Dunklin, James, House

National Register Listing

Street Address:

544 W. Main St., Laurens, SC (Laurens County)

Alternate Name:

Williams-Watts-Todd-Dunklin House

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NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817730006

Description and Narrative:

(Williams-Watts-Todd-Dunklin House) Constructed ca. 1812 by Washington Williams for his daughter and her husband, the Dunklin House is one of the oldest homes in Laurens. In 1843 Samuel Todd, a physician, bought the two-story frame house that is set on a raised brick basement. Reflecting the respectability and local prominence of its owners, the house is a well-built upcountry farmhouse, or I-House. The heart-pine shiplap and clapboard exterior, the wide porch, and the symmetrical arrangement of windows and door are typical of the nineteenth century vernacular style in South Carolina. Unusual exterior features include the informally spaced columns and two pipe-stem chimneys. The rear façade has been altered. An 1845 wing was removed in 1950 and converted into a six-room apartment building located behind the main house. At this time a first-floor sun porch was added to the rear of the house. The house is located in the center of Laurens, and the settling basins of the city waterworks adjoin the 400-foot long lot at the rear. In addition to the main house, outbuildings include a renovated slave cabin, a garage apartment, and a reconstruction of a kitchen at Colonial Williamsburg. Listed in the National Register October 1, 1974.

Period of Significance:

circa 1812

Level of Significance:

Local

Area of Significance:

Architecture

National Register Determination:

listed

Date of Certification:

October 1 1974

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