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Hightower Hall

Coordinates: 34°52′52″N 81°10′53″W / 34.88111°N 81.18139°W / 34.88111; -81.18139
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Hightower Hall
Hightower Hall, March 2012
Hightower Hall is located in South Carolina
Hightower Hall
Hightower Hall is located in the United States
Hightower Hall
LocationCounty Road 165, near McConnells, South Carolina
Coordinates34°52′52″N 81°10′53″W / 34.88111°N 81.18139°W / 34.88111; -81.18139
Area23.9 acres (9.7 ha)
Builtc. 1854 (1854)
Built byCranford, O.P.
Architectural styleItalian Villa
NRHP reference No.82003907[1]
Added to NRHPJune 28, 1982

Hightower Hall (Forrest Hall) is a historic home located near McConnells, York County, South Carolina. Completed in 1856, Hightower Hall is a two-story, weatherboarded frame dwelling in a vernacular interpretation of the Italianate style.[2] The front facade features a prominent three-story tower that rises ten feet above the main roof of the house. It also has a low-pitched roof, deep eaves, decorative brackets and verandahs. Also on the property are two barns and two slave cabins.[3][4]

History

Construction began in 1854 by John Simpson Bratton Jr. and Harriet Rainy Bratton. In 1856 the home was completed and was called Forrest Hall. In 1888 John Bratton died, followed by his wife Harriet in 1912. Sophia (Bratton) Witherspoon, the daughter of John and Harriet, and her husband Robert Witherspoon gained ownership.[2]

The home was purchased by Mr. R. F. Draper, and IBM executive, in 1958 where it gained the name "Hightower Hall." The family acquired an additional 1,285 acres by the time of his death in 1995. Brattonsville Historic District purchased the property and surrounding 485 acres of the Draper Estate with help from the Nation Ford Land Trust, the Friends of Historic Brattonsville and the York County Council. The remaining property was purchased by the State of South Carolina, becoming part of the South Carolina Wildlife Management system.[2]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1]

Hightower Hall is now part of Historic Brattonsville and is open as a historic house museum.

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Culture & Heritage Museums". www.chmuseums.org. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
  3. ^ John Wells; Suzanne P. Wylie; Linda VanderBroek (December 1981). "Hightower Hall" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
  4. ^ "Hightower Hall, York County (S.C. Sec. Rd. 165, Brattonsville vicinity)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 2014-07-01.