White House (Rock Hill, South Carolina)
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White Home
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| Location | 258 E. White St., Rock Hill, South Carolina |
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| Coordinates | 34°55′33″N 81°1′18″W / 34.92583°N 81.02167°WCoordinates: 34°55′33″N 81°1′18″W / 34.92583°N 81.02167°W |
| Area | 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) |
| Built | 1837 |
| Website | http://historicrockhill.com/whitehome/ |
| NRHP Reference # | 69000176 |
| Added to NRHP | December 3, 1969 |
The White Home in Rock Hill, South Carolina is a small historical museum. Five generations of the White family lived in the house between 1837 and 2005. Over the years, the home transformed from a one room cottage into an eighteen room, two story house. It is located in the Reid Street-North Confederate Avenue Area Historic District.
The White Home offers guided and self-guided tours, a gift shop featuring local artists and writers, and meeting space for special events. The museum is owned and operated by the organization Historic Rock Hill which purchased and restored the house. Historic Rock Hill's headquarters are located on the second floor.
The White Home was originally built in 1837, but has undergone extensive renovations and expansions since then. George Pendleton White and Ann Hutchison White purchased the land from Alexander Templeton Black and moved into the original one-room cabin in 1837. They started out with 153 acres of land. George and Ann began to make additions to the one-room cottage soon after their arrival.
After George's death on February 25, 1849, Ann continued making renovations until the cottage became a large two-story home. To sustain herself and her four small children Ann rented rooms to boarders, particularly during the Civil War, who often paid her in furniture as they fled from the approaching Union Army. Ann was able to afford the building project because of a considerable inheritance left to her by her older brother, Hiram Hutchison.
Aside from paying boarders, Ann had a room set aside - the "Prophet's Chamber" - for travelling ministers passing through Rock Hill. Ann White was also renowned for her generous participation in the community, including donations to schools and the building of Rock Hill's first Presbyterian Church.
The White Home began as a one-room cottage, which now serves as the gift shop. There is a separate log cabin behind the house which was designed as a kitchen.
After her husband died, Ann White took over management of the family's finances. Due to laws regarding inheritance, she was only authorized to act as a steward for her son. As a result, she was forced to keep meticulous receipts of everything she purchased. These receipts were found preserved in the attic when the White Home was refurbished into a museum. These receipts provide information about what types of supplies Ann White purchased, where she purchased them, and how much they cost.
In 1849, a room known as "the Prophet's Chamber" was built on the second floor. This room was specifically set aside to host travelling ministers.
When Ann's brother, Hiram Hutchison, died on October 22, 1856, he left a fortune to Ann. She used this money to make additional expansions to the White Home, as well as some aesthetic changes beginning in 1859. One change was the addition of a front porch in 1859.
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Wikipedia