Transcript Same Location Today 2013 Home National

One of five commercial buildings to survive the 1916 fire, the Home National Bank Building was the
second known local banking establishment. Constructed in 1912 as the Home National Bank, this twostory brick building is laid in Flemish bond with glazed headers. The main entrance, located at the
corner of the building, has a concrete classical surround with a pediment supported by engaged Doric
columns; the pediment features a bas-relief eagle. A brick water table, belt course, and decorative
frieze circumscribe the building. An original projecting, dentiled, concrete cornice has been removed,
and a portion of the first story of the Main Street elevation was modernized in the 1950s. The Home
Bank, the predecessor of the Home National Bank, was organized around the turn of the century and
occupied the west bottom floor of Julian Kaufman’s two-story brick building. The bank portion of the
building was destroyed by a fire in 1912. The bank then built the present building and the name was
changed to the Home National Bank. The building also served as the town’s post office from 1912
until the 1960s and its second floor has served as professional offices for doctors, attorneys, and public
officials. Listed in the National Register November 22, 1983.
The SC government in 1868 wrote a new state constitution that changed districts into
counties. Lexington County then constructed a barn-like log courthouse, which was used
until the construction of a two story brick courthouse (pictured) in 1884 on the northwest
corner of North Lake and East Main. In 1940, the building currently referred to as the “old
courthouse” was constructed and became the main courthouse for Lexington
County. Although there was talk of turning it into a museum, the 1884 courthouse was
torn down in the 1950s. The 1940 courthouse was designed by Columbia architect J.
Carroll Johnson and also served as the location of many county offices as well. In 2004,
the current judicial center was constructed and it continues to serve the growing
population of the county.
By the 1930’s it became clear that a new courthouse was needed and construction began
in 1938. This photograph of the fourth County Courthouse was taken shortly before it was
demolished in the 1950’s. Notice the windows removed in preparation for the demolition.
The new courthouse was located directly across the street and was dedicated in 1945.
Land was bought from the widow of Laurance Corley, Anna Barbara Derrick Corley, to
establish a courthouse and jail in 1820. This land was well-situated on the road from
Augusta to Columbia and was located on high land. A wooden courthouse and jail were
built that same year and stood in use until 1838. No description of these buildings
survives. This picture taken before the fire of 1916 shows the western side of the square
granite jail. A gallows and whipping post were in the yard of the jail where convicts
received from 10 to 40 lashes for horse stealing or house breaking, until the law was
deemed cruel and was discontinued. This building was razed and replaced with what is
now known as the old court house in 1940.
On the hillsides to the east and west of the millpond workers' houses were built and
families moved into the village from farms around Lexington. Some sold their farms; others
leased their land to other farmers. Rent on the factory- owned houses was modest, but
some of the workers lived in houses they bought a short distance away. These workers
were, however, local people whereas in other parts of the state newly constructed mills
drew operatives from distant places. Partly for this reason Lexington’s mill village did not
develop an identity of its own. Where there were several small stores near the mill, most of
the workers shopped in the main business district around the court house. Children of the
mill workers attended the same public schools as the other children of the town. Lexington
Baptists organized earlier outside town, moved to its present site to serve the village, and
became the primary church of mill workers, though some attended Lexington Methodist
and St. Stephens Lutheran Churches.
In 1891 W. Pickens Roof of Lexington with a number of other citizens of the town formed
the Lexington Manufacturing Company. Mr. Roof, being the principal share holder was
elected its president. That same year the two story granite section of the mill was
constructed from materials quarried from the site of the present School District One
Headquarters on U.S. Highway 1. 204 looms and 7,000 spindles turned raw cotton into
bed ticking or mattress covers. The mill was run by water power from the pond on 12mile Creek where the waters drop some 12 feet, thereby turning the powerful turbines
necessary for running the machinery. The spinning and weaving went on day and
night. The clatter of the machinery was heard from the street when anyone went by, and
the steam whistle, now at the Lexington County Museum, loudly announced changes in
the shifts.
The W. Pickens Roof house (c1882) was the home of the president of the Lexington
Manufacturing Co. He is shown here in his rear yard with employee Dick Portee.
Established in 1894, the cotton mill made 6 ounce bed ticking using 7,100 spindles and 204
looms. It consumed 3,120 bales of cotton annually. Salaries ranged from $1.00 to $2.00 a
day for adults and $0.50 to $1.00 a day for children.
The James Stewart House, which is believed to have been constructed ca. 1850, is a
rectangular, one-and-one-half story, frame cottage with a gable roof and two interior
chimneys. It was the home of the town’s only known nineteenth century furniture makers,
Samuel James Stuart (Stewart). Stuart was a native of Anderson County, NC who moved to
Lexington County with his mother and married Rebecca Corley. This land was in a curve of
the stagecoach road from Columbia to Augusta and has for many years been known as
Stuart’s or Stewart’s Corner. However, to avoid demolition, the house was sold and moved
ca. 1991 from its original location on West Main Street in Lexington to its current site in the
vicinity of Red Bank.
The Meetze Hotel was built in 1830
and was located at 106 East Main
Street which is now a vacant lot and
was the former location of Sessions
department store. The hotel
continued to operate until the fire
of 1916 destroyed it as well as every
other frame building in downtown.
A covered well with pump, which at
the time was a source of water for
the town, was located almost
directly in front of the hotel.
The William Berly House is important for its association with the early history of the Evangelical
Lutheran Synod of South Carolina - a dominant force in the history of Lexington County. Located
upon part of the 102 acres purchased in 1833 by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of South Carolina
and Adjacent States for the establishment of a seminary and classical academy, it was later used as
a residence by the Reverend William Berly, a leading religious and educational figure in area
Lutheranism during the mid-nineteenth century. The seminary and classical academy closed in 1856
when it moved to Newberry, becoming Newberry College. In 1860 the property was purchased by
Reverend William Berly. It is not clear as to when the building was erected. However, it was
probably in existence at the time of the Synod’s land acquisition and was believed to have been
used as one of the campus buildings in the seminary’s early years. The house is a two-story
clapboard structure characterized by a one-story porch supported by four square columns. The
house originally featured a central open breezeway known as a “dogtrot.” The one-story wing on
the left side was also connected to the main portion of the house by a dogtrot. These breezeways
were enclosed around 1900. Included in the nominated acreage is an outbuilding which was
originally the ice house. Listed in the National Register November 23, 1977.
Lexington’s High School was opened in 1912 and was located where Lexington Elementary
is today on North Lake Drive.
The first graduating class featured twelve students, eleven females and one male. The
school added eleventh grade in 1922 and twelfth grade in 1948. The original building was
torn down in 1988.
Although it has undergone tremendous changes through the years, the town of
Lexington’s Main Street has always played a vital part in the economy of the town and the
county. It started off in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as the main road that
connected Augusta, Georgia to Columbia.
When the town of Lexington (then called Lexington Courthouse) was established in 1820,
the road that would become Main Street became the heart of the new community.
This continued to be the case throughout the 19th and 20th centuries as the town grew up
around Main Street. Like all roads in SC, Lexington’s Main Street was not paved until the
first half of the 20th century, around the time when it became part of US Hwy. 1. Around
the turn of the century, a well was located at the corner of Church Street and Main Street
and stables and liveries were located at the corner of what is now South Lake and
Main. Many of the structures on Main Street were constructed of wood before the 1916
fire that devastated the town. Although many buildings on Main Street were destroyed in
this fire, some historic structures remain in what is now the Main Street commercial
district.
Main Street looking east, this view of the 100 block of East Main shows, at left, the court
house with a balcony above its entrance and, in the distance, the Home National Bank
building. Although younger than other buildings on Main Street, the other buildings
between Church and South Lake are no less significant. Beyond Harmon Alley, at right is
the county jail that faces the court house. Many were built in the late 1910s, 1920s, and
1930s after the 1916 fire. Lexington County’s “Old” Courthouse, which now is home to
the county magistrate court, was constructed in 1940 in an effort to replace the older
structure located across the street.
This photo reveals how the south side of the 100 block of East Main Street appeared
before it was destroyed by fire in 1916. At left is the residence of Godfrey Harman and
his building, which housed the Harman Bazaar (front) and the offices of the Dispatch
News (back). One of the businesses that for many years occupied a site in the new four
unit block erected in 1917 was the Harmon Drug Company, which was eventually
transformed into the law offices at 135 Main Street. A hardware store went in at 133, the
Dispatch News offices at 131, and a new Bazaar at 129. Across Main was the brick
Kaufmann Drug Company (first floor) and the telephone company and law offices (second
floor).
The Scott Hendrix Furniture & Undertaking Company, c 1912 is shown in the background
of this photo. This location is at the corner of North Church Street and 102 West Main St.
It was destroyed in the 1916 fire and replaced by a brick structure. Sam George is shown
here standing by his horse and carriage. Sam was the Clerk of Court for Lexington County.
His family owned the flour & gristmill located on Twelve Mile Creek at was is known today
as Gibson Pond which, at the time of the photo, was called George’s Pond.
George’s Grist and Flour Mill is significant in Lexington County’s industrial history. It is the last mill known to
have intact internal workings and was the last operating flour mill in the county and the last mill of any kind
on Twelve Mile Creek. The building is the second grist and flour mill on the site. The present mill building,
which was constructed ca. 1924 and operated until 1946 by Dibble George, son of E.J. George, milled feed
grain, grist, flour, and whole wheat. Milled grains were bagged in two-, five-, and ten-pound paper sacks tied
by hand with white wrapping string.
The sacks carried the trade name, “George’s Flour Mill, Lexington, S.C.” with an imprinted sheaf of wheat
emblem and were sold in retail grocery stores in the county. George’s Grist and Flour Mill is a three-story
rectangular frame gable-roofed building with a one-story shed room. It is sheathed in corrugated metal
siding and covered by a metal roof. Listed in the National Register November 22, 1983. George’s Grist and
Flour Mill has since burned. Removed from the National Register March 15, 2000.
Two unidentified men in a horse drawn buggy would have been a common sight in the
mostly rural Lexington County of the early 1900’s. Distances were relatively short and
familiar, and inexpensive automobiles had not yet become attainable. Even the sheriff at
this time carried out his duties on horseback.
This scene shows local townspeople engaged in what looks to be a very intense game of
checkers outside the towns package store c1949.
Built in the early 19th century, this structure was home to Barbara Derrick Drafts Corley,
affectionately called “Granny” Corley by locals. Granny was the widow of Laurance Corley,
who served in the Gabriel Friday’s militia during the Revolutionary War and owned most
of what is now the town of Lexington. After Laurance’s death in 1815, Granny Corley sold
her deceased husband’s land to the state for a courthouse and jail. She divided the rest
into half acre lots and sold them to individuals.
This Lutheran Church, founded by
1830, and the earliest church in
Lexington, dedicated its firstknown house of worship on this
site in 1831. In 1865 Union troops
under William T. Sherman burned
the structure. The congregation’s
second building, dedicated 1870,
was destroyed by fire in 1898. The
third church, built 1901 on the
present site, was replaced by the
current edifice, dedicated in 1958.
The Palmetto Collegiate Institute was built in 1881, the private institute consisted of
seven grades. In 1900, eighth and ninth grades were added, and its 153 students were
taught by three teachers in a 13 week session. By 1906, when C.M. Efird was president
and W. E. Black was principal, the school had an enrollment of 223 students in its three
departments: Primary (1-3), Intermediate (4-6), and Collegiate (7-9). Parents paid
between $1.10 and $2.90 for each child per month and teachers were paid 5 cents a day
for each pupil.
Bibliography
Photography Sources:

Lexington County Museum, JR Fennell, Director

Google Maps – Google Streetview 2013

Post Card History Series, South Carolina Postcards Volume IV ,
Lexington County & Lake Murray, by Howard Woody & Thomas L. Johnson
Published by Arcadia Publishing Copyright 2000

Lexington County Library, Lexington Main Library , From the South Carolina Room.

SC Deptartment of Archives & History:
State Historic Preservation Office, National Register of Historic Places: Sites in
Lexington County, SC.
http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/lexington/nrlexington.htm
Text Sources:

JR Fennell, Director Lexington County Museum

Post Card History Series, South Carolina Postcards Volume IV ,
Lexington County & Lake Murray, by Howard Woody & Thomas L. Johnson
Published by Arcadia Publishing Copyright 2000 .

SC Deptartment of Archives & History:

State Historic Preservation Office, National Register of Historic Places: Sites in
Lexington County, SC.
http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/lexington/nrlexington.htm