Walnut Grove Plantation
In the mid–18th century, colonists moved south from Pa., Va., and NC to the unsettled area that would become Spartanburg County, South Carolina. As these early settlers established homesteads, they built relatively straightforward houses designed to meet their basic living needs. Walnut Grove, built about 1765 near present-day Roebuck, displays the simple charm of the popular Late Georgian style. Its distinguishing architectural elements serve specific purposes – long porch with a hipped roof gives cooling shade, the two double–shouldered chimneys allow heating upstairs and down, and the rear shed addition provides space for dining. Because the lead content of white paint made it very expensive, most of the settlers painted their homes yellow ocher, barn red, or green, with perhaps a touch of white on the trim. Later, as the Greek Revival movement exerted its full influence, everyone who could afford it, painted their homes entirely white.
