City Directories and History: The Leroy Springs House (Elliot Springs House and City Hall), is an impressive two-story, frame residence in downtown Lancaster that was converted to municipal use as a city hall in 1957. An original section of the building was constructed around 1820-30. The house was greatly enlarged in the mid-1850s and it took its present
Courtesy of the Camden Archives and Museum – 2016
appearance in a ca. 1906-07 remodeling. The original owner and builder are not known. The owner during the 1850s renovations was Samuel Buckner Massey. The ca. 1906-07 remodeling, which the buildings integrity derives from, occurred under the ownership of Colonel Leroy Springs, who secured James M. McMichael, an architect from Charlotte, North Carolina, to plan the changes and additions. The façade features a two-tiered pedimented portico defined by fluted columns with Doric-influenced capitals. The pediment contains a semi-elliptical window with tracery. There is a two-story, flat roof porch addition at the rear. The main interior feature is an entrance stair in a two-story foyer. Leroy Springs played a major role in the industrial development of Lancaster and the surrounding area. The Leroy Springs House represents a significant part of Lancaster’s past, and in this single building, the development of the town is reflected. The house contains structural evidence of a plain house of the early nineteenth century as well as the early twentieth century attempt of a successful industrialist to express his wealth and power through his
Courtesy of the Davie Beard Postcard Collection – 2017
residence. Many people believe that the town of Lancaster owes its character and economic status largely to Leroy Springs and his vision for the southern textile industry. Listed in the National Register March 20, 1986. [Courtesy of the SC Dept. of Archives and History]
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