Moore House/Ivy Hill Shop     65     8 N. Congress St.

A pivotal building.  This building stands on one of the original lots laid out by Colonel William Hill when he planned Yorkville.  This two-story Georgian building, reflective of Robert Mills design, displays simple symmetrical lines.  Windows are 9/9 on the second floor.  The “Moore House” was built in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, perhaps by Benjamin Chambers.  He sold it to John Starr Moore in 1823 for $4,000.  Moore died in 1860, leaving the property to his three sons.  Remarkably for the chaotic times that followed the War Between the States, the house remained in the Moore family until 1937.  John Starr Moore's granddaughter, Miss Maggie Moore, was the last relative living here and supported herself by serving as Postmistress.  The post office was located in the house.  Frank Simrill, owner of an oil company then located next door, bought the property and converted it into a Chevrolet auto dealership, which greatly altered the downstairs and front structure.  The present owners acquired the house in 1986.  The woodwork and architectural ornamentation in the upstairs are mostly original.  The floors are heart pine.  An interesting detail is the Roman numeral windows.  The windows are pegged and were evidently handmade to fit each space.  To insure each was installed in the proper position, Roman numerals were carved in the frame of each.  The original kitchen still stands and is now connected to the main house.

A pivotal building.  The W. Bedford Moore House and Store Building is the finest classical building in the commercial area.  The upper portion is intact with full Doric columns supporting an entablature which is decorated with dentil molding.  A Palladian entranceway on the second floor displays a fanlight, sidelights, and a central window.  The lower doorway is intact with a fanlight and pilasters.  Originally, the second-floor balcony extended over the sidewalk to the street and was supported on the street front by brick and iron columns.  The rooms on the second floor of the south store were originally living quarters.  Later it was occupied by the Bedford Telephone Company switchboard, then the Piedmont Telephone Company, and then Southern Bell.  The area over the north store consisted of a large room divided by folding doors which could be opened to accommodate large gatherings.  It was later divided into smaller rooms for a dentist and physician.  Owner/Occupants are William and Pamela Perkins.

After serving as Dr. Rufus Bratton's medical office, this building was the location of the White Rose Café.  Its architecture features crenulated stucco over bricks which were handmade from York County clay.  The wood ceilings are of a style unique to York.

A pivotal building.  Built in the 1850's, the Brandon House is York's finest clapboard building still remaining on Main Street.  After the War Between the States, the street level was converted to shop space and the upper level was living quarters.  This was to remain the pattern for almost 100 years.  A homestyle restaurant owned and run by local residents of Greek heritage occupied the building from the late 1890's to the 1940's.  Known as the York Candy Kitchen, this colorful restaurant was the “town's kitchen table.”  York native John Lundgren, an Atlanta interior designer, began extensive restoration of the Brandon House in 1986.  Mr. Lundgren kept the first floor retail and the upper floor residential by creating a guesthouse.  Following Mr. Lundgren's death in 1991, use of the guesthouse has been discontinued.  Note the Charleston gardens to the side and back of the building.

A pivotal building.  The Yorkville Enquirer brought out its first issue January 4, 1855, in a seven-column folio published by L. M. Grist and friends.  By the time the War Between the States broke out, L. M. Grist and family were the sole owners and lived in a home next door to the building.  They had subscribers in nearly every Southern state.

In 1861, L. M. Grist left to serve the Confederacy, and his father John C. Grist took over the paper until the close of the war.  Only twice did the publication fail to come out semi-weekly during these years, and that was due to the lack of paper.

From 1866 the paper grew until fire destroyed the original building in 1890.  The Grist family built the present structure in 1891 and continued to publish the paper.  It is a fine example of 1890 architecture that displays Victorian symmetry.  The cornice features foliage design, leaf work, a motif and dentil molding.  False windows are also located on the building.  The building has a hurricane support system with star designs visible on the sides of the building.  These “earthquake rods” are visible on a number of buildings in the business area, many being installed after the Charleston earthquake of 1896.

The ARP Church in York was organized in 1853 and built a permanent meeting house on East Madison Street in 1855.  It was a large wooden building and stood adjoining the lot the present building occupies.  Built in 1913, the present church is classically designed and is similar to Robert Mills architecture (window location, false windows, raised pilasters, classical façade).  This brick building features heavy dentil molding on the cornice, a raised sunburst, Ionic columns to support the portico, and a raised granite foundation.

A pivotal house.  The Herndon House was owned by three generations of Herndons. Joseph Herndon was an American from Virginia, who purchased the house, circa 1820.  It was originally built as a Southern frame house with 2 over 2 architectural configurations.  The house had significant architectural renovation twice in the past: about 1860, when the upper and lower piazza and the octagonal rooms in the back of the house were added, and again when R. W. Herndon, son of Joseph, added the widow's walk and side porches.  The well house, summer kitchen and carriage house were believed to be built at the same time as the original house.

The house is a monolithic monument to historical events in York.  It is said that Herndon, who was seven years old when the Civil War ended, recalled seeing Jefferson Davis, who was fleeing Richmond with his servant, Andy, as they visited York.  He also recalled playing around horses during the encampment of the 7th Cavalry unit then stationed in York (#44).  Present owner-occupant is Mrs. Carol Sutton.

A pivotal house.  Built in the 1820's by Joshua Goore, this house was a stagecoach tavern known as Southwestern Hotel.  In 1847 it was purchased by Mrs. Benjamin (Elizabeth Anne) Neely, who used several small outbuildings as boarding rooms for young ladies attending the local Female Academy.  Mrs. Neely sold the property to Colonel W. H. McCorkle, Confederate veteran and for many years County Probate Judge.  Colonel McCorkle planted the now-huge magnolia trees to mark the Secession of South Carolina to begin the Confederacy.  A local businessman, B. Nelly Moore, next acquired the house and later sold it to Mr. Carl Howard.  The Greek Revival façade on the front of the house is a later addition to the originally simple Georgian design.  All the walls inside the structure are of solid brick.  Local legend has it that his house was considered for set use as “Tara” in Gone With the Wind but was turned down because of the close proximity to the street and neighboring homes, which would prevent necessary distant photography.

The Marion House was built as a townhouse (circa 1825).  Twin parlors flank the entrance hall.  Believed to have been built by Judge J. M. Ross, it has housed only five families in its 200 years. Judge Ross was married to a granddaughter of Colonel William Hill, a patriot who gained local fame in the Revolutionary cause, and who owned the land and laid out the streets and lots where York is now situated.  About 1860, Colonel McLean's second wife was Clara Dargan, poetess and composer of “Ode to Kings Mountain”.  The Marion family acquired the home in the 1920's.  It was at this time that the grounds were extensively landscaped and the façade, porches and rear additions added.  Larry and Pat Wilcox next owned and restored the house.  Present owner-occupant is Mrs. Iris Goins.

A pivotal house.  Originally the Finley family homesite, the present house is the third to occupy this location.  When David E. Finley became a U.S. Congressman, he built a Greek Revival home to replace the house his family had lived in for generations.  J. Ross Cannon of the Cannon Mills family (#105) traded houses with the Finley family and built the present house in 1923.

It features Georgian detailing.  Indiana limestone was carved on the site for much of the architectural detailing and for the window surrounds and cartouche over the front entry doors.  The fine wainscoting, mantels, crown mouldings, stair balustrades and risers, French doors, and surrounds in all the main rooms received seventeen coats of paint.  The Italian painters used pumice finish.  The house was purchased in 1943 by Clyde B. and Ora Gettys Smith and was restored and operated for more than a decade as the Clyde-Ora Inn.

A Dr. Mitche Star Magnolia tree, one of the oldest and largest of this species in the country, stands in the front garden area to the left of the house.  Owner-occupants are Mr. & Mrs. Clyde O. Smith.

A pivotal house.  Built in 1852 by Colonel William Wright, this Tuscan Villa style home is a reminder of the prosperity of pre-war days.  Notable of this home and the Tuscan Villa style is its symmetrical box shape with “flatter” roof.  A veranda extends across the front and two sides.  The windows are topped with a rounded pediment.

Colonel Wright was the first president of the local Kings Mountain railroad, which extended from the mainline in Gastonia to York.  He and his wife adopted a niece, Margaret Wright, and presented the home to her as a wedding gift when she became the second wife of Judge Isaac D. Witherspoon.  A daughter of the Witherspoon's, “Miss Lesslie,” occupied the old home until her death in 1959.

A pivotal house.  This 2½ story Victorian building has a low hip roof.  Two bays, with hip and gable roof, are located on the front.  A one-story porch with a hip roof encompasses the front and left side of the house.  The porch displays decorative carvings and brackets.  The exterior is composed of horizontal and vertical beaded clapboard.  The building sits on a raised brick foundation.  Owner-occupants are Mr. & Mrs. R. B. Scott.

This house was built and occupied in 1904 by Rufus M. Carroll, a former member of the South Carolina Legislature and a Confederate veteran.  It is said that the dwelling was constructed from lumber cut from his lands in the Sharon-Bullocks Creek area.

At his death in 1908, title to the property passed to his daughter, Marie Carroll Wallace.  At her death in 1941, title passed to her son, Rufus Wallace.

This was the last house built on the east side of this block of North Congress Street, which at that time contained only dwellings.  The structure of this Georgian house is considered to be somewhat unusual.  Of interest is a circular one story open porch which features a corbeled cornice.  Present owner-occupants are Mr. & Mrs. Rufus M. Wallace.

This pedestrian park, donated by Joseph E. Hart, Jr., and developed by the Yorkville Historical Society and the Clean Community Committee, is located on the site of the home of Mr. Hart's grandfather, W. Bedford Moore, and is a memorial to him.  The park was established in 1985 and is maintained by the City of York.

Built in 1884 by L. Lowry Smith, this house is on the site of a two-story brick academy known as the Franklin Institute.  Purchased in 1885 by Captain J. Robert Lindsay, the home was sold shortly thereafter to the David E. Finley family.  When Mr. Finley was elected to the U.S. House in 1899, the Lindsays reoccupied the residence.  Mrs. Lindsay always kept in her home a “prophet's chamber” for use by visiting Presbyterian ministers.  Present owner-occupants are Mr. & Mrs. Charles Medlin.

Built in the late 1800s by Mr. Johnson in the classic revival style, the home includes fireplaces and mantels in all original rooms, plaster ceilings on the first floor and beaded tongue and groove ceilings in the upper rooms.  The central hallway measures eleven feet in width, and all rooms exit to the main hall through pocket doors.  The exterior features an oversize porch, supported by 16 columns encompassing three sides of the house.  The front door is encased by triple sidelights and transom.  Mr. & Mrs. Wood Caldwell are the present occupants.