Midway Archives - Calhoun County

“One of many fine homes constructed by the Thomson family including Midway.”

City Directories and History: Belleville was the home of Colonel William Thomson (1727-1796) noted hero in the Revolution who earned the sobriquet “Old Danger.” In 1755 William Thomson married Eugenia Russell, daughter of Major Charles Russell, acquiring also four hundred acres of land on Buckhead Creek. This was the real beginning of Belleville Plantation,4 which was first an outstanding producer of indigo until its heyday ended with the American Revolution. During this war Belleville was seized by the British and fortified, but the grand old house and its lands survived these hazards to become one of the first great cotton plantations in South Carolina. Colonel Thomson began planting cotton here for market in 1794, two years before Captain Peter Gaillard’s noted planting at the Rocks Plantation on the Santee.

After the death of Colonel William Thomson in 1796, his widow Eugenia Russell Thomson lived on at Belleville with her son John Paul, who was to carry on as master of the family estate. In 1801 he married Caroline Eliza Theus of Charleston and Dawchee Plantation in St. John’s Parish, who at the age of fifteen became the mistress of Belleville. John Paul died in 1809 and in 1812 his young widow Caroline married an exiled Frenchman with the exquisitely beautiful name of Jean Rose Marie Desire Raoul de Champmanoir. In France he had studied medicine under the King’s physician and during this time had become an intimate friend of Due D’Enghien, son of the Due de Bourbon. Young Raoul de Champmanoir wrote the memoirs of his friend the Duke after his assassination. This angered Napoleon who imprisoned him and later exiled him from France.5 Jean Raoul de Champmanoir after his removal to Belleville anglicized his name to John Louis 0 Raoul. At Belleville from 1812 to 1827 Dr. John Louis Raoul and his wife Caroline maintained a splendid plantation house where good society and social amenities made it a charming residence. After the passing of first John Louis in 1827 and Caroline in 1839, Belleville returned again to the Thomson family when Caroline Theus Thomson Raoul, carrying out the wishes of her first husband, bequeathed Belleville to his nephew, William Sabb Thomson.

A common scene across most of the South, “hauling cotton to the gin house.” Courtesy of AFLLC Collection – 2017

Several interesting place names are found on Belleville. The most widely known in the early history of the region is Buckhead Creek. A little corner of land near Buckhead had a strangely strong echo. This resulted in its being called Hush Mouth since visitors to the place were always asked to yell “Hush Mouth.” Another place name here is The Rock, a large formation of stone near the Congaree River.

Cave Hall Plantation was the home of Colonel Moses Thomson, the first of the family to settle in Amelia Township, taking up lands there in 1745. The plantation was located near the Santee River on what is now the road from Lone Star to Elloree. The unusual name is derived from the fact that there was a large cave just behind the house.

(Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC)

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MIDWAY PLANTATION

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Please enjoy this structure and all those listed in Roots and Recall. But remember each is private property. So view them from a distance or from a public area such as the sidewalk or public road.

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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:

: Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Koger Fairey of St. Matthews, S.C.

: Philip W. Fairey and son Phil W. Fairey, Jr.

: Twins Frank Strait Fairey (lt) and Joseph Koger Fairey II (rt).

: Isabel Strait – Fairey with twins.

: 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.

: James E. Fairey (1897 – 1900) Son of Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Fairey

: Phillip Moss Fairey (1899 -1903) Son of Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Fairey) Courtesy of the Truesdale Collection, 2020

: Kittie M. Fairey with Risher (infant), R. Fairey in St. Matthews – 1954

: Risher R. Fairey, age 2, the namesake of Jacob Risher Fairey. Courtesy of the AFLLC Collection – 2022

: 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.

: 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)

Please enjoy this structure and all those listed in Roots and Recall. But remember each is private property. So view them from a distance or from a public area such as the sidewalk or public road.

Thanks!

Belleville Plantation

Midway Plantation – Fort Motte, S.C.

From the Porch

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