“Kincaid – Anderson house ….” – An 1832 article in the “Southern Christian Advocate” stated that Capt. Kincaid, who was a privateer in his youth, had observed Caribbean natives using a machine to take husks off coconuts. Kincaid then described the machine to his mechanically talented overseer, Hodgen Holmes. Holmes made the machine about 1789, and used it to clean burs out of sheep wool.
City Directories and History: This elegant Georgian mansion was constructed ca. 1774 by James Kincaid, Captain in the American Revolution under Generals Francis Marion and Thomas Sumter, agricultural innovator, religious leader, and member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. The house was built on land granted by King George III which contained the famous ten-acre rock that later became the Anderson quarry. This two-storied structure is of brick in Flemish bond on a fieldstone foundation. The interior and exterior walls are solid brick and some sixteen inches thick. The hip roof has unboxed common rafters. Dual chimneys service large fireplaces in five of the ten rooms. Small side wings of brick with roof balustrades were added in a 1920s restoration. The wide halls are connected by a sweeping staircase and the massive rooms have large fireplaces and fine moldings. The grounds are enclosed by a serpentine wall of blue granite from the nearby quarry. A two-story brick and frame work house has been converted into a guesthouse with other outbuildings also maintained. James Kincaid was one of the first purchasers of cotton in the South Carolina upcountry and was possibly involved in the early development of a cotton gin. He is thought to have also locally promoted the tomato as a food. Kincaid was also
instrumental in the local promotion of Associate Reformed Presbyterianism, aiding the establishment of nearby Ebenezer Church. Listed in the National Register July 30, 1974. [Courtesy of the S.C. Dept. of Archives and History]
This manor house was built in 1774 by Captain James Kincaid. The large square house was built in Old English style with portico at the entrance. The brick, the rails, and the unusual ornamentations for this home were brought from England. Its hand-carved mantels and solid mahogany stairway make it a place of unusual beauty. In recent years this old place has been restored and beautified to the splendor of the days of yore by Mrs. Dan Heyward and is now called “Heyward Hall,” known far and wide for its beauty, charm, and exquisite furnishings. “The gardens or terraces of the Kincaid plantation are, from the standpoint. of landscaping, among the most effective in the Piedmont. They are extremely simple, being merely a series of six to ten feet below the other.
Near the house, in the back yard, is a small house built on a floor of solid rock. This was said to have been the ice-house, where ice was stored when cut from the river in winter, and used the following summer. On the opposite side of the house is a round old stone lined well. In front of the house still stands the old. horse block, hewn from solid stone. And blocks of solid stone are placed to form a walk, swinging in a curve from the front door to the road, through the woods.
Few men ever accomplished by their own energy and with their own ideas more for humanity than Captain James Kincaid. He thought out, put together, and operated successfully the first cotton gin, and the story is told that Eli Whitney, on the way to Augusta, Georgia, spent the night in his home, stole the model, and took it with him next day, patenting it as his own invention. Captain Kincaid brought the tomato to America and developed it for food. He served in the War for Independence under Generals Sumter and Marion. He and his wife are buried at the Old Brick Church, Ebenezer, near the home. And the Negroes of the neighborhood tell that on moonlight nights the wife can be seen in her white nightgown, with long flowing hair, going from the house to the churchyard to her husband’s grave. [Our Heritage Book]
Click on the More Information > link to find additional data – A Fairfield County Sketchbook, by J.S. Bolick, 2000 (Courtesy of the FCHS)
This historic plantation at 7430 Landis Road has been the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. Crosby Lewis for almost forty years.
After spending nearly four decades in massive restorations to the grounds, hunting lands, and home, the Lewis have earned many accolades for their historic renovations and rightfully have renamed the house “Fairfield Hall.” As patrons of Fairfield County, its arts, its public discourse, its diversity, the Lewises make Fairfield a better place.
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“Heyward Hall takes its name from its present owners, as it has previously been known as Kincaid Manor and Anderson Manor. It was built by Captain James Kincaid in 1774 of English brick with a mahogany stairway. Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin, visited Kincaid (unsubstantiated local lore), and saw the first water-powered cotton gin in operation. It was soon after this visit that Whitney patented his gin. A Kincaid daughter married an Anderson, who operated the nearby granite quarries. The house was later occupied by the Dan Heywards, whose family own and operate the famed quarries now.”
Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC
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