The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-05-01
JOHN c. CALHOUN's OLD HOME
A Northern Correspondent De-
scribes the Fort Hill Mansion at
Clemson.

Gath" correspondent of the
Pittsbnrg Dispatch, writing from Fort
Hill, 5. g., April 18th, gives his i'm
pressions about the former home of
John &. Calhoun, as follows
Having visited most of the homes of
American public men who exist in
tradition, felt the list incomplete till
l had come nearer to John &. Calhoun.
SO | took tiIe night tain at Washing
ton City on the Southern railway and
awokc at Charlotte, N. c., and then
continued on till noon, getting off at
Central Station, five miles from Cal
houn's home at the northwestern end of
South Carolina. Central is Just half
way between Charlotte and Atlanta.
At Central hired buggy and
driver and rode to Calhoun's house,
called formerly Fort Hill. 1t is now
Clemson college. There dismounted
at the place where Calhoun lived from
1924, when first elected vice president,
before John Quincy Adams was elected
president, little later, as Adams was
chosen by the States in Congress, the
the second of the Presidents to be
elected without a popular choice. Cal
houn had the electoral majority that
year, and was reelected for the first
term of Andrew Jackson, and fully
expected that Jackson would retire AT
the end of one term and leave him
catiph, OF successor.
From 1924 to his death in 1850 Fort
Hill was Calhoun's legal residence AMI
part of the time his real residence. 1t
is about the only place in South Caro-
lima where any residence of Calhoun
can now be identified, his former
homes at Abbeville, Bath, etc. being
now gone or uncertain. Fort Hill is
like Marshalllield for Webster, Ash
land for Clay, Lindenwald for Van
Buren or the Hermitage for jackson,
the place of Calhoun's interval or pr-
Yate life.
The road to Calhoun's wound over
the railroad track and the clay and
sand hill tops through the plowed
ground for cotton, without any fences,
some four Or five old huts or houses and
two or three wooden churches on the
way, the woods thin pine or petty oaks.
One old horse mill gin and compress
was passed before we reached Glenn
son, amidst which, like an old white
relic, ls Calhoun's home. Much of this
time he was in Washington, Charles
ton or Columbia.
The architectural quality of two
"porches gave the impression of adj
ditions TO mere plain house" or
country cottage, with outside chimneys
that were carried up in two diminish
ing fireplaces to plain shaft, drawn
back from touching the gable. No
dormers were in this blank roof, but
only gable openings. The portlco came
almost or quite to the ground with a
strip of grass lawn before, and then
two or three steps down to a " walk :"
or path. Still farther down was
modern lattced round summer house,
covering an old stone spring, which
had no overflow.
Despite its eight columns and re-
leved vertical chimneys, the dwelling
looked low, the skylines uutstretching
the columnar intention. 1t was my
view that at the present day, with such
materials, i could duplicate the house
for $4,000, at the most SO 500. What
gaveit the statesman or proprietary ef.
feet wero the tall old trees on the pro.
montory lawn, four or five branching
oaks, rising sever al times the height oI
the house, some old cedars, locusts, iirs
and pines, beech tree near the spring
and close to it an enormous tree al
naked at the top, but near the grount
full of holly, like evergreen.
In the rear of the house, soine 81
PAGES from it, was little one stor,
, office with window in the side and
r door under wooden classical portico
, the whole, say, IL feet by 16. Thi
was the solitary mans library an
I study. l understood that his book
D had been transferred to the college