Yorkville Enquirer, Wednesday, June 10, 1863: Blufften in Ruins
The next story below L’s letter carried the title “Blufften in Ruins,” and the “outrage” perpetrated on that area was emphasized. The beautiful town was burned. The story was taken from the Charleston Mercury and the last sentence was: “As we said in reference to the affair on the affair on the Combahee, the success of a marauding expedition of this character is certainly a very mortifying circumstance.”
199 Rose Hill Way
City Directories and History: Rose Hill Plantation House is a large, two-story, frame, Gothic Revival residence. The house is believed to have been constructed for Dr. John Kirk and his wife Caroline ca. 1858-1860. Rose Hill was not completed before the Civil War and remained
unfinished until ca. 1946 when John and Florence Sturgeon purchased Rose Hill and renovated it for their private residence. Rose Hill is significant as an exceptional example of antebellum Gothic Revival residential architecture. The asymmetrical composition, the picturesque roofline, and the tall proportions are common elements of the style. The details of Rose Hill, including the lancet arches, the clustered piers, the vertical board and batten siding, the traceried windows with quarrel panes, and the crocketed finials are all integral to Gothic Revival design. The renovation of Rose Hill ca. 1946-1949 by architect Willis Irvin painstakingly preserved most of the original fabric and matched all new construction to the style of the house. Listed in the National Register May 19, 1983. [Courtesy of the SC Dept. of Archives and History]
“Dr. John William Kirk (1803-1868) began construction on his Gothic Revival style residence in the late 1850’s. The two-story board-and-batten residence is the finest example of Gothic Revival style architecture in the Lowcountry. The steeply pitched gable roof has a cross gable over a central entry. A large tripartite lancet arched window rests above the three Tudor arches which are supported by quatrefoil columns. Three smaller cross gables with pointed arch windows give the appearance of dormer windows because of the long overhang on the roof. Quatrefoil pilasters, a rectangular transom and sidelights enhance the main entry. To the left of the entry is an octagonal bay.
Rose Hill was not complete when the Civil War began in 1861, and in 1946 when John Sturgeon bought the house the scaffolding was still in place. Paint pots and tools were scattered around the house. For 85 years “Kirk’s Folly” had stood abandoned. The land comprising the plantation was part of a barony granted to Sir John Colleton in 1718. Dr. Kirk married Carolina Kirk in 1831, two years after he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with an M.D. degree. The Kirks had a place on the Colleton River (Callawassie Island) and a summer house in Bluffton. In 1860 Dr. Kirk owned 153 slaves in St. Luke’s Parish.”
Information from: Historic Resources of the Lowcountry, The Lowcountry Council of Government, Cynthia C. Jenkins, Preservation Planner – Published, 1979
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IMAGE GALLERY via photographer Bill Segars – 2010