City Directories and History: (Bush Homeplace) The Bush House is an excellent example of an upcountry antebellum farmhouse that was enlarged to meet the changing needs of a prominent Spartanburg County family. The architecture and construction of the house is representative of an adaptable and expandable type of residence that was popular with rural homeowners during the nineteenth century. The characteristics of the original ca. 1830 hall-and-parlor structure are still evident with the two unequal rooms that served multiple functions and the exterior end chimney.
Inman Mills was a integral part of the Inman Community in most of the 20th century. Courtesy of the Martin Postcard Collection – 2014
The house was enlarged ca. 1850 on one end and in a perpendicular fashion to include a two-story I-House by the mid-nineteenth century as the family expanded. The transformation of the hall-and-parlor house to a modified I-House is architecturally significant as an example of two architectural forms that were once prevalent in the rural upcountry. The Bush House has been continuously in the ownership of the Bush family or its descendants since ca. 1830. Story Bush and her three sons began working a farm that would eventually become one of Spartanburg County’s most significant farms in the nineteenth century, with approximately 1,115 acres under the ownership of her descendants. In addition to the main house, one historic outbuilding–a smokehouse–is extant. Listed in the National Register October 21, 2003.
(Courtesy of South Carolina Department of Archives and History)
*** Note on the map below from 1869 the location just outside of Inman of Bush’s Mill.
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TEXT – NR NOMINATION
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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Sloan – Epton’s Spartanburg Co Map ca. 1869. Courtesy of the Cobb Collection – Other Side of the River Museum, 2016
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I am a descendant of builder Story Wood Bush who is my 3d Great Grandmother from her daughter Elizabeth who married William Elias Ward