The Yorkville Enquirer of March 21, 1872 reported – “A fire in Union last Friday destroyed nearly all the buildings on the two principal blocks of Main Street at an estimated loss of $40,000. On the west side of the street the corner store of Col. J.L. Young and two stores belonging to H.L. Goss, a store belonging to Mrs. Lamb, and the store of A.H. Foster were all destroyed. The Office of the Union Times was in the upper story of Mrs. Lamb’s Building. Merchants who lost their stock include: William Eller, Ruben Sims, Grocery, Gibbs and Thomson (Druggists), Dr. W.C. Bennett (Dentist), Gen. J.F. Gist (Furniture Store), Palmer, Rogers and McKissick (National Hotel), and Herman Thomson and James Robinson (Saddler), Dr. J.A. Moore (Surgical instruments and meds), R.W. Tinsley (Jewelry), P. Malloy (Dry Goods and Grocery), B.D. Culp at the Central Hotel and Joseph Crawford (Furniture Dealer). The large store of J.T. Hill and Co., was saved by a pump and hose that he had installed.”
City Directories and History: 1954 – Landy J. Hames
The lovely antebellum home of Mr. B.D. Culp, the Culp Home, was constructed in circa 1857 on what was then the outskirts of the village of Union. It is a combination of architectural styles commonly found throughout the area. Know as the vernacular style, this stems from mid 19th century contractors having a variety of pattern books from which their clients can pick designs and elements of design for their unique homes.
The Culp home became the center of political activity in Union both prior to the Civil War and later. In 1861, Mr. B.F. Arthur, the secretary of the Secession Convention delivered an address from the balcony to the Johnson Rifle Company. And following the Civil War during his bid for election of the Governorship of South Carolina, former General Wade Hampton spoke to a large gathering in October of 1876, as he toured the state campaigning.
The Culp House, a classically styled two-story brick structure, was constructed for Mr. B. D. Culp, a prosperous businessman in early Union. Derived from the transitional architectural trends of the 1850s, the Culp House combines both Georgian and Neoclassical motifs. The South Carolina low country flavor of the structure with its wide porticos and airy window treatments reflects Culp’s familiarity with the domestic architecture of Charleston, where he conducted a successful cotton trade. The front façade features a two-tiered, five-bay porch with Doric columns, pilasters, and a pierced balustrade. An original detached kitchen is still standing, although in poor condition. The house is significant militarily and politically for two speeches delivered from its porches. B.F. Arthur, secretary of the Secession Convention, delivered an oration from the porch to the Johnson Rifles regiment on January 31, 1861. In October 1876, gubernatorial candidate Wade Hampton delivered a campaign address from the second story porch to a crowd of supporters and a mounted troop of his partisan “Red Shirt” followers. Listed in the National Register April 9, 1975. [Courtesy of the S.C. Dept. of Archives and History]
The design for this house was a version of the Greek Revival which was built in 1857. The front porch was a superimposed colonnade with six white fluted columns in each tier and a balcony with pierced balustrades. The airy balconies are characteristic of the Southern plantation architecture. From the front porch of this house Mrs. Ann Hill presented a flag to the Johnson Rifles, Union’s first company of Volunteers during the War Between the States. In October, 1876, Wade Hampton made an address from the same porch.
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