Dial, Allen, House
National Register Listing
Street Address:
SR 729, Laurens, SC City Vicinity (Laurens County)
Alternate Name:
The Valley; Cedar Valley Farm
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817730011
Description and Narrative:
(The Valley; Cedar Valley Farm) The Allen Dial House, built ca. 1855 by Allen Dial, is the best example of mid-nineteenth century Greek Revival raised cottage architecture in Laurens County. It is a vernacular interpretation of the Greek Revival style, translating the design to suit the upcountry climate, building materials, and methods. The house is built on a high stuccoed masonry foundation, which forms the basement story. The rectangular one and one-half story house is sheathed in narrow width weatherboard with flush board under the front and rear porticos. The façade has as its central feature a pedimented portico supported by four paired and fluted pillars. The portico tympanum has a fanlight style lunette. The door surround is composed of a pilastered ornamental architrave with decorative corner blocks and features an unusual grid designed glass and molding transom and sidelights. The home has a metal-covered gable roof and has a landscaped garden. The formally landscaped boxwood garden is further refinement of the Greek Revival style. A rectangular one-story outbuilding, originally a kitchen, stands about six feet to the west of the house. Additionally, one outbuilding, a log structure reputedly contemporary with the house, stands at the southwest side of the house. Allen Dial (1811-1894) was a successful farmer, a self-taught doctor, and a leader in Chestnut Ridge Baptist Church. Listed in the National Register January 21, 1982.
Period of Significance:
1855
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Architecture
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
January 21 1982
