A Driving Tour of Glenn Springs
If you're already on your phone, click on the link to open a tour of 23 historic sites around Glenn Springs in Google Maps. You'll discover information and pictures of each site. If you're on your desktop, just scan the QR code with your phone and you'll get there as well.
Henry P. Boggs, Sr. purchased this parcel of land known as Masonic Lodge Lot from Sara J. Lee on March 23, 1912. Mr. Boggs, owner and headmaster, opened Wirobo Hall, a private school, for boys. With family living quarters downstairs, boarding students occupied rooms upstairs. Day students also attended. The house was in ill repair when W.W. Thompson, Sr. and A.W. Seris bought it in the early 1930s. Renovations were done while the families were in residence. Later, ownership went solely to the Thompson family who lived there for over 60 years. Current owners are Frank and Virginia Ceva. Of interest is the roof overhang. The exaggerated depth of the eaves suggests a Frank Lloyd Wright influence.
2. Smith House
Built in 1852, and later purchased by Dr. W.F. Smith, the original house was one story. Later, the raised main story became the second story, with the first floor constructed beneath it. In the late 1800s, under the Victorian influence, bay windows were added to the front. A balcony style porch over the double front doors was removed. A single window now replaces the upstairs door. The house is still in the Smith family.
3. John D. Fowler House (West Home)
John D. Fowler built this Victorian house in the early 1900s. In 1928 G.C. Wyatt bought this property from W.E. Fowler, owner at that time. A mortgage note for $101.47 signed by Wyatt, stated that if payment was not made by November 15, 1928, one black Jersey cow named Bess and all crops grown on the land would be given as collateral. In 1967, Carey and Ann West purchased the home and did a complete restoration with as many of the original structural materials as possible.
4. Thadeus Borroughs House (Garrett Home)
Thadeus Burroughs built this Victorian style house circa 1907. Later, W. Dogan Allen bought the house and operated a general store on the property. In 1986 Steven and Katherine Garrett purchased the house from owner Sandra Cox. The entrance features a staircase with hand carved rails and bannisters. A decorative arch accents the hallway. Ceilings of beadboard are throughout the house. When the Allen Store was to be demolished by Spartanburg County as an eyesore, the Glenn Springs Preservation Society, with permission from the Garretts, dismantled and stored all useable parts of the store, to be reconstructed in Glenn Springs.
5. R.E.L. Smith House (Browning House)
Local postmaster Robert E. Lee Smith and wife Nora Fowler had this house of Victorian architecture built in 1906 on property purchased from the J.W. Bobo estate. Donald and Mary Peake Browning bought the house in 1965. Mary's grandfather Joseph F. West was the original builder. The house has six fireplaces. Some mantels are walnut, others oak. Teachers at the Glenn Springs Grammar School often rented upstairs rooms. In 1992 when the originally mild tempered resident ghost "Willie" became unruly, knocking over floor lamps, turning on radios and making a nuisance of himself, he was asked to leave and has not returned.
6. W.D. Folwer House (Miller Home)
D. Fowler built this Victorian house around 1903, with his daughter Ninon Fowler Shull and family later living in the house. A shingled cupola and widow's walk are exterior features. Inside, the original stained woodwork accentuates two large pocket doors, opposite one another, closing off the dining and living rooms from the hallway. Three of the seven fireplaces are faced with their original colored tiles. A downstairs bedroom has beaded board ceiling because Mrs. Fowler did not want to sleep under a plaster ceiling. The widower of Shull's
7. Camp Hill
British Army Major Patrick Ferguson and his loyalist militia camped on this site in 1780, prior to their defeat by Patriots at the battle of Kings Mountain. The site has been called Camp Hill since that time. Around 1835, Benjamin Wofford built this Greek Revival style house for Dr. John Winsmith. Originally a simple upcountry farmhouse, by 1850, two wings, a doctor's office and a plantation office were added. Later, a pediment faced with fish-scale shingles popular at that time, was added to the porch. Instead of columns, these are square pillars, and inside, wooden mantels feature hand carved swirling rosettes and sunbursts. The massive English boxwood garden was planted for Dr. Winsmith's Charleston bride Catherine Faber. In 1882 Confederate veteran Elias Sanford Smith and wife Mary Wallace Poole Smith, a charter of the Glenn Springs Presbyterian Church, purchased the house and 975 acres of land from Winsmith's daughter. Elias Smith's son Dr. Albert Clifton Smith did woodworking in the mud-chinked former slave cabin behind the house and made some of the furniture still used in the house today. The original kitchen was demolished in the 1940s and one of the verandas was enclosed to serve as a kitchen. Since the purchase in 1882, Camp Hill has been home to six generations of the Smith family. Camp Hill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
8. McIIwaine Cabin (Southland Farm)
Around 1751 James McIlwaine and his party of seven or eight Scots-Irish families settled in the Glenn Springs area. McIlwaine built a log structure to live in until he completed his two-story log house, at which time the smaller structure became the kitchen. Approximately 225 years later George and Lee Crowe purchased the property, restored the larger structure, added
additional living space, and restored the smaller cabin, with its original flooring, fireplaces and chimney. The old well house has a working hand-dug well and an attached potting shed. The property, now owned by Thurman and Joanne Anderson, is called Southland Farm.
9. Storey Cabin
Around 1751, Henry Storey obtained a land grant from King George III, and, with his friend James McIlwayne, emigrated from Pennsylvania to the Indian frontier of the Glenn Springs area. He built this cabin just above the spring that feeds Storey Creek. His descendants, who still own the cabin and surrounding land, restored it in 1986 and added a modern kitchen and amenities.
10. Cedar Grove Plantation
Built by Judge Abraham Nott circa1790 in the Cedar Grove Community of Union County, Cedar Grove Plantation was given to his daughter Sophanisba Nott Moore. The house was believed to have been cut in sections and moved to its present location in 1834. Mrs. Moore's husband, Dr. Maurice Moore, was president of the joint stock company that formed the Glenn Springs
Company. In the 1870's the house was purchased by the Chapman family, who accepted guests when the hotel was full. In 1978, the Boggs family purchased the home and made careful renovations, restoring the house to its correct appearance. Today owned by the Turner family, Cedar Grove is on the National Register of Historic Places.
11. Paul Simpson House (Melotte House)
Paul Simpson, his family owning the Glenn Springs company and hotel, built this house in 1911. It was willed to Calvary Episcopal Church who later sold the property. In 1979, Dr. and Mrs. Harold Sears bought the home from Mary Margaret Lancaster, and began a major restoration doing most of the work themselves. In 2002, Drs. Melinda and Rick Moretz bought the home and completed additional restorations. Of particular interest is the beautiful staircase, built-in cupboard and pie safe, all crafted by carpenters from New York when the house was built. Today owned by the Melotte family, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
12. Casper Simpson House (Thornton Home)
Casper Simpson, one of the Simpson brothers associated with the Glenn Springs Company and hotel, built this frame bungalow style home in 1911. The front door with window facings on both sides was imported from England during construction of the house. Purchased by Earl Thornton in the 1940s, and still owned by the Thornton family, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
13. Calvary Episcopal Church
In January 1848 when J.D. McCullough came to Glenn Springs as principal of the Glenn Springs Academy, he was studying for the Holy Orders of the
Episcopal Church and began conducting services in the ballroom of the Glenn Springs hotel. On April 29,1848 a contract was made for $384 for enclosing a church building to be located across from the mineral spring. It would be of wood 42X23 feet in dimension with a square bell tower. On February 20, 1850, Calvary church was admitted into union with the convention and was consecrated on July 21, 1850. Dr. McCullough was advanced to the order of priest and became rector of Calvary where he served until his death on
January 26, 1902. In 1896 he designed and began construction of the present church. It was consecrated May 9,1897. Much of his craftsmanship can be seen in the beautiful wood altar, railing, pulpit and other furnishings. Dr. McCullough is credited with founding all the Episcopal churches in the upstate of South Carolina. He was chaplain of Holcombe's Legion out of Union during the War between the States. McCullough Hall was built in 1961. A three manual Johannus organ and handcrafted cabinets were installed in 2004. The cemetery is located at the site of the original church on Boys Home Road. Calvary is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
14. Glenn Springs Post Office
Originally constructed as a saddler's shop, the building began postal service to the community circa 1900 until it was closed in 1969. In the early 1970's William Hambrick had the building restored and moved to the current location. His daughters donated the post office to the Glenn Springs Preservation Society in 2015. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is currently undergoing refurbishment including repairs and painting of the outside. A new roof will be coming soon.