Downtown Lancaster Walking Tour
A Detailed Description of the Sites
1.
Lancaster County Courthouse, 1828. The first courthouse on this site
was a one-story log building which was constructed in 1795.
It was replaced in 1801 by a two-story frame courthouse, 26 by 40
feet. The present building
was designed by Robert Mills, famous S.C. architect who later designed the
Washington Monument and other national buildings.
While the courthouse design is more Palladian than classic, the
portico is more in the Roman revival tradition.
Built of flemish-bond brick, an estimated 300,000 slave-made bricks
were used for construction by contractor Alsobrook.
This National Landmark building has been used for a hall of justice
for Lancaster County since 1828. Possibly
the last trial for witchcraft in America was held on these grounds in
1813. The main courtroom was
restored in 1979. The
Confederate monument in front of the courthouse was dedicated June 4, 1909
with thousands attending. It
is made of Stonesboro granite from Lancaster County.
The Confederate soldier on the monument is Captain Amos McManus of
Lancaster County.
2.
The building at the corner of West Dunlap and Main was built around
1875. This building of yellow
brick once housed the Dunlap House, The Cunningham Home Hotel, and until
the late 1930's Dr. J. D. Pittman had a hospital on the second floor.
The Hall of Fame is located on the Dunlap Street Wall.
3.
114 South Main was constructed around 1888-1889 and housed the
first Bank of Lancaster office. Colonel
Leroy Springs began his banking ownership in this building, which also
included the offices of the L & C Railroad and the Leroy Springs
Cotton Company. This location
is a two-story commercial-styled building of red stretcher bond brick with
Federal influence.
4.
The 1910 two-story building located at the northwest corner of Main
and Gay Streets is of brown stretcher bond brick.
The second story facade is of particular interest because of a
bracket pediment. For many years the first story housed a drug store known
first as the Lancaster Pharmacy and later as the J. F. Mackey Drug
Company.
5.
First Methodist Church Gay Street was organized in 1839 with 23
members. This was the first
church in the town of Lancaster. The
first building was a small frame structure erected in 1833.
Since its establishment, two brick buildings on the location have
been destroyed by fire. The
present building was erected in 1950.
6.
Old Lancaster County Jail on West Gay Street.
The jail was built in 1823 and was designed by Robert Mills. It features hand-hewn stones and is of Palladian style
architecture. In 1865 it was
darmged by fire when Union soldiers threw turpentine soaked balls of
cotton on the roof. Stocks
and whipping posts were used here until 1830.
Scaffolds were erected on jail grounds as needed for hangings. The building was used as a county jail until 1979.
This oldest building in Lancaster County has been restored for
county and state offices. It
is a National Landmark building.
7.
Former African Methodist Episcopal Church is on the corner of Gay
and Plyler Streets. It was the first A.M.E. Zion church in Lancaster.
It was organized in 1870 by Bishop Isom Clinton, former treasurer
of Lancaster County and the founder of 130 A.M.E. Zion churches.
8.
Old Presbyterian Church and Cemetery. This first brick church in
Lancaster County was erected in 1862.
It replaced a wood structure built in 1835 on land purchased from
Eliza Gill. The building is
in early Gothic style architecture and has 16-inch thick walls of plaster
that are marked to resemble stone. During
the War Between the States, Sherman's soldiers stabled their horses inside
the church. After the
Presbyterian congregation built a church on Main Street in 1926, the
building was used by various groups until it was sold to the Masonic
Lodge. In 1976, ownership was
transferred to the Lancaster County Society for Historic Preservation. This building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Many of Lancaster's early community leaders are buried in the
graveyard adjoining the church. Veterans
of five wars are also buried here.
9.
Springs House, West Gay and Catawba Streets.
This home was the birthplace of the late Col.
Elliott White Springs, son of Col.
Leroy Springs, who founded Lancaster Cotton Mills.
Now known as Springs Industries, it is the largest industry in the
county. The home was bought
from the Springs family in 1957 by the City of Lancaster for use as a City
Hall. It now houses the
Lancaster County Council of Arts and the Springs Foundation.
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
10.
Lancaster City Hall was completed in January of 2000.
It houses offices for the City of Lancaster and the City Council
Meeting Room.
11.
Old United States Post office was constructed in 1927.
It is two stories high in the front and one story in the rear
section. It is built of yellow common brick. It was originally the home site of Dr. Bartlett Jones.
Dr. Jones' daughter Theresa married world-famous surgeon Dr. J. Marion
Sims, who was born and raised in Lancaster County near Heath Springs.
12.
Mural and Sculpture Park, South Main and East Arch streets.
The park was established in 1976 as a U. S. Bicentennial project. The mural pictures Lancaster natives selected by the project
director, muralist Ralph Waldrop. Lancaster
natives volunteered to help with the mural.
The park was the home site of Daniel Washington Brown.
In February of 1865, Union General Judson Kilpatrick made his
headquarters here while occupying Lancaster during the War Between the
States.
13.
200 Block of East Main is known as the Springs Block because of the
large imposing structure built by Col. Leroy Springs in 1905. Built of red
stretcher and common bond brick, this building has housed many of
Lancaster's leading businesses. From this building, Leroy Springs and then Elliott White
Springs would direct the operation of the cotton mills and other family
interests which would mean so much to the economic well-being of Lancaster
County. At the corner of Main
and east Arch prior to a major fire in the late 1930's were the old
Lancaster Mercantile Company and the Hotel Royal.
A mural of the pre-1909 Springs Block is at the front of the
building, which now houses The Kanawha Insurance Company.
Note also the plaque located in the middle of the block.
14.
206 South Main Street formerly housed the old Farmers Bank and
Trust Company. Built around
1915, this Greek revival building is two and one-half stories high.
It is faced with Indiana limestone in a classical manner.
It has been restored and is now a law office.
15.
207 Main Street was built in 1880 and remodeled in 1920.
It was among the first of the "Main Street Program
Restorations" in the 1980's.
16.
The Bank of Lancaster building was originally constructed on the
Dr. J. F Mackey home site in 1907. It
is two stories and is built of red stretcher bond brick with second floor
double-hung windows. The roof
is low and rounded with a flemish ogee gable centered in a parapet.
It is often called the Opera House because the second floor was
used for plays, concerts, and dances.
Later the second floor served as the armory for the Lancaster
National Guard. Lancaster' s
oldest banking institution, the Bank of Lancaster, also occupied the
building. The marble teller
counter probably dates back to the 1920’s.
17.
203 South Main was the location of the T.M. Firzpatrick Mercantile
Building. The original building was constructed in 1875.
It had 14 chimneys and fireplaces built into the second floor
walls. Unfortunately the
building was destroyed by fire in the late 1990's.
18.
Moore Building, Northeast corner of Main and East Gay.
This is perhaps the oldest commercial building located in downtown
Lancaster. Possibly built in
the late 1860's for early 1870's, it is two stories high and is built of
red flemish bond brick. This
block years ago was known as the McKenna Block.
William McKenna was the largest landowner in downtown Lancaster in
the 1830's and 1840's.
19.
107 South Main is the old Masonic Hall Building, rebuilt in 1902
for Jackson Lodge. Two and
one-half stories high, three brick cornices and brick insets in the top
story are of yellow stretcher bond brick.
20.
Davis Property was the location of the Cross Roads Gin in
Lancaster's very early days. It was replaced by the Davis Building. Thomas H. Davis in 1880 developed a variety of okra known as
the "Clemson Spineless Okra."
Note the plaque on the corner of the building.
21. New County Office Building.
The
Lancaster Downtown District was nominated and accepted to the National
Register
of Historic Places in August l984.
The
term "bond" means bricks laid in an overlapping way to cause
them to hold together firmly.
The
term "stretcher" means bricks are laid horizontally with their
length in the direction of the face of a wall in order to strengthen the
wall.
City
of Lancaster e-mail: CITYLANC@INFOAVE.NET
The Walking Tour Map
