Ever seen this place? Share where you think it is by sending a guess to feedback@statehousereport.com. And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.
Our previous Mystery Photo
Our Oct. 25 image, “Big white building,” was, as many readers guessed, the big white courthouse in Colleton County.
Congratulations to the following alert readers: Dale Rhodes of Richmond, Va.; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Tray Hunter of Bluffton; Steve Willis of Lancaster; Barry Wingard and Jacie Godfrey, both of Florence; Don Clark and Bill Segars, both of Hartsville; Frank Bouknight of Summerville; Vic Carpenter of Lugoff; Philip Cromer of Beaufort; Henry Eldridge of Tega Cay; James Gainey of Conway; and Val Valenta of Columbia;
Segars said the big, white building was very recognizable: “It was finished as Colleton County’s Courthouse in 1822 by its builder William N. Thompson in Walterboro from plans started by William Jay in 1819 and completed by Robert Mills in 1820, upon Mills return to South Carolina. Even though it has had many additions and renovations completed on it, the building still holds many of Mills’ trademark design features such as fireproof brick construction covered with stucco and a Greek Revival style of appearance. It was listed in the National Register on May 14, 1971.
Graf added this context: “The design of the courthouse is attributed to the architect Robert Mills. Robert Mills (1781-1855), a South Carolina architect known for designing both the first Washington Monument, located in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as the better known monument to the first president in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. He is sometimes said to be the first native-born American to be professionally trained as an architect.”
Valenta added info from the historical marker outside the building: “Its historical significance is derived from the fact that the first public meeting on nullification was held here in June 1828. At this meeting, Robert Barnwell Rhett delivered his militant Walterboro address urging Governor John Taylor to call an immediate session of the state legislature for the purpose of openly resisting tariff laws. In late October 1828, James Hamilton, Jr. organized a second meeting here and proclaimed the necessity of ‘nullification by the state…of the unauthorized act.’”
- Send us a mystery: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!