Harper-Featherstone Farm, 0.7 mile west of County Road 81, Lowndesville

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

.7 mile west of County Road 81, 3.0 miles southwest of its junction with County Road 65, 5.3 miles southwest of the intersection of County Road 65 and State Highway 81, .2 mile east of the Savannah River, Lowndesville vicinity, Abbeville County, South Carolina. USGS Lowndesville Quadrangle, Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates:

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

The collection of farm buildings on the Harper- Featherstone Farm dates from the antebellum period through to the twentieth century. The farm is also significant as the site of Harper's Ferry, which served as a transportation link between the Lowndes- ville community and trade centers in Elberton and Ruckersville, Georgia, from the early when Harper's was a prominent plantation, until the late when the farm came under absentee ownership. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History: The Harper-Featherstone Farm consists of numerous outbuildings surrounding the foundations of a house that burned in The farm's history is closely tied to that of the Harper- Featherstone Tenant Farm (HABS No.

which consists of a log house and several outbuildings, and the Featherstone Tenant Farm (HABS No. which consists of a log house and a barn. Both of these complexes stand on land that was originally part of the Harper Farm. 1. Date of erection: The house was probably built in the first half of the nineteenth century, but it was not extensively researched because it burned to the ground in 2. Original and subsequent owners: The Abbeville County Courthouse was destroyed by fire in so deeds before that year are not obtainable. The following chain of title is pieced together from genealogical sources. The most likely provenance of the tract is from the Harris family. Rev.

John Harris was pastor of the Little River Presbyterian Church in Abbeville ^&i3z Ki%%4&to&< HARPER-FEATKERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 2) County between and until he was forced to retire because of ill health. In his will, proven April 5, (Will Book 1, p. he left to his son John Harris "that tract of land on which he now lives," which may be this property. It is possible that this John Harris was the father of Jane Harris, who married Lindsey Harper in Possibly, they bought or acquired this land at the time of their marriage. The inscrip- tion on Jane Harris' gravestone in the Harper family cemetery reads "she was born, lived, and died within 300 yards of her grave," which strong- ly suggests that this was originally Harris family land.

Lindsey Harper died in leaving his land "up to Ross's Creek" to be divided between his child- ren. His widow, Jane Harris Harper, died in also leaving her real estate to her children. Evidently, Henry H. B. Harper purchased his brothers' and sisters' shares and became sole owner of the farm. H. H. B. Harper died in and his widow died in She left the property to her four children, and E. Weston Harper, the youngest, apparently bought out the rest (Deed Book 16, p. February 1, recorded February 3, E. Weston Harper lost the property through a court judgment. The farm was sold at public auction to Douglas Featherstone (Deed Book 44, p.

Novem- ber 4, recorded December 11, In the heirs of Featherstone formed the Featherstone Company, Inc., and transferred owner- ship of this property to it (Deed Book p. October 1, recorded October 9, Shortly thereafter, the company sold the property to the United States of America (Deed Book p. December 3, recorded December 12, B. Historical Context: Both the Harpers and the Hutchisons (HABS No. belonged to the Ridge Community, a rural neighborhood west of Lowndes- ville, South Carolina, bordering the Savannah River. The com- munity was so named because the divide between the Savannah and the Saluda River drainage basins runs northwest-southeast through the middle of this community, and it is possible to go along the top of the Ridge for almost 30 miles without crossing a stream.

The community can be defined as a rural HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 3) neighborhood consisting of a set of families who were relative- ly stable, remaining in their neighborhood through succeeding generations. Examination of the agricultural and population census schedules between and revealed a number of families whose descendants were still there at the beginning of the twentieth century. Many of these families also had relatives on the Georgia side of the river in Elbert County, which was opened some thirty years later and provided land that the sons of the first generation of farmers in the area could settle and begin to farm.

As in many southern localities, families here were large and surplus labor was drained off as the western frontier was pushed inexorably further west through Alabama and Missouri. This allowed the "home area" to remain fairly stable, without population pressures, through the early twentieth century. The Ridge Community was comprised by about of farm fami- lies who fall into the category of small planters, with less than fifty slaves but usually more than twenty. The town of Lowndesville to the east was once a major urban center, as it was the nearest town to the Ridge Community.

It was chartered in and the Lowndesville Providence Pres- byterian Church (still extant) was built sometime in the The Ridge Community had a Methodist Church but the Harpers and Hutchisons both attended the Presbyterian Church in Lowndesville, as did some other members of the Ridge Com- munity. As far as can be ascertained, the Civil War and Reconstruction had much the same effect here as it did everywhere in the south, with the exception that few farmers lost their land. Land tenure systems were reorganized to include former slaves as quasi-independent farmers under the typical renter and sharecropping system. The Savannah Valley Railroad came through this area in there were depots at Lowndes- ville to the east and Latimer to the southeast of the Ridge Community.

Access to a close market center boosted the region's economy for a time, but the economy of the area can be characterized in the late nineteenth century as being in steady decline. Since prior to the turn of the century, the fertility of the land had been decreasing due to continuous cotton cultivation, and the arrival of the boll weevil hasten- ed the decline of the already depressed cash-crop cotton econ- omy of the community. As a result of the poor economic conditions, a massive outmigration of people from the Ridge Community took place between and In a single three-month period in more than 15 people left the .-.*--.-=iss^ S HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 4) area because of financial woes (H.A. Carlisle).

Since the economy of the rural community was agriculturally based, the decline of agriculture in the area after also meant the demise of a cohesive rural neighborhood. Between and the neighborhood was still perceived as distinct from the larger Lowndesville area, but by this distinction had all but disappeared. Ridge Church has been the focal point of the community both geographically and socially since its inception in the late And although services are still held once a month, the church had only five members in The town of Lowndes- ville, the closest urban center, has declined from a bustling trade center to a small residential hamlet. Few young people are still farming or living in the Ridge neighborhood today.

The abandonment of the built landscape in the area of the Upper Savannah River Region would probably have been nearly complete in less than twenty years even if the Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake had not been constructed. Henry Harper came to the Upper Savannah River valley from Virginia at some time before He started a ferry on the Georgia side of the river at the now-vanished town of Edin- burgh. In he bought town lots in Alexandria (Edinburgh) from John McGowan. Ten years later he sold 129 acres on the Savannah River at Edinburgh, probably including his ferry landing, to Peter Alexander. The ferry became McGowan's Ferry. and later Bowman's Ferry. Henry Harper apparently moved across the river and re-established his ferry just downstream from the original one.

His son, Lindsey, was running this ferry by Lindsey Harper probably established the farmstead that exists today. After his death in Lindsey Harper's estate was inventoried. This inventory provides a revealing glimpse of the antebellum farm complex, of which only traces can be seen today. The inventory lists 18 slaves: John and Charlotte ("old people"), five boys, three girls, two old men, one diseased woman, two women, and three children. Out of these 18 slaves, at least one was probably a builder, since the inventory lists "one first rate set of carpenter's tools1' and two cross-cut saws. The plantation probably had a grist mill (two grindstones are listed) and a blacksmith shop (a set of smith's tools are included in the inventory).

A listing for "milk house articles" valued at $10 indicates the presence of a separate structure, probably a well house, and a listing for "smoke house furniture" valued at $2 confirms the expected existence of that ubiquitous building. HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 5) Livestock inventoried on the plantation included four horses, eight milk cows with calves, one yoke of oxen, 12 cattle, one lot hogs and one lot sheep. Fourteen rooms of furniture were listed, including the milk house and the smoke house.

It was not likely that the kitchen was attached by anything more than a breezeway, so that the house itself was probably ten rooms and a porch: a dining room, hall, parlor, a north corner bedroom, a north upper room, the family bed chamber, right and left-hand shed rooms, a "little room," and the south room on the second floor. The value of all furniture listed was In the Agricultural Census, Henry Harper is listed as the manager of his father's plantation.

The farm is noted as having 165 improved acres and 635 unimproved acres, for a cash value of The value of farm implements and machinery is given as Livestock on the farm in included six horses, two mules, two working oxen, five milk cows, 30 other cattle, 18 sheep, and 70 hogs, for a total livestock value of Crops grown on the farm in consisted of 700 bush- els of wheat, one bushel of rye, bushels of corn, 20 bush- els of oats, 19 bales of cotton, 40 pounds of wool, 200 pounds of butter, an unknown quantity of sweet potatoes and beans, eight tons of hay, and 125 pounds of honey. By Henry Harper had acquired his parents' farm. The census of that year showed that his household consisted of himself, 31, his wife, Ella, 26, their three small sons and two daughters, and M. McGee, 24, overseer.

By this time, at the height of the antebellum period, Henry Harper's acreage had increased to 400 cultivated acres and uncultivated acres; his farm had increased in value to Agricultural Census). At that time he owned worth of agricultural and farm machinery, nine horses, three mules, eight working oxen, 12 milk cows, 30 other cattle, 50 sheep, and 35 hogs, for a total livestock value of In he had raised 300 bushels of wheat, 50 bushels of rye, bushels of corn, 200 bushels of oats, 30 bales of cotton, 60 pounds of wool, 200 bushels of peas, 50 bushels of Irish potatoes, an unknown amount of sweet potatoes, eight tons of hay, and had produced 365 pounds of butter, 10 gallons of wine and 400 pounds of honey.

Henry Harper was an officer in the Confederate Army, spending one year as a prisoner of war. The effect of the war on his farm was apparently devastating; the value of his farm in was HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 6) In the Census Agricultural Schedule shows Henry Harper's farm valued at with worth of farm implements and machinery and worth of livestock. The estimated value of all his farm production for the preceding year was Dur- ing he spent about repairing fences on his property. Livestock on hand June 1st included two horses, two oxen, four milk cows, six other cattle, 15 hogs, and 56 assorted poultry including 30 chickens.

The farm produced 300 pounds of butter and 100 dozen eggs in In that year Henry Harper is listed as planting two acres of barley (40 bushels), 40 acres of oats bu.), ten acres of wheat bu.), four acres of sorghum gallons of syrup), 40 acres of cow peas, a fractional acre of Irish potatoes (50 bu.), and two acres of sweet potatoes bu.). He had two acres of peach trees with 50 bearing trees. The farm also produced 400 pounds of honey and 50 pounds of beeswax. Henry Harper cut 50 cords of wood in worth $1 apiece. After Henry Harper's death in the farm was acquired by his son, E. Weston Harper. Before this time, Harper was apparently renting out a considerable portion of the farm. After the turn of the century, E. W.

Harper was forced to sell off outlying pieces of the original Harper tract, although he retained ownership of the farm complex, ferry, and other buildings. Douglas Featherstone, a lawyer from Greenwood, purchased the Harper Farm in from E. W. Harper and others. The tract at that time was restored to its original size and configura- tion. Featherstone may be viewed as an early example of the absentee owners who by were the majority of large land- owners in the Upper Savannah River Region. These absentee owners were generally prominent men in the community, involved in the development of industry and finance in the two counties; either they farmed as a second income or they did not farm at all, renting their land to tenants and other landowners.

Featherstone is exceptional in that he acquired the Harper farm as a large tract while much of the land in the surround- ing community was still being farmed as small, individual tracts managed by landowners or sharecropping tenants. As a gentleman farmer, he dabbled in agricultural innovation and diversification in his farming operation. Featherstone's and E. W. Harper's personalized relationships with their tenants serve as a sharp contrast to the stereotype of the exploitive landlord businessman who treated his tenants as poorly as the prevailing community climate would allow. Although the tenants, the Morrows, never made much money farming for him, Featherstone gave them a great deal of latitude in determining how much and what they grew. HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO.

(Page 7) The association between the Morrows and the Harpers began in the early twentieth century. About Robert E. Lee Morrow became a tenant of E. Weston Harper and took over the opera- tion of the ferry. Robert Morrow and his family lived on the farm from to and again beginning in All five of Robert Morrow's sons farmed on the Featherstone property at one time, but their farming was purely subsistence farming de- signed to feed themselves and their families. After Douglas Featherstone bought the property in he established a dairy and milked about 26 cows. Dairying was not very profit- able because they were too far from Lowndesville, the only place to market the cream, and it was discontinued ca. They also tried sheep-raising in but all but one or two of the sheep died.

Morrow began grazing Featherstone*s cattle instead and continued a small farming operation. Prior to the attempt at agricultural diversification, the Morrows had raised cotton, corn, some wheat and oats, and watermelons. Harper's Ferry continued to serve as an important transporta- tion link for the locality as the most direct route between the market centers of Lowndesville, and Elberton, Ga. When the bridge at Calhoun Falls, was built in the ferry became outmoded and was discontinued. The ferry, however, is primarily remembered in the Lowndesville community as the scene of a painful tragedy. On Easter Sunday, nine young people went to spend the afternoon at the Harper Farm; its current residents were newlyweds Lollie and Lester Waters.

Waters taught at the nearby Diamond Springs School and Lester Waters ran the ferry for E. Weston Harper. Late in the afternoon the party, including the young people and the Waters couple, decided to cross the river to visit their friends in Georgia. The water was unusually high in the river and on the way over the ferry- boat overturned, killing all but one in the group. Several versions of the incident have been printed giving possible causes for the accident, but the only survivor was a shocked young boy and there were no witnesses on the bank. All of the victims were in their teens or early twenties, comprising most of an entire generation of the tight-knit community's population, and their loss traumatized their friends and relatives.

The ferry is described in the articles recounting the accident as a "typical Savannah ferry" (Lander, consisting of a 10' x 45' boat with runners rising on the sides, "connected with cable to two iron wheels which ran along a one-inch cable strung across the river. Halfway up the two boat cables, block and tackle were fixed to raise and lower the boat to HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 8) determine speed and direction. The two iron wheels, connected by an iron bar, ran on a cable strung from two short and long posts on the South Carolina and Georgia sides" (Cantrell, a span of 150 to 200 yards.

After the accident Robert Morrow resumed operation of the ferry and ran it for half the profits until it was discontinued in As the Morrows left the farm one by one the amount of land in cultivation gradually tapered off. Lester Morrow was the last tenant to live and farm there, serving primarily as caretaker of the property. In Morrow's health required that he be hospitalized, and during this hospitalization, the tenant dwelling in which he lived was burned. At that time, Mr. Featherstone moved a one-bedroom mobile home on the sub- ject tract for Mr. Morrow to live in. Mr. Featherstone pro- vided in his will that Mr. Morrow was to have privilege of occupying this mobile home and the power bill was to be paid out of one of the two trust funds that were established under his will.

In addition, Mr. Featherstone provided that a small monthly pension be paid to Mr. Morrow during his lifetime. Mr. Morrow has occupied the mobile home as his residence since but due to his poor health, has done little or no farm- ing operations on the subject tract" (Real Estate Files). Lester Morrow died in and the farm has been unoccupied since then. PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. House: Xeroxed copies of color snapshots of the house before it burned, taken by Gaines Morrow and still in his possession, are included with this report. They show that the one-and-a- half-story log structure was covered with weatherboards. The structure was raised on brick piers and had at least three brick chimneys, two of them exterior gable-end chimneys.

The gable roof was covered with standing-seam metal. The windows had six-over-six-light sash. The porches, both of them re- cessed, had scalloping at the eaves and wooden balustrades. The interior walls of the porches had vertical planks. The floor plan of the structure is also included in this report. The house had a detached kitchen. The floor plan cor- responds closely, with the exception of some renaming of rooms, with the list of rooms found in Lindsey Harper's inven- tory. There were two rooms on the second floor. HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 9) B. Outbuildings: 1. Well and Smokehouse: History: The mortise-and-tenon framing indicates a nineteenth century date for this structure. The smokehouse and the well house appear to have been built at different times.

It is possible that this well house was not built until the pump was in- stalled in the The sills, however, appear to be earlier. The smokehouse was used as such in the early twentieth century, then the milk room was in- stalled in the lower half ca. The milk room listed in Lindsey Harper's inventory was proba- bly in a different structure. The smokehouse was originally an unbanked structure on piers 5' to 6' high. In about it was banked and enclosed to create a ground-level room. On the bottom floor, a cement trough and a cement floor were poured. The room was then used as a cold room for the dairy products produced on the farm and as a storage room for canned goods and supplies. The original floor was raised several feet to provide head room.

The upper half was effectively closed off and not used by the Morrow family. A small hole was drilled in the wall behind the well so that cats could get in and catch mice in the upper level. b. Description: This outbuilding consists of two ad- joining structures with two different functions. To the north, the well house is an open-sided structure protecting the well and pump. On the south, the smokehouse has been converted to a two-level struc- ture with the milk room in the lower half. The structure measures x The founda- tions are fieldstone and brick in the well room. The well itself is stone-lined with stone above grade enclosed by a wood frame. The milk room has wood post foundations; a masonry retaining wall separates the well room from the lower dairy.

The walls are weatherboard siding over mortise and tenon framing. There are eight 5V' x 8" hewn posts, six of which rest on the ground to form the two north- south bays of the dairy. The other two, which support the well house roof, are notched into 8" x 8" sills that in turn notch into the other posts. Eight HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 10) feet above the sill, a 4" x 8" top plate completes the structure, with double beams on the north and south walls for the projecting gables. The 4" x 6" diagonal bracing members notch into the sills at the four milk room corner posts. Wall and gable studs are 2V x 3V, spaced from l'-lO" to on center. The gables have a 1" x 5" horizontal cross brace. The 2" x 6 V1 floor joists are spaced on center.

The 1 x 3 V rafters are spaced on center with diagonal bracing to the top of the gables. The IV' x 5 ceiling joists are spaced on center with a 4" x 6" hewn beam con- necting the center posts. The well room is open on three sides, with trape- zoidal-shaped openings. The triangular wall on the north end of the east side is missing. On the east side, a x opening that once gave access to the smokehouse is now covered up. The south door to the milk room has plain vertical boards with hori- zontal bracing. The milk room has three windows, two on the east and one on the west. The attic has two louvered vents on the west side. The gabled roof with the ridge running north-south is covered with standing-seam metal. The milk room has a poured concrete floor with 6" high perimeter curbs.

The walls have horizontal planking. There is a concrete trough in the north- east corner. The attic has no entry. A partially enclosed gable separates the well room attic from the enclosed attic. There are plain board shelves in the southwest corner of the enclosed attic and the south wall of the well room. A 1/4 horsepower DC pump is mounted on the enclosed well. 2. Dairy Barn: History: This barn originally consisted of a two- story heavy timber frame structure. In ca. the barn was remodelled into a banked structure by the addition of a lower level for stabling cattle on the south end, and a milking shed on the east end. The milking shed has a poured concrete floor with stanchions on the west and a drainage trough on the east.

The loft is open to the main barn so that hay can be forked down from the barn. In the early the barn was covered with tin siding salvaged from another building Featherstone owned in Green- wood, South Carolina. HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 11) b. Description: This heavy timber barn, which has the finest framing in the area, is in good condition due to the metal siding. (1) Overall dimensions: The three-level banked barn measures x The main struc- ture is x with a x milking barn on the east. (2) Foundations: The foundations consist of log piers 12" to 15" in diameter set upon large stones. The structural beams rest upon these piers. Under the corn crib there are addition- al piers supporting every third floor joist. The milking bar has a concrete floor.

(3) Walls: Red-painted standing-seam metal covers the original weatherboard siding. (4) Structural system, framing: The heavy timber barn has hewn members. The two-story corncrib serves as the building core. The floor joists are 7" x 9" hewn beams spaced on center and running north-south. The planking is cut lumber IV thick and 10" wide. The walls are heavy timber framing with mortise and tenon joints. The corner posts are hewn timbers 9" square with a 5" square section re- moved to make them L-shaped. The studs are al- ternately 3" x 4" and 6" x 4", spaced on center. The 6" x 4" timbers have brackets to support the girt. The "brackets" are part of the timber, the rest of the timber having been carved down to make the 6" x 4".

The angle braces are 4" x 5", lap-jointed with the studs as it passes across them. There are 3" x horizontal boards attached to the studs to form a wall to hold the corn. The rafters are logs 3" in diameter with mortise and tenon joints at the peak. The ridge runs east-west. The raf- ters are sheathed with 1" x 12" to 14" planking. HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 12) The hay storage area has 10" x 12" first-floor beams and sills. The beams are saddle-notched at the junction points. The main beam, which runs east-west, is 7" x 9" and 42' long, with the same sized beam on top to which the joists are attached. The joists are round and square logs, 8" to 10" in diameter and squared to 5" x 7", spaced 3' on center, running north-south. The joists are notched into the beams and sills.

The first-floor planking, IV x 5" to 8", is severely deteriorated. The exterior walls are frame construction with mortise and tenon joints. The studs are 3" x 4" spaced 2' on center. The top plates are 3" x 7". The corner posts are 4" x 8" and the angle bracing is 4" x 6" with mortise and tenon joints. The studs are notched into the sill plate. The ceiling rafters are 2" x 6" log members spaced 2' on center and attached to the corn crib. They are sheathed with x 12" boards. The milking barn addition on the east is frame. The studs are 2" x 4" spaced 2* on center on the east wall, 3" x 3" spaced 2' on center on the west wall, and 4" x 6" spaced 3' on center on the north and south walls.

The ceiling raf- ters, 2" x 6" spaced 2* on center and running east-west, are covered with x 12" planking. (5) Openings: There are four doors into the barn, two on the first level of the south side and two on the second level of the north side. On the south side, a double barn door opens into the pen area and a smaller door opens into the milking barn. The two doors on the north are on each side of the corn crib. The only re- maining window is on the north side, opening into the corn crib. (6) Roof: The corn crib section has a gable roof with the ridge running east-west. On the east, west, and south, shed roofs begin at the eaves of the gable roof. The lower milking barn has its own shed roof. HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO.

(Page 13) (7) Interior: The first level consists mainly of foundations, with the cattle stalls on the south and west. The milking barn is on this level to the east. The second level has the corn crib as a central core, with hay storage bays on the west and south, and grain bins on the east which feed into the milking barn below. The third level is an attic area above the corn crib. Access is gained by a steep stair lo- cated across from the grain bins on the outside of the corn crib. 3. Cow and Mule Barn a.

History: Judging from the circular sawn timber and the well-crafted notching used on the interior mem- bers of the barn, the structure was probably built between and The oral tradition of the community holds that the granaries in the rear of the barn were locked to keep the slaves from steal- ing the grain. The lock itself is now in a local museum (Morrow), but the keyhole and outline of the lock may still be seen on the granary door. The barn was remodeled ca. at the same time as other structures in the complex. The roof had fallen in or blown off; it was reconstructed with a shallower pitch, reducing the loft space, and cover- ed with metal roofing. The north shed addition was made for machinery storage.

The south wall of the barn was removed and a shed was added to create a cattle shelter and feeding area. b. Description: (1) Overall dimensions: The barn, which measures is a three-bay structure with a shed enclosure on the north. (2) Foundations: The foundations are fieldstones and granite blocks spaced 12' apart. (3) Walls: The walls are frame with weatherboard siding painted red. (4) Structural system, framing: Because most of the barn was rebuilt after a windstorm blew the roof off, it features standard frame con- struction. The sill and some corner posts remain from the original structure, however. The sills are approximately 10" square, while the corner posts are 4" x 6". HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 14) (5) Openings: The main entrance is a double door- way on the east.

There are two doors on the south, one of which is to the cattle-loading pen. The fourth door is on the north end of the west side. (6) Roof: The gable roof, with ridge running east- west, is covered with standing-seam metal. (7) Interior: The floor plan is divided into four major areas. At the end of the central hall are two grain storage rooms. On the south is a cattle-feeding area, with a holding pen and loading ramp in the southwest corner. On the north are enclosed pens, each with a small feeding trough. A covered shed spans the whole north side of the barn. There is a hay storage area above the central hall. The interior walls are constructed of rough-cut boards, 2" x 6". One interior wall has half dovetail notching cut with a handsaw.

The grain storage rooms are covered with horizontal planking, 1" x 12" to All of the interior doors open off of the central hall and are made of vertical planks. 4. Garage: The garage, which measures x is a post and lintel structure. The posts are cedar logs and 2" x 6" members frame the roof. The walls are board and batten. The shed roof slopes east and is covered with standing-seam metal. The opening on the west has its own shed roof, sloping west. There is a door on the east end of the south side. The dirt floor has wooden planks for the tire tracks. 5. Machine Shed: The machine shed, built ca. meas- ures x The post and beam structure has cedar logs for posts and tie beams and sawn wood for the roof framing.

The roof and walls are covered with stand- ing-seam metal and the north gable end is covered with horizontal boards. The ridge of the gable roof runs north-south. The structure is painted red. The floor is dirt. 6. Generator Shed: This structure was built in the late to house a Delco generator, installed on the farm to supply electricity to the house and a well pump. The generator broke down in the mid and the farm was without electricity for a few years, until in the farm was connected with the rural electric power system (Nelson). HARPER-FEATHEESTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 15) # This small structure, x is frame construc- tion covered with weatherboards. The ridge of the gable roof runs east-west; the roof is covered with corrugated metal.

There is a door on the east side and a cemeiit floor. 7. Blacksmith Shop: This structure was built ca. by- Robert Morrow and used by his son, Lester. The log building measures approximately x The logs are joined by double saddle notching. The gable roof is covered with standing-seam metal; the ridge runs north-south. There is a door on the south side and a window on the west side. 8. Chicken Coop: The chicken coop is an A-frame, a gabled structure with no walls. It measures x It is frame construction with a standing-seam metal roof. The gable ends are covered with horizontal planks and there is a door on the north side. The floor is dirt. 9. Hog Pen: This log structure measured x All that remains is the gable roof with its ridge running east-west.

The roof was framed with logs and had a standing-seam metal covering. Prepared by: LeAnne Baird Project Historian Richard J. Cronenberger Project Supervisor HABS Summer, Please see HABS SC-379-A through HABS for photographs of the above described buildings on the Harper-Featherstone Farm. f HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 16)

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

SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Early views: Four color photographs, taken by Gaines Morrow, ca. and still in his possession. Included here as supplemental material. B. Interviews: Carlisle, H. Arnet. Interviewed in Lowndesville, July 15, Morrow, Gaines. Interviewed at Lowndesville and at Harper- Featherstone Farm, July 1, Nelson, Mr. and Randolph. Interviewed outside Lowndes- ville, July 11, C.

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

1. Primary and unpublished resources: Brown, J. Donald (Frances Harper), Anderson, Research on Genealogy of Harper family, family papers, and Letter to LeAnne Baird, July 25, Deed Records, Abbeville County Courthouse, Abbeville Co., SC. Harper, Dewitt, Greenville, Letter to Hal Carlisle, October 2, Inventories, Appraisements, and Sales, Abbe- ville County Courthouse. Probate Records, Abbeville County Courthouse, Abbeville Co., SC. Real Estate Files, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Real Estate Office, Elberton, GA. U.S. Census. Abbeville and Anderson Counties, Pop- ulation Schedules, Agricultural Schedules, 2. Secondary and published sources: Brown, J. Donald (Frances Harper). "Harper's Ferry on the Savannah River Between Elbert Co., GA and Abbe- ville Co., in Abbeville County Family History.

Published by Press and Banner and Abbeville Medium, pp. HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS NO. (Page 17) "Harper's Ferry Tragedy." Elberton Star, April 6, Lander, Ernest M. , Jr. "Tragedy at Harper's Ferry Re- called." The State (Columbia, April 7, D. Map: Abbeville District, Surveyed by Wm. Robertson. Improved for Mills' Atlas, PART IV. PROJECT INFORMATION The documentation of the historic resources within the Richard B. Russell Dam project was undertaken by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), of the National Architectural and Engineering Record (NAER), a division of the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service in cooperation with Interagency Archeological Services (IAS), Atlanta, Georgia, and cosponsored by the U.S.

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

DeGroote (University of Maryland), Dale R. Gerber (University of Minnesota), Cynthia Wilson-Glicksman (University of Arizona), and Mark Schara (University of Michigan). The Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) historian was John P. Johnson. The clerk-typist was Teena Kenimer (University of Georgia). The written data were edited in the HABS Washington Office by Alison K. Hoagland in February HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM HABS No. (Page 18) Color photographs taken by Galnes Morrow, ca. Top: West front Middle: West front Bottom: East side Below: East side, with Emmett Morrow (left) and Dr. Harper HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM D HABS No. (Page 19) O IT/ c 1 I 31 2 "2: 5 3^ < $ ^ -^ ^_ M 9 t: \0 \A L-T i < C w =0 T=t ADDENDUM TO: HABS HARPER-FEATHERSTONE FARM SC,1-LOWN.V,1- Richard B.

Russell Dam Project 0.7 mile west of County Road 81 Lowndesville vicinity Abbeville County South Carolina FIELD RECORDS HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior C Street NW Washington, DC