A Grand Old Home in Old Town, Rock Hill
If we’re being honest, we think that every old house is cool. In the course of historic preservation work, we get to unravel narratives that make even the most humble historic home interesting, and help tell the stories of grand old homes the way they deserve to be told. One of our favorite recent projects was one such grand old home, the Sturgis House, in Rock Hill, SC.
The owners of this fantastic house reached out to us in 2020 (right in the midst of the pandemic). They had owned the house for the better part of two decades, and although they knew some of the house’s rich history, they wanted to take the plunge and pursue listing in the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. This project was a good match for us, as this era and locale are a special passion for us.
This building had lived a few different lives before its current owner purchased it, being built as a residence in the early 20th century, and then serving as the headquarter offices for the local school district until the late 1990’s. The house had undergone a lot of interior changes, and badly needed some love and attention. The owner had been carefully restoring the home since 2004, and had acquired bits and pieces of the home’s history throughout the process, but they still wanted to know more. They had identified the building’s architect, who had created many beautiful homes in the area, but further information on the architect of this home was elusive, and additional research was needed to find out more about him.
Tracking Down Nat Gaillard Walker
Once we started working on this project, we were able to assist the homeowner in further uncovering the architect’s identity– he was named Nat Gaillard Walker, and was a native of Charleston, SC. We learned that Walker left Charleston in the early 1900s and came to Rock Hill, SC to ply his trade. Although Walker was not formally trained, that was not an impediment to practicing architecture at that time, and his talent and skills developed with each new commission.
This particular house was built in 1910, and is the earliest recorded house designed by Nat Gaillard Walker. He would go on to design the architecture of many more homes, businesses, and public buildings in the area, and his style can be seen across each project, with his residences in particular sharing common unique characteristics.
In the mid-1920s, Walker moved to Fort Myers, Florida, which was in the midst of a land boom. He went on to build large estates there for wealthy, high profile clients. We were floored to learn that Walker even designed parts of Thomas Edison’s Winter estate. But Walker’s most well known building is the former courthouse and post office in Fort Myers, which is still quite a site to behold.
Walker in the Fort Myers News-Press, Aug 11, 1931
And while Walker found lots of work in Fort Myers, we discovered that he had been quite active in South Carolina before he had followed his fortune down to the Sunshine State. Nat Gaillard Walker was president of the South Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and later became the first Regional Director of the AIA’s newly formed South Atlantic Region. Later in his career, he was named an AIA Fellow, which is the organization’s highest honor. Aside from residences, Walker also designed notable commercial and public buildings in Rock Hill, such as the London Printery building and Grace Lutheran Church. Walker’s untrained brilliance and style has not gone unnoticed in the wider sphere of historic preservation either, as he currently has 13 architectural works that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, or that contribute to National Register historic districts.
We conducted an extensive survey of Walker’s structures in the course of writing this nomination. This helped to clearly delineate the Sturgis House’s place in history as the first known residential home architected by Nat Gaillard Walker. Even without this designation, the Sturgis House would have been a strong candidate for the National Register of Historic Places as a great example of the Colonial Revival style. Needless to say, we were very excited to document the first residential structure by this landmark architect.
Constructing A Winning Nomination
After our research shed more light on the architect of this great home, the homeowner was just as delighted as we were to know about the breadth of Nat Gaillard Walker’s architectural legacy. To make a successful bid for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, however, would require a good bit more than just our findings on the architect.
The homeowner had provided us with an extensive amount of preliminary research, including newspaper articles from microfilm and Sturgis family histories, whose name the house still carries.
While the homeowner had a very good grasp on the history of the home’s occupants and history, they needed additional guidance on “building a case” for their nomination. They were already receiving federal and state tax credits through a separate process, which was possible because the house was eligible to be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, but they felt passionate about going all the way and having the house officially listed in the Register.
The first person to occupy this home was R.L. Sturgis; a significant resident of Rock Hill, who had lumber custom-milled for house. R.L. Sturgis was even the mayor of Rock Hill for one year.
We conducted on-site research, examining the premises and extensively documenting the home’s forensic history. Using non-invasive techniques, we were able to look back through the many modifications, repairs, and changes to the home since its initial state. We took extensive photo documentation, and also gathered a good number of images from the homeowner, which they had taken throughout the course of their restoration efforts. The homeowner had a good deal of foresight to thoroughly document the state of the home before beginning their work; this was not only essential to the tax credit process, but a great help in assembling the nomination.
We bolstered the research and documentation that the homeowner provided with our own research about the time period in the area. We utilized the South Carolina state archives, York County archives, and Winthrop University’s Louise Pettus Archives to access old city directories and other supporting documents that we could use. We examined trade magazines to find info about notable people related to the house and researched property records to establish a list of who had lived at the Sturgis House through the years. We learned that a prominent doctor had lived there after the Sturgis family, followed by an executive of the Rock Hill Bleachery, a textile mill which was an economic cornerstone of the city of Rock Hill. After some time, the house ceased to be a home when the local school district purchased the property and converted it into offices.
Throughout the course of our research, we stayed in contact with the homeowner through email; providing updates, celebrating small wins, and sharing our discoveries.
Submission Process for a Historic Place
Once our storm of research was exhausted, we assembled the formal nomination for the Sturgis House’s inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. We strive to develop every nomination we write to meet the criteria of South Carolina’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO); which is one of the most crucial pieces of writing a successful nomination. We sent the nomination on to our first judge, the homeowner, and after getting their blessing it was time to submit the nomination to the state review board…and wait.
The rush of discovery and the hard work of uncovering this home’s past gave way to a holding pattern as we awaited the time when the State Review Board would evaluate the nomination. Nomination defense before the South Carolina State Board only happens three times each year, and is a similar to an abbreviated thesis defense in academia. Typically these meetings see 6-8 nominations presented throughout the day. The reviews are held in Columbia, SC, and they are open to any interested parties to attend. So if you’d like to sit in on one, you can learn more about doing so at the South Carolina SHPO website.
The Best Defense…
On the appointed day our principal, Lauren Fowler-Ellis, presented the nomination before the South Carolina State Board of Review. The board is provided all of the materials for the nomination in advance, so the review is something of a formality. Nevertheless, Lauren presented a slideshow documenting the history of the house, walked through a review of the house’s history, and answered questions from the board.
The board gave positive feedback on the nomination and Lauren’s presentation, and it was approved. And when it was all over, we were back to waiting, as the South Carolina SHPO staff takes around 30 days to further polish each approved nomination before submitting them to the National Parks Service (NPS), who manages the National Register. The NPS then has 45 days to review and approve the nomination.
After over a year of work, we received notification in January of 2022 that the nomination was approved, and the Sturgis House was now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. We were thrilled to have been part of this successful nomination, and to get the chance to uncover the house’s unique history.
The homeowner was likewise thrilled, as this had been a dream of theirs for quite some time. They plan to proudly display the commemorative plaque outside of their home, indicating that the house is indeed on the National Register of Historic Places, and taking its place alongside many other great Historic Places in Old Town, Rock Hill, SC.
In addition to the nomination to the Register, our research materials also helped the homeowner put together a website with the definitive history of the Sturgis House. We provided the homeowner with a Dropbox archive of all of our digital research materials for the project, and any future uses that may arise, so that the legacy of this beautiful home will never again be buried by the sands of time.
Nominated and Listed
LINKS
“Working with this homeowner was such a pleasure. Their passion for the history of this house helped to drive the project to its successful completion, and the process of the nomination went very smoothly with their cooperation and support. Congratulations to the Sturgis House on being a Registered Historic Place!”
– Lauren Fowler Ellis, Principal – LFE Preservation