717 Buncombe Street
City Directories and History: St. James Episcopal or Holy Trinity was built in 1915 in the Gothic style.
The church is a contributing property in the Hampton – Pinckney Historic District, recognized as Greenville’s outstanding area of Victorian architecture.
The area now known as Hampton-Pinckney was purchased in 1815 by Vardry McBee who spent $27,550 for 11,028 acres of land in what is now the center of Greenville. McBee had great aspirations for the little frontier village of Greenville and played an
NOMINATION FORM & HISTORY
important role in the city’s development. A true philanthropist, he donated land for the Greenville Male and Female Academies and for the city’s first 4 churches. The first house in the area was built by McBee’s son Pinckney, prior to the Civil War. In the 1890s, part of the land McBee willed to his family was subdivided into residential lots. Cotton growing, selling and production were important to the economy as was the railroad terminal nearby. Hampton-Pinckney became the first “trolley car” neighborhood in Greenville.
It was also a period of rapid expansion for Greenville’s textile industry. Today the Hampton-Pinckney Historic District, one of the oldest in town neighborhoods, has the most important representation in the city of fanciful, sometimes exuberant dwellings of the Victorian Era. During the First World War, the production of cloth for uniforms and other war materials kept the mill industry thriving. The resulting strong economy paved the way for another building boom in the early 1920s. The Hampton-Pinckney neighborhood was still growing, but other new neighborhoods also began to take root and thrive. The district was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, becoming Greenville’s first National Register District. In 1979 the neighborhood became the first locally designated Preservation Overlay District. For more information, visit the Hampton-Pinckney website or view this video of the Hampton Pinckney Historic District. (Courtesy of the Overlook Hist. District History – City of Greenville, S.C.)
Stay Connected
Explore history, houses, and stories across S.C. Your membership provides you with updates on regional topics, information on historic research, preservation, and monthly feature articles. But remember R&R wants to hear from you and assist in preserving your own family genealogy and memorabilia.
Visit the Southern Queries – Forum to receive assistance in answering questions, discuss genealogy, and enjoy exploring preservation topics with other members. Also listed are several history and genealogical researchers for hire.
User comments welcome — post at the bottom of this page.
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.
Do you have information to share and preserve? Family, school, church, or other older photos and stories are welcome. Send them digitally through the “Share Your Story” link, so they too might be posted on Roots and Recall.
Thanks!
IMAGE GALLERY courtesy of photographer Bill Segars – 2010
