Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District
National Register Listing
Street Address:
Presbyterian College Campus, Clinton, SC (Laurens County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817730012
Description and Narrative:
The Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District comprises the historic cores of Presbyterian College and the Thornwell Home and School for Children, together with the adjacent residential streets. There are a total of fifty-two buildings and structures within the district. Although the oldest building in the district dates from ca. 1850, the majority of the buildings were constructed in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, with the emergence of the college and the orphanage. Presbyterian College is unified around the central mall, according to the campus plan drawn in 1912 by the New York City landscape engineer Charles W. Leavitt, Jr. This plan has governed the development of the college; the newer, non-historic buildings on campus are thus rendered more compatible with the old. Noted Columbia architect Charles Coker Wilson designed Neville Hall, a campus building. Most of the Presbyterian College buildings are of the Georgian Revival style and are built of brick. Other styles represented in the district include Italianate, Romanesque Revival, Colonial Revival, Neo-Classical, Queen Anne, and Bungalow. The Thornwell campus is unified by consistency of materials and by scale; stone construction is used throughout the informal campus. The college and the children’s home are historically connected through Dr. William Jacobs, who was responsible for the founding of both institutions. Listed in the National Register March 5, 1982.
Period of Significance:
circa 1850 – 1935
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Social History;Education;Architecture
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
March 5 1982
