The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1921-11-30

they regarded as an odious tyranny
of an arbitrary faction at home"
In support of his view is the state
ment made to the same effect by Gen.
IMcCrady.
When Patrick Cunningham decided
to build his home, it was his intention
to build q pretentious frame house,
ana In order to get the lumber sawed
he had his blacks cut the timber out of
his forests and raft the logs down the
Saluda to Charleston, where they
could be sawed Arriving there with
the trees, SO the family tradition goes,
he found 1t impossible to get them
sawed There were several English
ships in the harbor looking about for
ballast and he offered his logs as bal
last, to be carried to England and
there sawed and fashioned for the
house he wanted to build. Tradition
also says that his offer was accepted
and the timbers used in the house were
actually sawed and fashioned in Eng
land. The nails, every one OF them.
were made by hand in a blacksmith
shop on the spot, as were also the
hinges used on the doors and blinds.
The brick used in the house. it is
claimed, were made by English work
men on the grounds. The blinds were
made in England, and although they
are today III years old they are in
splendid state Of preservation and hold
their shape better than some made
nowadays which are some 1i5 years
their junior
The frame work of the house is as
I'plumb today as can be, the chimneys
are as solid and erect as one could
wish. Time, with it's iron tooth, has
made many marks on the old house,
but 1t is in a wonderful state of pres
crvation. 1t is two stories high, with
wide cellars underneath, and a large
attic. The famous old wing cellar is
used today by Maj. Robert n Cunning
ham, the owner and sole occupant of
the place, to store lime in. The vint-
ages of '76 or 81 no longer have their
abiding place there, After the Revo-
luton South Carolina conflscated
ltosemont and the land belonging to
1t, but afterwards an act was passed
by the legislature restoring to the
family their ancestral acres.
AS stated above, Roscmont reached
the zenith Of its fame under it's later
mistress, Mrs. Louisa Cunningham the
mother Of Miss Pamela Cunningham
and OF the father of Maj. Robert n
Cunningham, who now lives there. or
Mrs Louisa Cunningham, Gov. b. Il.
Perry wrote: "She was not only beau
tiful herself, but she had love and
taste for the beautiful. Her passion
for flowers was unsurpassed; she col
lected them from all parts or the
world. Her flowers and shrubbcry
covered acres (sevcn acres were de-
voted to flowers alone, so Mai Cum
ingham now says Of ground around
Rosemont, which she watched over
and cultivated with the care Of mo-
thcr for her infant children She MAJ.
of the up-country. Soon after her
marriage and settlement at her hus-
bands old family mansion, now more
than 100 years old, she had the honor
and great pleasure of receiving a col
lection OF rare flowers from Mount
Vernon, sent her by Judge Bushrod
Washington. Years afterwards, when
| saw her flower garden and shrub
berry, they were surprisingly beautiful
and laid off with great taste and ar
tistic skill. She was most generous,
} too, in tho distribution OF her rare and
beautiful flowers and plants amongst
her friends and acquaintances." Gov
Perry had the advantage Of frequent
. personal visits to Rosemont at this
: time. Seven acres OF flowers and 80
acres in a park surrounding the flow
ers! Beautiful avenues, making a
, cross, led from the front Of the house
into the park. Remains Of this great
park are seen today in few gigantic
magnolias, rare trees and wilderness
OF shrubbery. The flowers have all
gone. Who're they once grew and de-
weloped their beauty and fragrance now
lies cultivated ground. At the time
when the place was such as described
by Gov. Perry, the plantation was also
in it's zenith. There were over 500
| slaves on this one plantation. Large
: quarters for the blacks were scattered
over the estate. The remains of these