“A reflection of days long forgotten.”
City Directories and History: Browntown is a unique collection of buildings reflecting the self-sufficient way of life practiced by several generations of the Brown family during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Moses Brown and his son and grandsons were self-
Browntown Cotton Gin, SC Route 341 between Johnsonville & Lake City, Johnsonville, Florence County, SC (2) – HABS Collection
sufficient farmers who operated their own brick kiln, grist mill, lumber mill, cotton gin, retail and wholesale mercantile business, and school. The property nominated contains the eleven remaining Browntown buildings, including the cotton gin building, three residences, the school, a tobacco barn, and several outbuildings. Architecturally, these buildings, which include examples of both log and frame construction, reflect the building technologies of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In addition, the cotton gin building, which was built on the site, is significant in the field of engineering. The buildings at Browntown are grouped in two complexes, one group adjacent to the road and the other across the fields around the cotton gin building. The rustic character of the frame buildings, the weathered wood, and the plowed fields establish a distinct rural character that unifies the complex. Listed in the National Register June 28, 1982. (Courtesy of South Carolina Department of Archives and History)
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R&R HISTORY LINK: THE JONESVILLE COTTON PRESS – UNION CO SC
R&R HISTORY LINK: BRATTON COTTON HOUSE – GIN
R&R HISTORY LINK: JONESVILLE SC COTTON PRESS – CARD
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.
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