Charles Duckett (1860-1947) was a prominent businessman in Laurens, South Carolina. He owned multiple businesses, most notable were a funeral home and lumberyard. He was considered one of the most successful Black lumberyard owners in the South. This Eastlake style home is in need of some serious love, though. It was hard to photograph, but a tree has fallen on the left side of the house. There was a fundraiser listed in 2020, but I couldn’t find any other info on future plans.
At the beginning of the 20th century, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie funded the creation of thousands of libraries across the U.S., including 15 in South Carolina. The first of these in the state was the Carnegie Free Library in Union County, commissioned in 1903 and built in 1905. Designed in the Beaux Arts style by Wheeler & Runge, the library became a local landmark with its notable architectural features. Today, it remains one of only four Carnegie Libraries still standing in South Carolina and fewer than 1,000 nationwide.
I don’t remember how I found out about this church, but it’s been on my list for a while to photograph. I finally got the chance to do so this past weekend.
Located in Cherokee County, South Carolina, the Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church is right at the crossroads of Wilkinsville, a town of approximately 700 people. Wilkinsville is southeast of Gaffney. For those unfamiliar with Gaffney, it’s the town with the big peach butt in the sky off of I-85.
Often when I am researching the history of a place that isn’t well known, I am uncovering a lot of details through news articles and, for churches and cemeteries, obituaries. I must commend the research of Tom Taylor at Random Connections. He did a remarkable deep dive into the history of the Wesley ME Church. If you want in-depth research, please head to his site.
In a nutshell, the congregation was formed in 1915. The stone structure was built in the 1940s after a storm damaged the previous building. While the cemetery is still active and well-maintained, the church closed by 1970.
Wesley Chapel Methodist Church
Wilkinsville SC Nov 15, 1943
Willie Edward Corry, School Teacher
Architect And Builder
Directors
Levi Garrett, A. C. Corry, James Love,
G. Dewey Harris
Workers
Jossie Love, Ressie Rodgers, Addie Corry
Strossie Mae Harris
Treasure
John Davis, Beatrice Jefferies
Secteary
Vestor Harris, Ninnie Hambright
Geo W. Davis, Emily Davis
Smyrna, South Carolina, is located in York County. Formed in 1895, the town, like many others at the time, built up around a rail line. In 2010, the town’s population was 45. Remnants of small commercial district still stand today. The Smyrna Barber Shop is one of those reminders.
The J. D. and Millicent Massey House was built in the 1930s from a Leila Ross Wilburn plan. It stayed in the Massey family for several decades. It is now a law office.
The Lanneau-Norwood-Funderburk House was built in 1877 for Charles H. Lanneau by Charleston architect Jacob Cagle. Lanneau was involved in several local textile mills. He even founded the Lanneau Manufacturing Company on adjacent land to the home. Like many homes during this time period, the home was destroyed by fire twice and rebuilt both times.
After becoming bankrupt in 1907, Lanneau sold the Second Empire home to local banker John Wilkins Norwood. When he passed away in 1945, his daughter Frances Norwood Funderburk inherited the home. She then passed it to her son, George Norwood.
To view photos of the inside, the house can be seen in a 2021 listing.
