“A truly magnificent antebellum home in rural Fairfield County…..restored.”
City Directories and History: The Oaks is located five miles from Winnsboro on the Jenkinsville road. It was built by a Mr. Hellems, who sold it in 1856 to John Montgomery Lemmon who married Mary Ann Yongue. It takes its name from a magnificent oak grove which surrounds the stately mansion. It is now occupied by a granddaughter, Marie Lemmon Wells and her husband Johnnie Wells. (Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC)
The Oaks was reportedly named for an oak grove which originally surrounded the house. It is significant as an intact example of an antebellum Fairfield County plantation house of outstanding architectural quality. Constructed in circa 1836, the Oaks is a large, two-story, weather boarded frame residence with a gable-end roof and double end chimneys. The façade has a central, two-tiered portico with a pediment featuring a fanlight and boxed cornice. The porticos are supported by four simple wooden columns and have plain wooden balustrades. The rear elevation has a one-story, shed-roofed porch supported by four wooden turned columns with a plain balustrade on the left portion and an enclosed room on the right. Side elevations feature double-end chimneys and pedimented gable ends with boxed cornices. The property on which the Oaks stands was sold to John Montgomery Lemmon by Richard Hallum in 1856 for $10,000. Lemmon was a moderately wealthy planter with nineteen slaves and a farm which was valued at $10,000 in 1860. Listed in the National Register December 6, 1984. [Courtesy of the S.C. Dept. of Archives and History]
The house remained in the Lemmon family for decades until purchased by the current owners in 2003. The owners have restored the home to showcase, not only its beautiful architecture, but also the lovely historic gardens having been restored over the past decade. The symmetry of the overall house plan with its handsome wainscoting, mantels, staircases, and paneled doors were those found in Asher Benjamin’s plan book (1833) and professionally executed by local Carolina artisans. The Oaks remains one of Fairfield County’s outstanding examples of Greek Revival architecture and enduring tribute to the local artisans who constructed the dwelling overlooking the area’s fair fields. Preservationist are delighted at the outstanding work in researching and restoring the home by the current owners. It is a lovely home and tribute to character of Fairfield’s dwindling but outstanding architecture of the region.
Click on the More Information > link to find additional data – A Fairfield County Sketchbook, by J.S. Bolick, 2000 (Courtesy of the FCHS)
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