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Zimmerman house

Time

Description

-

Built

J C Zimmerman passes away.

Dupree and Eloise Gregory, brother and sister, bought the home and fixed it up. The house was being used to store grain.

Clancy purchase

Built between 1852 and 1854, there are several contrasts built into the Zimmerman house which allow us to understand how it was used and when major renovations were undertaken.

The major periods of the house would have been as follows,

Era

Time

Characteristics

Construction

mid-19th CENT

This era would have been characterized by Neoclassical ornamentation, handmade woodwork, and an extremely stark difference between public and non-public areas of the house.

In the 1850s, the principal divisions in the house would have been between public space, family space, and service space. The public spheres would have had the most ornamentation, while family and services spaces would look dramatically more plain. In other homes from the era, this contrast may even be evident on opposite sides of a single door: one side stained and ornamented, with the other side unfinished and flat.

By the 21st CENT, woodwork would be characterized by a distinctly more aged appearance. This would be evident by the texture of the layers of paint.

Notably, there would have been rails for hanging paintings. These have been completely removed throughout the house. Also, the wallpaper shows no signs of hangings on the walls.

Retrofitting

19th CENT to 20th CENT

While still owned by the Zimmermans, the house likely underwent some changes.

Electricity may have been installed ~ - ~, as described here. Dupre mentioned rewiring, suggesting that some wiring was already installed.

An outhouse was perhaps replaced with indoor plumbing by the 1920s, but that is uncertain.

Renovation

Dupre and Eloise Gregory purchased the house and undertook renovations. They describe four months of renovations.

One of the major shifts in this renovation would have been the dissolution of stark boundaries between public, family, and service areas.

Modernization

~

This is characterized by the house being transformed entirely into entertaining areas, practical areas, and bedrooms. This era is characterized by the use of manmade materials: acoustic tiles, linoleum, and new kitchen countertops.

Renovation

- ?

Major work focused on priming the rooms, including removal of wallpaper and smoothing-out of irregularities. New bathrooms were installed.

Dating the house

There are several key indicators. Helpfully, the main renovations happened in very different eras which make it easier to date the work done on the house.

  • Plain vs decorative

    • Plain areas would correspond to service zones. Later, with the elimination of servants, these were changed to be more usable as core parts of the family home. This means that area may be upgraded, which would entail making it more ornate and less plain. However, it is very unlikely that it would be devolved to be more plain and less ornate. As a result, over time, areas that are more plain may be understood to be older service areas and among the most original parts of the house.

  • Handmade vs machine made

    • Woodwork by hand is characterized by slight variations in width over long lengths. This makes it easier to identify trim that may be done by hand.

    • Woodwork done by hand may be understood as older and corresponds to perhaps the original phase of the house. Woodwork produced by machines would be newer, likely installed from the 1930s onward or even the 1890s onward.

Original layout

First floor

  • The main entrance would have likely been slightly more plain, as evidenced by several key features. This is surprising, as the stairs themselves are a stunning feature of the house.

    • The foyer had almost no space for hanging paintings. This suggests that it was not intended for visitors to spend significant amounts of time.

    • The foyer is actually quite small, suggesting it was not intended for gatherings of people.

    • The stairs are designed to totally conceal the upstairs, suggesting it was viewed in large part as an interface between domains (public and family; indoor and outdoor) rather than a major domain in and of itself.

    • The stairs lead directly into the doorways for the entertaining spaces, rather than serving as venues for dramatic entries on the steps themselves.

    • The present-day doorway under the stairs likely opened onto a space for servants, as described later.

  • From the main entrance are two rooms. Facing the stairs, there is a northwest room to the left, and a southwest room to the right.

  • Northwest room.

    • This was likely a formal drawing room for entertaining visitors.

    • It contains a south door leading to the foyer, north and west windows facing the road, and an east door leading to the dining room.

    • The doors and windows all have identical casing. Also, doors are identical, and handmade, with the same style on either side.

  • Northeast room.

    • The northeast room was likely a dining room.

    • It opens onto its own patio, which would have been an expert feature for entertaining guests before and after dinner.

    • It has a doorway leading onto the breezeway, which would have connected the basement kitchen with the dining room.

    • The Gregorys installed a kitchen and a pantry after the dining room. If these small rooms were original at all, they likely served as a butler’s pantry (now the kitchen) and a small servant’s room (now the pantry) where a servant could sleep overnight to guard the silverware.

  • The southwest room was likely a music room.

    • There was a nook, perhaps for a chamber orchestra.

  • The southeast room was likely an office or library.

    • There is a closet in the room, which would have been useful for certain items like jackets.

    • The southeast room had access to the service stairs.

Second floor

The second floor has an unusual layout.

  • Northwest bedroom.

  • Northeast bedroom and upper north patio

  • Southwest bedroom.

  • Southeast bedroom.

  • Family sitting room

  • Upper west patio

  • Solarium

Service spaces




  • Service stairs

    • The service stairs have undergone the greatest changes in the the 21st CENT.

  • Breezeway

  • Basement

  • Courtyard

Revised layout

The main changes were introduction of several new spaces,

  • Kitchen and pantry

  • Lower breezeway

  • Basement

Interior decorations

There are several styles of decoration,

  • Door and window casing

    • The moulding around the doors and windows are characterized throughout by the use of plinth blocks and rosettes, as opposed to any miter joints. (Although the exterior does make use of architraves.) The mouldings come in several types.

    • Fluted casing.

    • Cavetto casing.

    • Tray and reed. This was used in the northwest room uniformly

    • Plain plinth

    • Rosettes.

  • Doors

    • The doors in the house are mostly split into two categories.

    • There are handmade doors without the use of nails, and without applied details.

    • There are produced doors with nails and applied details which show some degree of separation.

  • Baseboard

    • The baseboard is totally uniform throughout the house, with two components: a lower baseboard that is flat, and an upper baseboard that is more decorative.

    • The lower flat baseboard should be examined for indications of handmade work.

    • The upper decorative baseboard should be examined for indications of whether it was handmade.

  • Crown moulding

  • Ceilings

  • Fireplaces

  • Light fixtures

The outdoor windows have architraves, while




Endnotes

Description

Link

Possible mention of stabbing by Zimmerman, but perhaps another Zimmerman.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/77748773/?terms=John%20Zimmerman&match=1

A John Zimmerman in a stabbing. I do not believe it is the same man.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/59197175/?terms=%22John%20Zimmerman%22&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/54435108/?terms=%22John%20Zimmerman%22&match=1

A different John Zimmerman killed.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/66257431/?terms=%22John%20Zimmerman%22&match=1

Wannamaker marriage to Zimmerman.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/748236373/?terms=%22John%20c%20Zimmerman%22&match=1

John C Zimmerman history.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/188665483/?terms=%22John%20c%20Zimmerman%22&match=1

Photo of Eloise Gregory.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/191623822/?terms=%22eloise%20gregory%22&match=1

Charles W Zimmerman passes away.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/188263446/?terms=%22John%20c%20Zimmerman%22&match=1

Photo and letter from Eloise.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/78033630/?terms=%22eloise%20gregory%22&match=1

John C. Zimmerman dies.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/187899608/?terms=%22John%20c%20Zimmerman%22&match=1

Dupre Gregory, pianist.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/78062831/

Potential mention of Edith,

https://www.newspapers.com/image/13266716/

Mention of Dupre in the house,

https://www.newspapers.com/image/188566706/?terms=%22dupre%20Gregory%22&match=1

Mention of Dupre Gregory,

https://www.newspapers.com/image/188566706/

Edith and DuPre's mother passes away,

https://www.newspapers.com/image/188246389/

Writeup on Dupree and Eloise.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/188468785/?terms=%22Dupree%20Gregory%22&match=1

John C. Zimmerman House (S. C. Highway 150). This large two-story, frame house was built ca. 1854. The building has a U-shaped plan with large two-tier porticos on both the northeast and northwest elevation. These porticos are centered on identical three-bay elevations and have four stuccoed doric columns on each tier. The entrances on each tier of each elevation have transoms and sidelights. Windows have paired four-over-four sash and louvered shutters. The metal downspouts feature the date 1854 and a star motif. The entrance hall on the west has a double staircase. To the northwest of the house is a brick wellhouse with stuccoed brick arches.

(1980, National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form)

Photo of an oil portrait of John Conrad Zimmerman. There is an oil painting at Arkwright Mills which shows John Conrad Zimmerman.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/192365747/?terms=%22John%20Conrad%20Zimmerman%22&match=1

Nice writeup.

https://www.scpictureproject.org/spartanburg-county/john-c-zimmerman-house.html

Writeup on Zimmerman Plantation.

https://south-carolina-plantations.com/spartanburg/zimmerman.html

Zimmerman genealogy

  • John Conrad Zimmerman, -

  • Married to Selina Wannamaker Zimmerman (of Jacob Wannamaker and Mary M. Miller), -

    • Charles W Zimmerman, ~ - , and Elizabeth "Bessie" Simpson Zimmerman, -

      • John C Zimmerman, -

      • Dr. W S Zimmerman -

      • James M Zimmerman

      • Mrs. Chester B Ward

      • Misses Nora Zimmerman, -

      • Misses Eloise Simpson Zimmerman, -

Mary A Zimmerman, 1835 - 1911
Cornelia Zimmerman, 1837 - 1930
Charles Edward Zimmerman, 1891 - 1933

Gregory genealogy

  • Walter E Gregory and Kate West Gregory, ~ - (of John Wesley and Florence White West)

    • Eloise Johns

    • Dupree/Dupre Gregory

    • Eloise Gregory

    • Wesley W Gregory Sr

Additional links

http://www.artnet.com/artists/horace-robbins-burdick/john-conrad-zimmerman-1802-1875-and-his-wife-Ir7Lb_BJSOORJMqYmiCoXQ2

A painting of John Conrad Zimmerman and Selina Pierce Wannamaker Zimmerman by Horace Robbins Burdick sold at auction


http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/spartanburg/S10817742033/pages/S1081774203302.htm

A photo from likely the 1980s.


https://www.spartanburgcounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/481/part5?bidId=

Cultural resources.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Springs_Historic_District

Wikipedia article about Glenn Springs historic district.


https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=024fa8b1-d831-46b8-a5b2-fc393420c251

Submission to the national register.