“John Bratton, M.D. builds his Italianate plantation home in the mid 19th century.”
City Directories and History: In the mid 1850′s York County was prospering through the growth of its cotton industry as well as through improved transportation and
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technology. It was at this time that John Simpson Bratton, the son of Dr. John Bratton of the Homestead House at Brattonsville, began working on his own home with his wife Harriet. Originally, called Forrest Lawn or Forrest Hall, the house took its current name from the twentieth century owner, Mr. R. Fisher Draper who purchased the house about one hundred years after its construction.
Hightower Hall in ca. 1950. Image courtesy of the WU Pettus Archives – Eliz. Reed, Photo.
Hightower, was beautifully constructed using the architectural plans outlined in William H. Ranlett’s book, The Architect, 1851. The home had simple details with little moldings besides those found in the right parlor as well as the beautifully painted “marbling” that graced both the 1st and 2nd floor halls. This style of painted became popular in the South just prior to the Civil War and included at times faux marbling and trompe l’oeil murals. It has been suggested by numerous individuals familiar with this house that the paintings were nearly exact to those originally on the walls of the Allison Plantation near Sharon, S.C. Following the acquisition of the house by the Drapers, according to Mr. Fisher Draper, Mr. Lee Settlemyer, the Director of the Museum of York County, was hired to repair the wall painting. Later paint historian and N.C., conservator George Fore documented the faux marbling as historically intact shortly after the
acquisition of Hightower by York County. Unfortunately, this distinctive feature was painted over during the filming of The Patriot, circa 1998, during a period when no one with decorative arts knowledge was employed at Historic Brattonsville.
Construction in 1854-56 was under the supervision of local
Note that Robert Witherspoon is listed as being associated with the Lindsay Insurance Company in York, S.C. Image ca. 1912 – Courtesy of the YC Historical Society
builder, Mr. O.P. Crawford and painter Charles Frazier. It is unknown if Mr. Frazier executed the marbling of the interior halls. Never-the-less, the house was built with the best of materials and most modern designs available to the region. Using a combination of what is called timber framing, the contractor also used the modern technique of balloon framing to speed up construction. The house with its original metal roof, high central tower, imposing outbuildings of equal design all created a plantation compound of outstanding architectural merit. Interior furnishings were acquired from commercial establishments in the Northeastern states and brought to the house to embellish the Bratton’s home. Excellent pictures of the marbled walls of Hightower can be viewed in the book Plantation Heritage, by Kenneth and Blanche Marsh, 1963- pages 48-49.
Louise and Fisher Draper, the owners of the house and massive acreage in the early 1950-1990′s began discussions with the York County Historical Commission and the Friends of Historic Brattonsville, over their desire to save the house and have it once again re-united under the umbrella of Historic Brattonsville. Shortly thereafter, at the time of Mr. Draper’s death, his will allowed a one year grace period in which to purchase the house and over 1,000 acres. A committee of local “committed’ citizens including: Hiram Hutchison, William Wells, Murray White, Barbara Kurz (Chair of the YC HC), W.B. Fairey, Sr. (Ex. Director of Historic Brattonsville), George Hampton, Rep. Mr. Herb Kirsch and members from the S.C. Dept. of Wildlife began working to raise the funds needed to acquire the Draper farm. With the help of many interested privates and public groups, including the York County Council, the property was purchased for inclusion in Historic Brattonsville. Part of the property became the Draper Wildlife Area under the management of the South Carolina Dept. of Wildlife (SCDAR) and the balance was incorporated into Historic Brattonsville, as Fisher and Louise Draper had wished.
Note the house is recorded on Walker’s 1910 Postal Map incorrectly as the Weatherspoon Home. It should have stated, the Witherspoon House, that of the Bratton family.
Hightower Hall was restored with great care in 2010 and is now open to the public. Note the Walker’s 1910 map shows the house as that of Robert Witherspoon’s, a Bratton descendant.
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HISTORY THREAD
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