, the aforesaid For Hill place, where I now reside, formerly the home of my father-in-law, John C.

Calhoun, consisting o eight hundred and fourteen acres, more or less, in trust, that whenever the State of South Carolina may accept said property as a donation, from me, for the purpose of thereupon founding an agricultural college in accordance with the views I have herein before expressed, (of which the Chief Justice of South Carolina shall be the judge), then my executor shall execute a deed of the said property to the said State, and tum over to the same all property hereinafter given as an endowment of said institution to be held as such by the said State so long as it, in good faith, devotes said property of the purposes of the donation; provided, however, that this acceptance by the State shall be signified, and a practical carrying-out be commenced within three years from the date of the probate of this my will.

During the term of three years, or as much thereof as may elapse before the acceptance or refusal of the donation, my executor shall invest the net produce of the land and other property; such invested fund awaiting the action of the legislature, and to form a part of the endowment of said institution if accepted, or to form a part of the endowment of the college or school hereinafter provided for, should the donation not be accepted by the State. Item 2. The following named gentlemen, seven in number, shall be seven of the board of Trustees, to wit: R. W. Simpson, Norris, M. L. Donaldson, R. E. Bowen, B. R. Tillman, J.E. Wannamaker and J.E.

Bradley, and the State, if it accepts the donation, shall never increase the board of trustees to a number greater than thirteen in all, nor shall the duties of said board be taken away or conferred upon any other man or body of men. The seven trustees appointed by me shall always have the right, and the power is hereby given them and their successors, which right the legislature shall never take away or abridge, the fill all vacancies which may occur in their number by death, resignation, refusal to act. or otherwise. But the legislature may provide, as it sees proper, for the appointment or election of the other six trustee, if it accepts the donation. And I do here by request the seven trustees ADDENDUM TO BABS No.

FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 35) above named, or such of them as may be living, or may be willing to act, to meet as soon after my death as practicable, and organize, and at once to fill all vacancies that may have occurred, and to exert themselves to effectuate my purposes as herein set forth, and I hereby instruct my executor to notify them of their appointment herein as soon after my death as practicable. The name of this institution shall be the "Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina." Item 3.

Should the three years expire without the State accepting the donation, in manner as herein before provided, and if accepted, at the expiration of three years from my death no practical beginning has been made to carry into effect the purposes of the donation, or, ifbefore the three years expire the legislature shall refuse to accept said donation, then the donation to the State is hereby revoked, and my executor shall execute his trust by conveying the said Fort Hill place, and the accumulated fund arising therefrom, together with all other property, real or personal, hereinafter disposed of and intended to be given to the said agricultural college, as an endowment, to the seven trustees named above, or their successors, who shall erect upon the Fort Hill place such a school or college for the youth of South Carolina as, in their judgment will be for their best interest; provided, that said school or college shall be for the benefit of the agricultural and mechanical classes principally, and shall be free of cost to the pupils, as far as the means derived from the endowment hereinafter provided and the use of the land may permit.

The trustees shall securely invest with funds hereinafter provided and given to said institution and hold them as a perpetual endowment, and shall only use the interest derived therefrom and the income of the land to support and maintain said school or college, except that the accumulated fund derived from the land, and the interest derived from the fund hereinafter given said institution, from the time of my death, and as much as five thousand dollars of the principal fund may be used if, in the judgment of the trustees, it may be necessary to erect suitable buildings for said school or college. The name of this institution shall be the "Clemson scientific School" or "College." Item 4.

It is my desire that the dwelling house on Fort Hill shall never be tom down or altered, but shall be kept in repair, with all the articles of furniture and venture which I hereinafter give for that purpose, and shall always be open for the inspection of visitors, but a part of the house may be used by such of the professors as the trustees may direct. Item 5. I give and bequest to my granddaughter, Flori de Isabella Lee, all of my silver plate and table silver, also all the family pictures, except the large picture of John C.

Calhoun, now hanging in my sitting room, also any one article in my present residence which she may select as a memento of me, also my decorations, and also the sum of fifteen thousand dollars to be paid to her on the day of her marriage, or when she becomes twenty-one years of age, if unmarried; provided, that if my said granddaughter should die unmarried, and before she is twenty-one years of age, then all of said property mentioned in this item shall revert to and become a part of the residue of my estate, and become subject to the trusts and conditions ofltems 1, 2, and 3 of this my will. Item 6.

I give and bequeath to my faithful housekeeper, Jane Prince, one year's provisions for her and daughter, and furniture and bedding, suitable to her condition, sufficient to furnish two rooms, and the sum of three thousand to be paid to her at the expiration of one year after the ADDENDUM TO BABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 36) probate of this my will, and I also desire my executor to permit her to live at Fort Hill until he disposes of the property as herein directed. Item. 7. I give and bequeath of Hester Prince, the daughter of my faithful housekeeper, as aforesaid, the sum of three thousand dollars to be paid to her, or such person as may be selected by her and appointed her guardian, at the expiration of one year from the probate of this may will. Item 8.

I give to my executor, James H. Rion, as a memento of my friendship, the antique entaglio Marcus Aurelius Antonius sealing which I habitually wear, and also such one of my picture as he may select, if the same is not selected by myself. Item 9. I give and bequeath to my executor, or to be held by him subject to the trusts and condition of Items 1, 2, and 3 of this my will, and for the purpose of adorning the Fort Hill residence as provided in Item 4 of this my will, all of my permanent furniture, relics and articles of vesture, pictures and painting, including the large painting or picture of John C. Calhoun, now hanging in my setting room, and not otherwise disposed of herein, and all of my books. Item 10.

I direct my executor to sell, at public or private sale, as he may deem best, all the balance of my personal property upon my Fort Hill place, not herein disposed of, and to sell and convey all of my real estate lying and situate outside of the State of South Carolina, either at private or public sale, as he may deem best, and to hold the proceeds derived therefrom, together with the proceeds of the personal property, herein directed to be sold, subject to the trust and condition ofltems and 3 of this my will. Item 11.

All the residue and remainder of my property of every kind and description whatsoever, after paying off the legacies above provided for, together with he property which may revert to my estate, should it revert thereto, and the proceeds of all my real and personal property herein directed to be sold, and all accumulated funds derived from the Fort Hill place and interest on my investments, I give and bequeath to my executor, to be held by him subject to the trusts and conditions ofltems 1, 2, and 3 of this my will. In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal before the witnesses below subscribing, the 6th day of November A.D. Thomas G. Clemson, The above written instrument was subscribed by the said Thos. G.

Clemson in our presence and acknowledged by him to each one of us and he, at the same time, published and declared the same to be his last will and testament and we, at his request, and in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have signed our names as witnesses hereto. James Hunter T. 0. Jenkins ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 37) E. L. C. Terrie CODICIL TO THE WILL OF THOMAS C. CLEMSON State of South Carolina, County of Oconee. I, Thos G. Clemson, of Fort Hill, in the State and county aforesaid do make this my codicil to my last will and testament, dated the 6th day of November, hereby confirming my said last will and testament, so far as the same is not inconsistent with the, my codicil. Item 1.

I will and direct my executor to pay my debts and funeral expenses as soon after my death as practicable out of the proceeds of a any part of my estate that is the most available. Item 2. I hereby revoke the item of my last will and testament as aforesaid, in which I appointed James H. Rion as executor of my will, he having recently departed this life, and I now do nominate and appoint my trusted friend, Richard W. Simpson, of Pendleton, South Carolina, my executor of my said last will and testament and of this my codicil thereto, and in my said last will and testament the name of James H. Rion, wherever it appears shall be stricken out, and Richard W. Simpson shall be inserted in place thereof. Item 3. I revoke the 8th item of my said last will and testament, in which I gave to James H.

Rion my sealing ring and on of my pictures which he may select, and I do now give and bequeath to R. W. Simpson my sealing ring, which I habitually wear, and such one of my picture as he may select. Item 4. I do hereby revoke Item 6 of my said last will and testament, which contains a bequest to my faith house keeper, Jane Prince, she having been otherwise provided for. Item 5. It is my will and I do direct that neither the legacy to my granddaughter in the fifth item of my said last will and testament, or the legacy to Hester Prince in the seventh item of my said will, shall bear any interest until the same are due and payable, as provided in said items of my said will. Item 6.

I authorize my executor to purchase that portion of the original Fort Hill tract of land with set off to Gideon Lee, guardian of Floride Isabella Lee, and the same if so purchase shall become part of the Fort Hill tract ofland, and shall go with the disposed as I have in my said will disposed of the Fort Hill tract. Item 7. I will and direct my executor to sell either at private of public sale, and for cash or upon a credit, both as he may think best, all the real estate of which I may died seized and possessed, except the Fort Hill tract of land, whether the same be situate in the State of South Carolina or outside of it . Item 8.

Should the Chief Justice of South Carolina decline to decide when the State of South Carolina has or has not accepted the donation given to it in the first item of my said will, then I give to my executor the same power as I in the said first item of my will gave to the said Chief Justice, and his decision shall be final. ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 38) Item 9. I hereby authorize and direct my executor to employ such persons he may deem necessary to take charge of the For Hill dwelling house and articles therein donated, and to manage the farm and to pay the said personal such a sum of money for their service as he may deem right and proper. Item 10.

In view of the great responsibility and labor which my executor will encounter in managing the affairs of my estate, as directed in my said will, and in consideration of the great kindness he had shown to me, and of the assistance in taking care of my business when I had no other friend to help me, I will and bequeath that he, my said executor, shall have, take and receive, in addition the the usual commissions allowed by law to executors as commissions for receiving and paying out money, five per cent of the appraised value of my entire estate, both real and person. Item 11. I desire to state here that my granddaughter, Floride Isabella Lee, has received the one-fourth part in value of the original Fort Hill tract ofland, the par which her mother, under the will of John C.

Calhoun, was entitled to, the same having been appraised and set off to her by commissioners appointed by Clemson, and by Gideon Lee, her father and guardian, and she has also received through Gideon Lee, her said guardian, her mother's share of the estate of my son, John C. Clemson. Notwithstanding this fact, from a letter received by me some time ago from Gideon Lee, I am led to believe that as guardian of my said granddaughter, he will make claim to my estate a large balance alleged by him to be due my said granddaughter by me.

I therefore desire and direct my execution to examine closely into such claim if so made, and if he, my said executor, is satisfied that he claim so made is justly due by me, to my said granddaughter to pay the same; but on the other hand, if he is no satisfied that he said claim or claims are justly due by me, then he shall not pay it or them unless compelled by law to do so, in which case I hereby revoke so much of the bequest of fifteen thousand dollars given in the fifth item of my said last will and testament to my said granddaughter as will be equal to the amount which my said granddaughter may recover against my estate. Item 12.

The desire to establish such a school or college as I have provided for in my said last will and testament, has existed with me for many years past, and many years ago I determined to devote the bulk of my property of the establishment of an agricultural school or college. To accomplish this purpose is not the one great desire of my life. I have not been unmindful of the interest of my said granddaughter, nor have I acted in this matter through an prejudice to anyone.

It may be possible that the disposition of my property as herein made may not give satisfaction to my said granddaughter or to Gideon Lee, her father and guardian, but I trust that neither the one nor the other, or any other person lawfully authorized by law to represent my said granddaughter, will ever attempt to frustrate of defeat the purpose which I have herein sought to accomplish, but will respect the settled desire of my life as contained in this my will, but should my desire and request as herein expressed be ignored, and should Gideon Lee, as guardian of said granddaughter, or should my said granddaughter herself, or any other person lawfully authorized by law to represent her, of any person as heir, legatee or distribute of my said granddaughter in their right as such, attempt to contest my will or attempt to invalidate it, or I attempt to change or alter it in any particular whatever, then it is my will and I do direct that such attempt or attempts to contest, alter, change or invalidate my said last will and testament, or codicil hereof, shall as soon as commenced work an absolute revocation of my entire and of all my bequests to my said granddaughter, Floride Isabella Lee, as made in the fifth item of my said last will and testament, ADDENDUM TO HABS No.

FORTIDLL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 39) and then and in that case, may said granddaughter, Floride Isabella Lee, shall receive no part of my estate whatever, and the money and article mentioned in the fifth item of my said will all go to my executor and be held by him subject to the trust and condition contained in Items 1, 2, and 3, of my said last will and testament; provided, that my executor shall sell in manner as to him may seem proper any of the articles mentioned in the said fifth item of my said last will and testament, except the family pictures.

These shall be held by my executor subject to the trust and condition ofltems 1, and 3 of my said last will, and kept with the other article mentioned in the eight item of my said last will and testament, to adorn the Fort Hill house. Item 13. It is my will and I direct that my executor shall not be held liable for, or responsible for any losses to my estate by reason of my errors of judgment or mistakes, as I am fully aware of the varied and responsible duties I herein have required of him. This codicil is written in part on the fourth page of my said last will and testament to which this sheet is attached, and which is dated November Item 14.

I authorize and empower my executor to expend such sums of money as he may deem necessary to keep the Fort Hill dwelling house and premises in repair, and the Fort Hill farm in good condition. In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal before the witnesses below subscribing, this the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight-seven Thos. G. Clemson, The above written instrument was subscribed by the said Thos. G. Clemson in our presence and acknowledged by him to each one of us and he at the same time published and declared the same to be his codicil to his last will and testament, and we, at this request and in his presence, and in the Presence of each other. have sinned our names as witnesses Jenkins C. W.

Young T. H. Mounce The foregoing paper bears this endorsement: "This will was admitted to probate in common form on the twentieth day of April A.D. and recorded in 'Will Book,'" pages RICHARD LEWIS, Judge of Probate. PART IV. PROJECT INFORMATION This project was sponsored by the Clemson University "Class of as a fiftieth reunion gift and by a Federal Planning Grant awarded through the South Carolina Department of Archives and History's State Historic Preservation Office. ADDENDUM TO HABS No. FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) (page 40) The documentation was undertaken by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), E. Blaine Cliver, Chief, under the direction of Paul D. Dolinsky, Chief ofHABS, and by HABS Architect Frederick J. Lindstrom.

The project was completed during the summer of at Clemson University, South Carolina, by project Field Supervisor, Elizabeth Louden, (Professor at Texas Tech.), by Field Foreman, Martin J. Howell, (Texas A & M), with Architecture Technicians, A. Brooke Taylor, (Clemson University), Nancy Ka Po Yuen, (University of Virginia), Abby J. Dochterman, (Clemson University), Helen Mui (Syracuse University), and Styliani (Stella) Georgiadou, (Greece, US-ICOMOS). The large format photography was produced by Jack E. Boucher, HABS photographer. William D. Hiott, Director & Curator of Historic Properties at Clemson University, prepared the historic data as an in-kind contribution to the project. ADDENDUM TO: HABS No.

FORT HILL (McElhenny-Calhoun'."Clemson House) HAB~ Clemson University Campus Clemson Pickens County South Carolina 39- <!LEJ'{) 1 1-

Photographs Historic American Buildings Survey

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior C St. NW Washington, DC I ADDENDUM TO: HAeS FORT HILL SC,39-CLEM, 1- (McElhenny-Calhoun-Clemson House) Clemson University Campus 1-lA&S Clemson c - f0 Pickens County South Carolina PAPER COPIES OF COLOR TRANSPARENCIES HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior C Street NW Washington, DC I