The YK Enquirer of Feb. 13, 1879 reported – “W.B. Wilson, Jr., has recently purchased a lot on which to build a lot on which to build a handsome residence.”
The Herald reported on June 9, 1881 – “The road laid off to Ebenezer by E.G. Byers, A.H. Barnett and J.F. Workman ran from the front of S.M. Fewell’s place through fields and groves to the city limits; but should have been straight, running from near W.B. Wilson’s house to the Berry Place.”
The Yorkville Enquirer reported on Feb. 16, 1887 – “The residence of Mrs. M.A. Jolly on White Street was broken into and all of her provisions were stolen. The crib of Mr. W.B. Wilson, Jr., was entered and seven bushels of corn were stolen. The house of Mr. M.V. McFadden about a mile from Rock Hill was broken into and about 400 lbs of lard and flour were stolen.”
The Herald reported on Feb. 22, 1893 – “The Sec. of State has issued a charter for the Cottage Home Building and Loan Association of Rock Hill. The corporators are: W.B. Wilson, Jr. and Andrew R. Smith. The capital stock is $100,000. The principal area of activity will be to erect cottages on the land of the corporation, lying along White Street, south of the Standard Mill.”
City Directories and History: Broach House, W.B. Wilson, 1922/23 – Vacant, 1936 – P.V. Hatch,
The 1915 McElwee Store ledger states that William Blackburn Wilson and wife Isabella (Pres. Rock Hill Land and Site Co.,- Attorney with Wilson & Wilson), hold an account at the store and live at this site.
The Herald reported on June 9, 1881 – “W.B. Wilson, Jr. Esquire who thought sometime ago of leaving our town, has decided to remain and is having repairs done on his home.”
The Herald reported on June 19, 1895 – “Mr. W. G. Adams will build a house for Mr. W. B. Wilson, it will be a twelve room dwelling on the premises in Oakland, known as the Simon Mills place, about three hundred yards in front of the home of W. H. Stewart. It it of modern design, and two stories in height.”
The YV Enquirer reported on Sept. 13, 1895 – “George B. Anderson of Laurens, S.C. is moving to Rock Hill and will occupy the residence of Mr. W.B. Wilson in Oakland.”
The Herald reported on July 12, 1899 – “Prof. J.W. Thomson and family now occupy the house in Oakland recently vacated by Mrs. W.B. Wilson, Sr.”
The Herald reported on March 25, 1903 – “Charlotte Woodward, aged about 43, a very estimable color lady who has been in the W.B. Wilson home for many years as cook and servant, died Sunday afternoon at her home of diabetes.”
The Herald reported on March 27, 1917 – “Fire today damaged the home of W.B. Wilson, Sr., on Charlotte Ave., Rock Hill.”
In April, 1857, William P. Broach, who was Rock Hill’s earliest merchant, sold his general store to J. J. Mills, Captain A. E. Hutchison, and John Johnson, who continued to operate the business under the name Mills & Co. Looking toward moving to the region near Meridian, Mississippi, William P. Broach offered all his York District holdings for sale: (1) his house and lot on the Landsford Road, about ½ to ¾ mile from the railroad depot, with 34 acres of land [this was the site of Col. William Blackburn Wilson’s 1895 house in Rock Hill where the Catholic Oratory buildings stand today, 2002]; (2) his house and lot in Rock Hill [meaning his business house and its lot in downtown Rock Hill, corner of Main and Depot streets]; and (3) 330 acres of blackjack land, about two miles from Rock Hill.
A short distance west of the Miller house and on the opposite side of the road stood Rock Hill‘s first suburban residence, built about 1852 by William P. Broach, Rock Hill‘s first merchant. He was well-to-do and had a governess for his children. He bought the land here (then thought to be ―in the country‖) and erected a handsome, two-story frame residence. He and his family sold out in the late 1850‘s and moved to the neighborhood of Meridian, Mississippi. The original house was ultimately rolled to the back of the lot and used for grain storage. It may have been torn down probably in the 1930‘s. It probably rotted down. On the site of the Broach house stands today the large structure that houses The Oratory, originally the residence of Colonel William Blackburn Wilson, a prominent Rock Hill attorney and one of the principal owners of the Rock Hill Land & Town Site Company, which developed Oakland, the section of Rock Hill west of the Southern Railroad tracks. He had visited Oakland, California, and found it surpassingly beautiful; accordingly, he named Rock Hill‘s new section ―Oakland. It was his company that bought the Fewell land (200 acres) that helped lure Winthrop College to Rock Hill in 1895. Personal correspondence with WBF and Along the Land’s Ford Road, Vol. I by Wm. B. White, Jr. – 2008
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