Willcox Inn
Historic Property
Alternate Name:
Willcox's
Street Address:
100 Colleton Ave. SW, Aiken, SC (Aiken County)
Site Number:
03_0021
Control Number:
U/03/0021
Date Surveyed:
October 28 2009
Category:
Building
Construction Date:
circa 1898
Alteration Date:
circa 1928
Historic Use:
Commerce/Trade
Current Use:
Commerce/Trade
Historic Core Shape:
Irregular
Number of Stories:
3
Construction Method:
frame
Exterior Walls Materials:
Weatherboard
Foundation Materials:
Brick
National Register Determination:
listed;
Signficant Architectural Features:
Prominent front-gabled main block; 2 story columned (Doric) entrance; bay windows; classical entablature; window hoods; broken pediment over entry; weatherboard siding; dormers. Prev. SHPO No. 623; Individually listed
Alterations:
Several additions from 1898 to 1928 have created its current configuration
Historical Information:
At the heart of Aiken’s Winter Colony activities was Willcox’s, an internationally known inn operated from 1898 to 1957 by members of the Willcox family. Reflecting the influence of both Second Empire and Colonial Revival styles, Willcox’s, which was established in 1898 by Frederick Sugden Willcox, assumed its present form in 1928 when the last of several additions was made to the hostelry. Set on a masonry foundation, the three-story weatherboarded hotel has a partial basement and standing seam metal roof. The plan of the building is irregular in shape, consisting of a central block with asymmetrical wings. Although unified by design, the two wings and core of the hotel were built at different times during the Willcox’s fifty-nine years of operation. After acquiring the property in 1898, Frederick Willcox and his family moved into a one and one-half story vernacular Victorian cottage at the Corner of Colleton Ave. and Chesterfield Street. Around 1900, the home was remodeled, linking it to a newly constructed three-story building by a porte cochere and one-story lobby. A porch that extended down the façade and right elevation was enclosed with windows to serve as the inn’s dining room. Joseph Eways, who bought the hotel at a 1957 auction, tore down the modified house and old lobby around 1970. The ca. 1900 rectangular building built to house winter guests still stands and is now the east wing of the hotel complex. Of Aiken’s once famous resort hostelries, only Willcox’s is still standing. Listed in the National Register March 19, 1982.
Source of Historical Information:
“Wilcox'st” [On-Line]; available from http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/aiken/S10817702013/index.html; Internet. Accessed April 22, 2010.
Survey:
City of Aiken Historic Resources Survey, Aiken County, South Carolina. May 2010
Quadrangle Name:
Aiken