Cedar Bluff

National Register Listing

Street Address:

SC 49, Union, SC (Union County)

Alternate Name:

Byrd Murphy House

---

NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817744008

Description and Narrative:

(Byrd Murphy House) Cedar Bluff was constructed by Byrd Murphy, justice of the peace, planter and mill owner. Built ca. 1790, the clapboard house is an early example of an upcountry farmhouse, or I-House, probably of Pennsylvania derivation. Its formerly enclosed staircase and the lack of a central hall indicate a Germanic influence that came to South Carolina from Pennsylvania via Virginia and North Carolina. The small, two-storied clapboard structure has a one-story shed porch supported by square plank columns with intercolumnar balustrade. Shouldered brick gable-end chimneys are supported on fieldstone foundations. The house is constructed of hewn mortise-and-tendon timbers. It originally sat on fieldstone pillars and rough course foundation, which has since been replaced by cement block. A wing containing a kitchen with fireplace, bedroom, and bathroom was added to the rear of the house after 1900 and is partially contained within the earlier shed roof addition. The interior features original mantels. Listed in the National Register June 20, 1974.

Period of Significance:

circa 1790

Level of Significance:

Local

Area of Significance:

Politics/Government;Architecture;Commerce;Military

National Register Determination:

listed

Date of Certification:

July 20 1974

---