Fort Hill, also known as the John C. Calhoun House and Library, is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on the

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

campus in Pickens County,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, United States, near the City of Clemson.
- The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''outside'' of the Clemson city limits. From 1825-1850, the house was the home of noted proponent of slavery and constitutional

Nullification Nullification may refer to: * Nullification (U.S. Constitution), a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify any federal law deemed unconstitutional with respect to the United States Constitution ** Nullification crisis, the 1832 confron ...

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. Born in South Carolina, he adamantly defended American s ...

, the 7th

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

was established on the Fort Hill slave-operated plantation site in 1889, and in accordance with the terms of its inheritance, has maintained the house and its immediate parcel as a museum and library — all that remains of what originally was an approximately 1,000 acre plantation estate.

History

The house was originally built as a four-room house about 1803 and was called Clergy Hall by Dr. James McElhenny, who was the pastor of Hopewell Presbyterian Church. The house later became the home of

and his wife

Floride Calhoun Floride Bonneau Calhoun (née Colhoun; February 15, 1792 – July 25, 1866) was the wife of U.S. politician John C. Calhoun. She was known for her leading role in the Petticoat affair, which occurred during her husband's service as vic ...

in 1825. Calhoun enlarged it to 14 rooms and renamed it Fort Hill for nearby Fort Rutledge, which was built around 1776. The architectural style is

Greek revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

with Federal detailing and with simple interior detailing. After John Calhoun's death in 1850, the property and the 50 slaves there passed to his wife to be shared with three of her children: Cornelia, John, and Anna Maria, wife of

Thomas Green Clemson Thomas Green Clemson (July 1, 1807April 6, 1888) was an American politician and statesman, serving as Chargés d'Affaires to Belgium, and United States Superintendent of Agriculture. He served in the Confederate Army and founded Clemson Univers ...

. Anna sold her share to Floride Calhoun. Floride Calhoun sold the

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

to her son, Andrew Pickens Calhoun, and held the mortgage. After Andrew died in 1865, she filed for

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has Default (finance), stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the Collateral (finance), coll ...

against Andrew's heirs before her death in 1866. After lengthy legal proceedings, the plantation was auctioned at Walhalla in 1872. The executor of her estate won the auction, which was divided among her surviving heirs. Her daughter, Anna Clemson, received the residence with about and her great-granddaughter, Floride Isabella Lee, received about . Thomas Green and Anna Clemson moved into Fort Hill in 1872. After Anna's death in 1875, Thomas Green Clemson inherited Fort Hill. In his 1888 will, Clemson bequeathed more than of the Fort Hill estate to the State of South Carolina for an agricultural college with a stipulation that the dwelling house "shall never be torn down or altered; but shall be kept in repair with all articles of furniture and vesture...and shall always be open for inspection of visitors."

has operated Fort Hill as a house museum as stipulated in the will. The house is all that remains of what was once an extensive plantation estate. The home was designated a

in 1960. and Fort Hill was closed for a two-year restoration project and was reopened in the spring of 2003. Fort Hill was named a national treasure by the

Save America's Treasures Save America's Treasures is a United States federal government initiative to preserve and protect historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public–private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Tru ...

program, and its artifacts are currently undergoing a comprehensive conservation program funded by this

federal grant In the United States, federal grants are economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general federal revenue. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purp ...

and

matching funds Matching funds are funds that are set to be paid in proportion to funds available from other sources. Matching fund payments usually arise in situations of charity or public good. The terms cost sharing, in-kind, and matching can be used inter ...

References

External links

History

See also

References

External links