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| Dawkins House awaiting next phase of work (Picket photo), Mary Poulton Dawkins and part of slave schedule |
Dawkins, who
in 1845 married a prominent South Carolina judge 14 years her senior, was
described by relatives as headstrong and proud of her imported furniture and
Queen Victoria. She was determined to see the Poultons restored to their former
position of wealth and prominence, whether in the United States or England.
There was another side of the Englishwoman, however, that doesn’t
project well these days.
While of the “highest culture,” Mary had a tendency toward bigotry, an
observer wrote, and a paternalistic view of slavery. The
1850 federal slave schedule indicates husband Thomas Dawkins enslaved about 30 persons.
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| One of several fireplaces on the main floor of the dwelling; the library is nearby (Picket photo) |
“The negroes on the plantation had really no ill
feeling, but poor ignorant creatures,
they were intoxicated with the idea of power and always fond of idleness; began to steal and destroy property, scarcely a
night without a burning,” Mary wrote in a memoir penned late in life. “There
was no redress, no law, and the ‘Ku Klux’
was formed to frighten the negroes, so sensational, superstitious.”
Some 120 years after Mary’s death, the nonprofit Preservation South
Carolina is raising money for the next phase of the restoration of the
dilapidated Dawkins House. The dwelling is destined to become an alumni and corporate center for the University of South Carolina Union, a small campus in the
heart of the Piedmont city. (Picket video below of Bill Comer of PSC)
At the same time, USC-Union is establishing a genealogical and archives course that will focus on the history of the house and its occupants and visitors, including the identification of the enslaved, who – with a few exceptions -- currently are known only by their age and gender. The goal is to offer the class this fall.
It is anticipated
that the course will be open to students and Union County residents who
have an interest in ancestry research and history.
Backers of
the Dawkins House project have said it is important the whole history of the
home – warts and all – be told. That's the aim of other sites in Union County, including Rose Hill, former home of the Gist family.
Andrew Kettler, an assistant professor of history, told the
Picket the aim of the course is less about assigning blame than moving toward
acknowledgement and reconciliation. He describes it as a public history course;
the syllabus is still being finalized.
Annie Smith, director
of development on the campus, said the course also will seek to identify those
individuals who lived in the original structure between 1765 and the early 1800s,
before Thomas Dawkins bought and expanded the residence.
Bill
Comer, a Union native who is heading up the Dawkins House rehab project for
Preservation South Carolina, previously said the refurbished site will provide
lessons from the past once it reopens.
“Those
who were slaves should be identified and recognized, just as much as the
Dawkins family and their prominent guests. Going forward, people of all
races and religions should pass through the Dawkins House's doors and occupy
its spaces, to do good without discrimination and to learn.”
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| Thomas Dawkins' property is listed on two pages of the 1850 schedule (click to enlarge) |
The Dawkins House is a terminus residence situated on the campus at the
end of Church Street. The property is best known for several weeks in spring
1865.
Union, which is south of Spartanburg, briefly served as the capital of
the state after Columbia fell to Union forces in 1865 and Gov. Andrew Magrath
fled to Union.
From about Feb. 15, 1865, until early April, Magrath ran the state from
the Dawkins House. He apparently
worked in an informal library near the drawing room, which survives today.
Chaos ruled across South Carolina.
According to histories and local legend,
Magrath and his subordinates burned possibly incriminating documents and
correspondence in the fireplaces. (The home served as South Carolina's capitol while
the city was briefly its capital.)
Amid the panic, Mary P. Dawkins later
wrote, folks in Union tried to stay upbeat.
“The young people were hopeful to the last, so when soldiers
were with us music, dancing, charades, etc. made such enjoyable evenings,
never to be forgotten. There was bon amie, a comradeship born of the
situation, very fascinating and rare.”
Recollecting the great silver tea set caper
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| The house has had several additions and changes over the centuries (Picket photo) |
The silver tea set story is covered in the
book "South Carolina's
English Lady," compiled and edited by the late Sarah
Porter Carroll in the 1980s.
Mary wrote that a few months after hostilities ended,
"our servants (were) free and sought for by (Union) soldiers.” One book says she
presented a paternalistic view of slavery.
Enslaved people had become a majority
in Union County during the 1840s, and the area became a hotbed of Ku
Klux Klan activity during Reconstruction.
Letters and accounts written by relatives of Mary Dawkins
suggest slaves at “The Shrubs” and any other land owned by Thomas were treated
more kindly than at other plantations. But that view belies the fact the
institution was inherently cruel and violent.
Widow stayed proud of her English roots
During most
of their 25-year marriage, Thomas and Mary Dawkins lived the good life. They
were well-known in society, had amassed a fortune and were active in local
civil and social affairs. She enjoyed traveling to Charleston and Edisto Island on the Atlantic Ocean.
Things went south after 1861.
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| The left rear of the house dates back to the 1760s or so (Picket photo) |
Mary Dawkins wrote that, actually, a few other servants, as she called
the enslaved, stayed faithful to the household.
She said that a few months after hostilities ended, "our
servants (were) free and sought for by (Union) soldiers.”
While left with some money when Thomas died, Mary went through it and
was almost penniless when she died at 86 in November 1906. Relatives remained
in the house for years.
“Mrs. Dawkins was a woman of broad and rare culture, and not so long ago compiled some very interesting reminiscences of her life,”
her obituary read. “She was a charming conversationalist, and she numbered many
young friends as well as older ones, who
considered it a great pleasure to spend
an hour in her society. In her death Union loses a gentlewoman, whose presence and quiet influence will be greatly missed.”
In the end, Mary Poulton Dawkins’ story is well-known.
Those of the enslaved in the household she managed are not. (Above, Picket photo of Bill Comer and Robert Schmitt on front porch of The Shrubs)
'The integrity will stand on its own merit'
Curtiss Hunter, tourism director for the county and a member of
the Union County Community Remembrance
Project (UCCRP), which documents racial violence and lynching and promotes
healing through preservation, previously told the Picket restoration of the
Dawkins House will boost tourism and community engagement.
Hunter’s
group in 2021 put up three marker detailing racial
injustices in
the county. Among them was Sax(e) Joiner, who was hanged by white men just
before Union fell during the Civil War. He allegedly wrote an insulting
letter to a white woman and was taken from the jail by a mob.
Kettler, the
professor at USC-Union, said faculty and students will turn to the census, the
Union Country Museum, Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site, diaries and other
papers.
“We are also
accessing the University Archives, which have been in storage for a time. As
well, part of the PURE grant work over the summer will be to try to find other
archives in the state that might have reference to the Dawkins House and its
inhabitants.”
Tour of home took me way back in time
I later saw the inside of the
house, which has some wonderful architectural elements, timbers dating to the
1700s and windows undergoing conservation.
Comer reiterated the project will attempt to identify those
who lived in or worked at the home in the 1700s and 1800s. Hopefully, he said,
the team will be able to contact descendants. “We are going to do the right
thing,” he told the audience.
The $300,000 state-funded Phase 1 shored up the building. (At right, Robert Schmitt, who was worked on the home's windows, shows where the spiral staircase once rose. Picket photo)
Phase 2 of the ambitious project will be much more extensive and expensive. The aim is for PSC to eventually hand over the house to the university for finishing and customization.
Rothell said Phase 2 will include:-- Installation of new
piers on concrete footings in the crawlspace;
-- Strengthening of
porch, first and second floor framings, the roof system and all walls;
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| Rendering of the finished house, complete with landscaping (Preservation SC-USC Union) |
Name of house will honor famed black coach
PSC said they need at least $845,000 for the next phase of
work. About $206,000 has been raised or been committed. Donations to the project can be made here.
“Fundraising is through personal outreach to corporations, organizations and individuals and participation in local meetings,” Comer told the Picket.
Construction could start in September or October, if enough money or promises come in.
The restored residence will be known as the Willie and Mary
Jeffries’ Commons at Dawkins House. (PSC photo, right)
Willie Jeffries played for the all-black Sims High School in Union and is the legendary former football coach
of South Carolina State University. He was inducted into the College Football
Hall of Fame in 2010 and is a member of the South Carolina Athletic Hall of
Fame.
In 2023, the South Carolina High School League recognized the
Sims football squad’s 96-game unbeaten streak from 1946-1954 as the longest in
state history.
"The 'Commons' represents a shared and vibrant space—one designed to
bring people together. Located on the USC Union campus, it will serve as a hub
for connection and collaboration, where students, faculty, and corporate
partners can gather for networking, professional development, meetings, and
special events. It will a place where ideas are exchanged, partnerships are
formed, and innovation is fostered."
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| The library remains where Gov. Magrath worked in spring 1865 (Picket photo) |
