1678 Lone Star Road
HISTORY AND CITY DIRECTORIES: Midway Plantation was the home of William Russell Thomson (1761-1807), and Elizabeth Sabb Thomson of Bellbroughton. It was so named because it lay midway between Bellbroughton and Belleville. There were cedar trees along the road from Bellbroughton to Belleville. Mrs. J. R. Fairey – Ms. Kittie is now the gracious lady of Midway and with loving care maintains the grand old house as it should be. (Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC)
Mrs. J.R. “Kittie” Fairey, Ann Catherine Moss, was born in 1873 and died in 1967. Mr. James Michael Moss, was Adam and Kittie’s father, who attended The Citadel. Kittie Moss Fairey was the wife of prominent attorney and master farmer, Jacob Risher Fairey she lived at Midway until her death, at which time, the entire Fairey Estate was given to the State of S.C. for college scholarships. Kittie and Jake Fairey had two sons who died as young boys. See images this page!
R&R HISTORY LINK: Note that Kittie Fairey (Mrs. J.R. Fairey), vacationed at Glenn Springs Resort in Spartanburg Co., S.C.
J. R. FAIREY, EX-CALHOUN SENATOR, DIES
(Bottom) Kittie Moss Fairey as a baby. (Top Picture) Jacob Risher Fairey ca. 1895. Before returning to the farm, “Midway” he practiced law in Rock Hill, S.C. for approximately five years.
Images in this group courtesy of the RRF Collection – 2020
Survivors include his widow, the former Miss Kittie Moss of Cameron; five nephews, P. Fairey and George Griffith of St. Matthews, Frank Griffith of Ellorree, J. K. Fairey Jr. of Bamberg, and Dr. T. K. Fairey of Johnston, and two nieces, Mrs. Bessie F. Crutchfield of St. Matthews and Mrs. W. F. Fair of Orangeburg.
The State – January 22, 1951
R&R HISTORY LINK: the Revolution and Battle of Hanging Rock… John William Fairey gives his life….
R&R Note: The old Midway plantation house consisted on two sections; the oldest ca. 1790 and a later front addition which remains. The older section of the house was cut away by the Fairey – Griffith family and that section moved west of the main house to become the Griffith – Crutchfield homestead. It remained intact until the 2020s. (R.R.F. – “the Fairey Family Historian”) Kitty and J. Risher also owned one of the oldest homes in the Sunnyside Historic District of Murrells Inlet, S.C., listed on the National Register as Nyoka, the home was built of hand hewn timbers and served as the Fairey’s vacation house for decades.
City Directories and History: William Russell Thomson (1761-1807), built the original Midway Plantation, probably ca. 1785, although little of this structure remains. Midway was so named because it was located between Belleville, the family home of William Russell Thomson, and Bellbroughton, owned by Mrs. Thomson’s father. After Thomson’s death the
Image courtesy of photographer Bill Segars.
plantation became the property of his son, Charles Robert Thompson. While the house was built much earlier, the present façade was not added until later, ca. 1859. The present Midway is a two-story antebellum frame building with both Greek Revival and Federal influences. The front façade features a pediment and a two-tiered portico with four Tuscan columns on both levels. Each level features a central entrance way with three-paneled sidelights, semi-circular fanlights, and flanking pilasters topped by an entablature. The rear wing and porch were added around 1900. The vestiges of a landscaped garden featuring camellias, magnolias, and cedars surround Midway Plantation. This site is also significant as having been the past residence of prominent figures, particularly from the prominent Thomson family, in the military, political and social history of South Carolina and both Calhoun and Orangeburg counties for more than 170 years. Listed in the National Register May 28, 1976.
(Courtesy of South Carolina Department of Archives and History) Click here for the National Register site.
Following the Civil War, this became the home of Phillip Washington Fairey (1835 – 1889) and his wife, Elizabeth Rebecca Risher – Fairey (1832 – 1893), (the Civil War widow of George W. Griffith) and remained in the Fairey family for nearly one-hundred years. In 2015, it is used not as a cotton farm but as a elegant equestrian estate.
IMAGE GALLERY:
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- Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Koger Fairey of St. Matthews, S.C.
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- Philip W. Fairey and son Phil W. Fairey, Jr.
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- Twins Frank Strait Fairey (lt) and Joseph Koger Fairey II (rt).
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- Isabel Strait – Fairey with twins.
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- Twins Frank S. Fairey and Joe K. Fairey in wagon, ca. 1924. Brother Phil W. Fairey standing center. Frank S. Fairey names his third son, also a twin after his uncle Jacob Risher Fairey who owned Midway.
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- James E. Fairey (1897 – 1900) Son of Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Fairey
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- Phillip Moss Fairey (1899 -1903) Son of Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Fairey) Courtesy of the Truesdale Collection, 2020
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- Kittie M. Fairey with Risher (infant), R. Fairey in St. Matthews – 1954
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- Risher R. Fairey, age 2, the namesake of Jacob Risher Fairey. Courtesy of the AFLLC Collection – 2022
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- Adam Moss, the older brother of Kittie M. Fairey. Adam Holman Moss was Aunt Kittie’s brother. He was born in 1871 and died in 1959.
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- Architectural features of the home – 2021
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R&R HISTORY LINK: the wife and family of CSA Gen. Micah Jenkins, (Caroline Jamison Jenkins was from Orangeburg District), stayed at Midway during much of the Civil War when she was forced to leave Edisto Island.
R&R HISTORY LINK: the Thomson’s Belleville Plantation
R&R HISTORY LINK: John G. Fairey, as a child, was inspired by Midway’s gardens to create his own public gardens in Texas; Perkerwood (now the John Fairey Gardens).
R&R HISTORY LINK: Jake Fairey practiced law in Rock Hill for years before returning to become a Master Farmer….
R&R HISTORY LINK: the Joseph Koger Fairey Home in St. Matthews….
R&R HISTORY LINK: FAIREY CHEVROLET
R&R HISTORY LINK: NATIONAL REGISTER – IMAGE(S)
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