Price's Post Office or the Price House is a house built c. 1800 in

Spartanburg County, South Carolina Spartanburg County is a County (United States), county located on the northwestern border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 327,997, making it the fifth-most populous county ...

. Its name in the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

is Prices Post Office. It is located at the intersection of Oak View Farm Road (South Carolina State Highway 42–200), Old Switzer Road (South Carolina State Highway 42–199), and Price House Road (South Carolina State Highway 42–86). It was named to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on October 28, 1969.

History

Thomas Price moved to the Spartanburg District around 1793. He was a landowner and entrepreneur. He operated a general store and post office next to his house. The post office was operated from about 1811 to 1820. He farmed about . The house was on the

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offi ...

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

line to

Cross Anchor, South Carolina Cross Anchor is a Census-designated place in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population in the 2010 United States Census was 126. History A community post office called Cross Anchor has been in operation since 1809. Cross A ...

. He operated a "publick house" or tavern and stagecoach stop. When his wife, Anne, died in 1821, she left a forty-two page inventory of the estate. In addition to the house furnishings, the inventory included 25 slaves and agricultural machinery. Going beyond "frontier-level," the furnishings included a curtained

four poster bed __NOTOC__ A four-poster bed is a bed with four vertical columns, one in each corner, that support a tester, or upper (usually rectangular) panel. This tester or panel will often have rails to allow curtains to be pulled around the bed. There ar ...

, an 8-day clock, a desk, and a bookcase, and volumes of the ''Spectator'', the ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'' and other publications. The farm equipment included grindstones, a loom, a spinning wheel, a cotton picking machine, and riding chaise. Just after the Civil War, the house came into the hands of Captain George Bobo Dean and, according to Landrum's ''History of Spartanburg County'' it was his primary residence until he was elected Sheriff of Spartanburg and moved into town. In the Will of George B. Dean, the house (called "My Prince Place") was given to his eldest son, James Madison Dean. It remained in the Dean family until about 1936 when it was bought by the Spartanburg County Historical Association. It is a now historic house museum operated by the Spartanburg County Historical Association. It is open on Sunday afternoons throughout the year, on Saturdays in the summer, and by reservations.

Architecture

The house is a -story, brick house with a

gambrel A gambrel or gambrel roof is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. (The usual architectural term in eighteenth-century England and North America was "Dutch roof".) The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, w ...

roof. At that time, a gambrel roof was unusual in

upstate South Carolina The Upstate is the region in the westernmost part of South Carolina, United States, also known as the Upcountry, which is the historical term. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the commerc ...

. The thick brickwork on the house is

Flemish bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and Mortar (masonry), mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''Course (architecture), courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks ...

with darkened headers. The rooms are paneled with wood on the walls and ceilings. The first floor has a parlor, called the Pine Room because of its wood paneling, and a large dining room for both the family and stagecoach riders. These two rooms are separated by a central hallway that extends through each story. The second floor has one small and two large bedrooms. The top floor under the eaves has one bedroom for male travelers and one for female travelers. An extension was built to the rear around 1820. The extension was probably built as quarters for the servants. It is constructed of

English bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by si ...

, and is now a kitchen.

References

External links

*
Historic Price House
- Spartanburg County Historical Association * {{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Historic American Buildings Survey in South Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Post office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Houses completed in 1800 Historic house museums in South Carolina Museums in Spartanburg County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Spartanburg County, South Carolina Houses in Spartanburg County, South Carolina