604 East Main Street or Cowan – Gettys Home

City Directories and History: 1922 – R. H. Cowan, 1946 – Mrs. Maud M. Gettys, 1975 – Mrs. Maud M. Gettys

R&R HISTORY LINK:  233 Hampton Street

The Herald reported on Oct. 24, 1896 – “G. A. Cowan has transferred his interest in the firm of G. A. Cowan and Brother to R. H. Cowan, under whose name the business will be continued.”

The Herald on Aug. 8, 1900 reported that J.S.H. Faris, W.A. Milling and W.A. Youngblood have bought the stock of goods of Mr. R.H. Cowan.  They will occupy the same store and the firm’s name will be J.S.H. Faris and Company.”

Members of the Pressly family at a reunion, 1950s, at 604 East Main. James Gettys married Mary Pressly of Chester. This was the home of John and Maud Gettys. Photo courtesy of Mr. Paul Gettys.

This house was built for Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Cowan in 1912.  Mrs. Cowan’s father was a contractor in Florida, and he built it for the couple when they married.  Mr. Cowan farmed a large property east of Rock Hill.  They had three children, Robert Jr., Eugene (Blue), and Mary.  By the 1940s, Robert Jr. and his wife were living in the house.  They decided to build a new house at the farm, and sold the Main Street house in 1945 to John E. and Maud Martin Gettys.  The couple, who were in their 60s, had been renting a house across Main Street since their family home at Roddey Station burned in 1943.  The home at 604 East Main has been in the Gettys family since 1945, and is currently owned by their daughter, Sara Roddey Gettys.

The house has elements both the Craftsman and Colonial Revival House  styles.  The porch originally featured brick posts topped by Corinthian columns and a balustrade across the top.  The roof was originally clad in clay tiles.  The first floor windows feature extensive use of leaded glass.

The Herald reported on March 11, 1896 – “That R.H. Cowan and Brother has bought-out the establishment of Mr. W. (Wm.) Oakman on Depot Street and will run a general grocery store there.  Bob and George Cowan are well known here.” The Yorkville Enquirer reported on March 13, 1896 – Mr. William Oakman, who has been engaged in the fancy grocery business in Rock Hill for some years, has sold his stock to R.H. Cowan and Brother. Mr. Oakman will make his home in Florence, S.C.”

The Rock Hill Herald reported on Dec. 1, 1941 – “Mr. and Mrs. J. Gordon Collier and family have moved from 259 Johnston Street to the former R.H. Cowan house on East Main Street.”

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R&R HISTORY LINK:  RODDEY STATION AND THE CATAWBA AREA

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