This Building Has History ™
Name: London Printery Building
Architect: N.G. Walker
Builder: UN
Constructed: 1909-10
Originally the London Business Building (including London Printing Company), attributed to architect Nathan Gaillard Walker in 1909. It was constructed for a cost of $12,000. J.R. London, the owner, and the London family in general had an interesting impact on the Rock Hill area for decades.
London came to Yorkville (York, S.C.), in 1865, and opened the first mercantile business there, following the Civil War but later moved to Rock Hill, as it continued to economically surpass its older neighboring towns. He later served as Rock Hill intendant, or mayor, the president of two cotton factories, and the vice-president of both of the city’s banks. London investigated the soil in the “Blackjack” region between Rock Hill and Chester, called Mecklenburg-Iredell soil type. Using a sample of the soil from his own farm, he sent a sample of analysis and discovered that potash was lacking, and began importing vast amounts of potash and fertilizer that turned a sterile area into highly productive farmland.
Reports from the Herald in later years reveal changes in this lots use. An article in 1923, reports renovations to the YMCA there, whose quarters were located over the Herald Offices. The Post office was also temporarily present on this lot in 1931, while the new Federal Building was being constructed.
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Roots and Recall LLC, The City of Rock Hill, The York County Arts Council, & The S.C. Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts and by a generous award from the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of The Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.
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