Hightower Hall
National Register Listing
Street Address:
York County Rd 165 (York County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817746017
Description and Narrative:
Built ca. 1853 for John Simpson Bratton II, a locally prominent planter and politician, Hightower Hall is a significant vernacular interpretation of the Italianate style. Bratton, a wealthy planter, served two terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives, as postmaster of Brattonsville, and was a member of the Soldiers Board of Relief during the Civil War. The two-story frame house is named for a tower that rises ten feet above the main roof of the house that was reportedly designed as an observation platform so that Bratton could watch over his plantation. Along with the prominent three-story tower, the house features a low-pitched roof, deep eaves, brackets and verandas all common to the Italianate style. The house is weatherboarded with a raised brick basement. The porches rest on high brick piers and feature chamfered square posts, sawn brackets, stickwork friezes, and sawn ornament in their balustrades. Hightower Hall is also noteworthy for its trompe l-oeil painting, simulating marble pilasters, in its first floor central hall. The plantation includes four original outbuildings, two barns and two slave cabins. An unidentified Englishman reportedly designed the gardens of Hightower Hall. Listed in the National Register June 28, 1982.
Period of Significance:
circa 1853
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Social History;Architecture;Other
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
June 28 1982
