!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1884 HISTORICAL HOUSE SPARTANBURG, SC

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1 1884 HISTORICAL HOUSE SPARTANBURG, SC

2 Southern Accents Mission Statement Southern Accents Architectural Antiques mission is to rescue, restore, and protect architectural elements of historical significance. It is never our mission to tear down or demolish any historical structure. We only come on the scene after a structure has been scheduled for demolition by the property owner. We are the guys you WANT to see before the bulldozers move in. Our goal with any salvage operation is to safely remove any and all architectural elements that can be re-purposed and recycled. We view each salvage operation as a rescue mission. Even when a property can not be saved, many elements from the interior and exterior can be salvaged and given a new life. Preserving a piece of history for future generations is a mission that we take seriously. Although Southern Accents is a salvage company, we also view ourselves as preservationists. In our continued preservation efforts, we have embarked on a process of documenting some of our salvage missions. Our goal in documenting a structure that we salvage is to record its history, therefore preserving its memory for future generations. We do this by having our in house photographer document the salvage project through photographs. Our in house architect takes measurements and draws out blueprints. We also work to gather as much historical data as is available. All information is then gathered, organized, and published online and in print form.

3 Bon Haven - Spartanburg, South Carolina Bon Haven, also known, as the Cleveland house, was built in 1884 by John Bomar Cleveland ( ) at a cost of $10,000. John was instrumental in the growth and development of Spartanburg. Upon his death in 1928 he was heralded as the town s first citizen. Cleveland was a founder and trustee of Converse College, a trustee of Wofford College, and he played an instrumental role in establishing Spartanburg s city school system. He organized and served as president of Whitney Mills and was instrumental in establishing the town s first bank, First National Bank of Spartanburg. From 1904 until his death in 1928, Cleveland served as vice president of the South Carolina Historical Society. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives between 1878 and John and his wife Georgia raised six children in the Spartanburg House. On rainy days the children would skate in the floored attic. The house and property have remained in the Cleveland family since it s construction. The house has been vacant since 1995, upon the death of the last family member to occupy the house.

4 John grew up with one brother, Jesse. According to accounts from John s only surviving great-grandchild, Dexter Cleveland, John and his brother Jesse were very close. Jesse built a home on the other side of town almost identical to Bon Haven. It was eventually torn down and the land donated to build Cleveland Elementary School. Bon Haven was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 29, The following description was taken from the nomination form. Bon Haven, built ca. 1884, is a Second Empire style structure located in downtown Spartanburg, SC. Two stories set upon a raised granite basement, it features a Mansard roof and large central tower. The front facade is distinguished by the Mansard-roofed tower and Ionic portico. The tower is square in plan with decorative corbeling of Tudor design, and the Mansard roof is accentuated with oeil-deboeuf dormers. The four massive Ionic columns are set upon stone bases and support a heave entablature, which is embellished with modillions. Running the length of the second story is a piazza supported by smaller Doric columns. Both the Doric piazza and Ionic portico were added to the structure ca The double front doors are flanked by limestone paneled pilasters of the Tuscan order with a segmentally arched transom above. French doors are located to each side of this central portal. The left side is basically a reiteration of the design of the front, featuring a second story piazza and four Ionic columns supporting a heavy entablature. At the far end there is a one-story porch which extends around a portion of the rear. This porch is original to the house and differs from the others by featuring slender wooden columns with decorative fretwork, brackets, and flat scrolled balustrades. A brick kitchen is located at the rear of the structure. It was originally detached from the house, but has since been connected. The right facade is divided into three bays. The central section is extended several feet and has three windows on both stories. The side sections have two windows on each floor, the lower front two of which are projected in an octagonal bay in the first section.

5 Windows are primarily 2/2 and are arched in a variety of shapes. Some are semicircular, others segmental, yet others are Tudor. Several of the windows have dripstone or label moldings, while those along the Mansard roof have semicircular cornices. Interior: The main floor features a central hallway with walnut stairway at its rear. To the right of the hall are the drawing room, dining room, pantry and breakfast room; to the left are the sitting room, library and a bedroom. On the second floor there is a small room at the front of the hall and three bedrooms on each side of the hall. There is a tower room, and the attic is floored. There are nine fireplaces, the original mantels of which were removed in The front sitting room, dining room, and hall have plaster rosettes, as did the dining room originally. The paneling in the drawing room and front hall is walnut; that of the dining room is oak. The wallpaper in the dining room is French (circa 1928). The newel posts, and Octagonal fluted spindles, and handrail of the stairway is of walnut. The threads and riser boards are of southern yellow pine. Surroundings: Bon Haven is situated on approximately 6.39 acres in downtown Spartanburg, but is hidden from view by extensive landscaping. To the rear of the structure were brick servants quarters, to the side was a brick tea house and the remains of a formal garden. The rock for the granite foundation came from a quarry on the original 91 acres. The bricks for the first story were made by hand on the site. Lines were later painted in to represent the mortar joints. The bricks on the second and third floor stories are machine pressed. The window sills and front door frame are of Indiana limestone. Visit our YouTube Channel to view a video tour of Bon Haven.

6 Mary Patterson Cleveland, the wife of John s son, renovated the house in the 1920 s and replaced the original wooden porch columns with ornate, Tuscan limestone columns. Two-story Ionic columns on dressed granite bases were added, four at each entrance. She also added a second story piazza. Rumor is, Mary added the piazza because she wanted a place to sunbathe. Access to the second story piazza was via the windows.

7 Entry from the front porch of this magnificent house lead to the front tiled floor foyer. The foyer was enclosed by four sets of beautiful double doors. The drawing room lay beyond the doors on the right, the keeping room on the left. Beyond the foyer was a walnut staircase leading to the second story. The foyer floor was tiled while the walls were covered with French wallpaper and walnut wainscoting. The first floor also housed a library, bedroom and bath to the left and a dining room, pantry, and breakfast room to the right. The once detached kitchen was located at the back of the house. Behind and under the staircase was a stairway leading down to the boiler room.

8 Keeping room to the left of the front foyer. (Looking left from Foyer) Drawing room to the right of the front foyer.

9 The kitchen, located at the back of the house, was originally detached but later connected to the house with the addition of an enclosed breezeway.

10 The walnut staircase leading to the second story included a mechanical chair lift.

11 The second story contained six bedrooms, each with it s own fireplace.

12 Upstairs bedrooms.

13 The blue ceiling and little gold stars attached to it are the only reminders of what use to be a nursery. It was in this second story room that one of the babies died of crib death. We were told by one of the only surviving family members that his grandmother never fully recovered from the death of the baby, which might explain why the room was never repainted. At some point shelves were added and the room was used to house well over 3,000 books.

14 On rainy days the children would roller skate in the attic. Names can be seen scribbled on one wall. Records indicate that there was an Alice Cleveland born in 1887 to John and Georgia Cleveland.

15 This stairway, located in the attic, lead to the tower room.

16 The tea house sits in the midst of what use to be a formal garden. This is where many garden parties were held.

17 Bon Haven was one of the first homes to have indoor plumbing. It was the first private residence in the area to have a fire hydrant on the property, which was very unusual. There were however unusual circumstances associated with the installation of the fire hydrant, John Cleveland founded the first water works

18 Towardsthebackofthe6.39acrepropertysitsagarage,theremainsofwhatuseto beaplayhouse,arootcellar,andanoldchimney,theonlyremainsfromwhatwas thehelpsquarters.

19 Bonhavenwasknownforit sbeautifulformalgarden.belowisacopyofaspeech givenbymaryvirginiaclevelandtothelocalgardenclub.wedon tknowthedateof thisdocumentbutitisobviousthatmarywasextremelyfondofthetrees.

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21 Thetreeabovehasanunusually shapedbranch.whetherthe deformitywasbyaccidentordesign, wecanonlyimaginethatthistree musthavebeenafavoriteamongthe children. Weweretoldthatthetreeshownto theleftisanunusualvarietynot oftenfoundinthisarea.

22 ThefollowingblueprintsshowthegenerallayoutofBonHaven.

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28 ThefollowingdeedwasfiledonAugust1,1929.Feesandcourtcostpaidwas$1.48.

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