306 East Main Street – Friedheim Homesite

“A leading Upcountry S.C. merchant.”

HISTORY THREAD

City Directories and History: The Friedheim home once stood on East Main Street where the current (2013) Rock Hill Municipal Parking lot is located next to First Presbyterian Church. Encompassing an entire city block, the house was a highly impressive structure constructed in circa 1909 and replaced the E.R. Mills home which had originally been constructed on the lot shortly after the Civil War. The new Friedheim home was designed and constructed by Julian S. Starr of Rock Hill who was actively working as a builder and architect from 1902-1931. In 1908, though he was not trained as an architect he began referring to himself as one. Perhaps his finest building was the Union High School, now 2014 the S.C. University Extension at Union.

The McElwee Store ledger of 1915-16 states that Arnold Friedheim who lived at this address and was a neighbor of Mr. Jno. McElwee also had an account at his store.

Birdseye view of East Main Street. The home on the right (full image of), was the Cobb home. The roof at the bottom of the image is the Mills – Friedheim home in 1895. Courtesy of the YC Library.

ARTICLE BY PAUL GETTYS AND JOHN MISKELLEY

This article is a summary of information compiled in a booklet published in 1999 on the reopening of the Friedheim Building.  John Miskelley and Paul Gettys worked together to develop the publication, which was printed by Main Street Properties.  The building now houses the Wells Fargo Bank.

 In the aftermath of the Civil War, Rock Hill was one of a number of small railroad towns in the Carolina Piedmont.  Its emergence as the largest city in the central Piedmont was due to a number of energetic leaders working hard to create a New South community.  One of these was Arnold Friedheim, a German immigrant and Confederate veteran who settled in Rock Hill in 1866.  Friedheim had worked in men’s clothing prior to the war in Baltimore and Salisbury, N.C., and within a few months of

A young Dolph Friedheim is marked as # 2 in Row C. This images is the ca. 1886 Rock Hill Graded School – Courtesy of the York County Library.

coming to Rock Hill, he opened a small shop on Main Street.  The business grew, and Arnold moved to a larger building in 1869.  Two of his brothers, Julius and August, came to work in the business, and another brother, Louis was a veterinarian.  Arnold met a young lady on a buying trip to Baltimore, and in 1870, married Miss Sophie Stengel, settling into a home on Caldwell Street. 

The Herald reported on Sept. 9, 1896 – “Samuel Friedheim has returned from the North where he has been buying goods for his store at Landsford.”

 On April 2, 1898, a fire destroyed most of the buildings on the north side of Main Street, including Friedheim’s.  The stock of goods valued at $50,000 was lost.  Within two days, the Friedheim store was operating in a storage building, and construction was started within two months on a new mercantile palace like no other ever seen in Rock Hill.  The brick and stone structure had a basement and three full floors of selling space.   The visitor was struck immediately by the large atrium in the middle of the store, which allowed natural light from skylights to flood the entire space.  The merchandise ranged from clothes for the entire family to shoes to groceries and hardware.  The third floor had buggies, harnesses, and furniture, which were lifted on a large freight elevator.

Friedheim’s Dept. Store on Main Street was one of Rock Hill’s oldest and most successful businesses. Courtesy of the Turner Postcard Collection – 2012

The Friedheim family members became leading figures in the social, cultural, and business life of Rock Hill.  In 1909, Arnold and Sophie built a showplace classical revival home on East Main Street which became known as the “White Palace.”  It occupied the entire block bounded by Main, Saluda, Black, and Elizabeth Lane. 

From humble beginnings, the Friedheim family built one of Rock Hill’s greatest mercantile traditions and the largest store in town.  Friedheim’s lasted for 98 years, closing in 1964 after the death of Albert Friedheim, one of Arnold’s sons.  The building was restored in the late 1990s by D. L. Rogers Construction Company and became home to First Union (now Wachovia) and other offices.     

The Record reported April 12, 1923, on a car accident at the corner of East Black and Saluda Streets, last Tuesday, April 10th. Between a car driven by Ms. Alethia Fennell and one by Haywood Dunlap. Malcolm Kendrick, riding with young Dunlap was cut and scratched on the face.  This is a very bad corner, the high fence around the back premises of the Friedheim cutting off the view. There have been several accidents at this corner.

The Herald reported on June 29, 1931 on the funeral of Mr. Julius Friedheim, – “the service was held at the residence on East Main Street and was conducted by Rabbi Fred Hirsch and the Rev. F.W. Gregg of First Presbyterian Church.”

Fountain Park – 2015, the original location of the Mills & Friedheim homes.

The SC Architects: 185-1935, Wells and Dalton – 1992 attributed the Arnold Friedheim home constructed in 1909 to Julian S. Starr, architect.

Click on the More Information > link found below the picture column for additional data on the Friedheim-Marshall-Albright families of Rock Hill, S.C.  Click on Laurelwood Cemetery Tours for his gravesite.

Click HOME to return to the numbered site tour of Rock Hill’s downtown.

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HISTORY THREAD

HISTORY THREAD

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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