Browntown
National Register Listing
Street Address:
SC 341, Johnsonville, SC Vicinity of City (Florence County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817721003
Description and Narrative:
Browntown is a unique collection of buildings reflecting the self-sufficient way of life practiced by several generations of the Brown family during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Moses Brown and his son and grandsons were self-sufficient farmers who operated their own brick kiln, grist mill, lumber mill, cotton gin, retail and wholesale mercantile business, and school. The property nominated contains the eleven remaining Browntown buildings, including the cotton gin building, three residences, the school, a tobacco barn, and several outbuildings. Architecturally, these buildings, which include examples of both log and frame construction, reflect the building technologies of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In addition, the cotton gin building, which was built on the site, is significant in the field of engineering. The buildings at Browntown are grouped in two complexes, one group adjacent to the road and the other across the fields around the cotton gin building. The rustic character of the frame buildings, the weathered wood, and the plowed fields establish a distinct rural character that unifies the complex. Listed in the National Register June 28, 1982.
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Architecture;Engineering
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
June 28 1982
