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Temporary Location:
112 Leonard Dr, Reidville SC
Mailing:
PO BOX 309
Reidville, SC 29375
HISTORIC REIDVILLE
Reverend Reid House
140 College Street
The Town of Reidville is named after Reverend Robert Hardin Reid (1821 – 1907), a Presbyterian clergyman and educator. He moved to Spartanburg District in 1853 to become the minister of Nazareth Presbyterian Church, a position he held for forty years until ill health forced him to retire in 1893. He challenged and inspired his congregation to commit to the cause to establish the Reidville Male and Female Academies, institutions that played a major role in education in upcountry South Carolina from 1857 – 1905, and he was the first Principal of the Reidville Female Academy. He also served as Spartanburg County’s first public school commissioner and, in that capacity, laid out the districts and established the first public schools.
The Reverend Reid House, built in 1857, was his residence until his death in 1907. It has been recommended (but not submitted) for the National Register of Historic Places for its association with the development of the Reidville Academies, since Reverend Reid was instrumental in the development and leadership of the two schools, and also a leading Presbyterian preacher.
It is a two-story, frame, side-gable dwelling with siding and an attached Mt. Vernon porch. The house was moved from its original building site and is occupied by its current owner, Reverend Reid’s great-great-granddaughter and her family.
Reidville Female Academy Dormitory
200 College Street
The Reidville Female Academy Dormitory, also known as the Teacherage, was built in 1858 as the dormitory for female students attending the Reidville Female Academy. It is the only structure that remains of the Reidville Academies. It is an example of simple Second Empire-style architecture.
It is a square-shaped brick masonry building built in a simple Second Empire style with a composition-shingle-covered mansard roof, six-over-six windows, a transom, sidelights on the second-floor door, two chimneys, and square columns on the two-story porch.
In the early 1900’s, it was used as a residence for teachers, and in later years, it became a private residence. Today, the Female Academy Dormitory is owned by the Reidville Historical Society.
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Reverend William Cuttino Smith House
211 College Street
The Reverend William Cuttino Smith house was built in 1873 by Reverend Robert H. Reid for Reverend Smith, a Presbyterian Minister and a Chaplain in Robert E. Lee’s Army. Reverend William Cuttino Smith was an instructor and a leading Presbyterian preacher.
It is a Victorian-style L-shaped house with a cross-gable roof covered in composition shingles, an engaged two-story porch that covers three-fourths of the façade, and a block foundation that supports a weatherboard-covered framed house. It has a bay window, six-over-six windows, and highly carved balustrades and carved columns on the porch.
Today, it is a private residence
Dr. Frank Leonards Store
229 College Street
Dr. Frank Leonard’s Store was built in 1900 and opened as a drug store across from the Female Academy. Dr. Leonard was a noted physician. Later it became Harrison Brother’s store. It is a one-story brick frame building with a brick foundation, boomtown façade, and a tin porch-roof.
Over the years, it has been used as a general store, a dry goods store, a drug store, and a post office, and a coffee & sweet shop. Currently, the building is privately owned and is used for an event venue.
Reidville Presbyterian Church
340 College Street
The Reidville Presbyterian Church owes its beginnings to the Antioch Presbyterian Church, organized in 1843. Many from the Antioch Church left to found a church in Reidville that began meeting in 1887 in the Reidville Female Academy building. In 1889, the church building was constructed on the school campus with Reverend Reid serving as a supply or part-time pastor while he served the Nazareth Presbyterian Church.
The Reidville Presbyterian Church is also significant as an example of a late-nineteenth century Carpenter Gothic small church.
The church still operates today.
Reidville Academy Faculty House
100 Main Street
The Reidville Academy Faculty House (also known as The Wood House) was built in 1858 by the Wood Family as a private residence. This antebellum house is significant for its association with the Reidville Male and Female Academies as a residence for school instructors. On September 4, 1997, this building was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
The house is significant as an example of mid-nineteenth century Greek Revival residential architecture with late-nineteenth-century Victorian alterations. It is a two-story brick raised cottage with exterior brick walls covered with stucco and scored to look like large blocks of stone.
In later years, the house was used as a private residence. It is currently owned by the Reidville Historical Society and is home to the Society.
Leonard Wilson House
311 Main Street
The Leonard Wilson House was built in 1860 near the Reidville Male Academy. Leonard Wilson was a teacher at the Reidville Academy and a store owner.
The two-story house is built in a Charlestonian design with exterior brick walls covered with stucco, a balcony, two chimneys, and Greek Revival-style columns.
Today, the house is a private residence.
Mac Leonards Store
Main Street
Mack Leonard’s store was built in 1860 near the Reidville Male Academy, and was owned and run by a Mr. Mack Leonard. It sold dry goods and supplies. In the 1890’s, it was the telephone exchange for the Town of Reidville.
The store is a one-story brick frame building with a brick foundation and a raised seam metal roof.
Today, the building is privately owned and houses a distillery and merchandise store.
Leonard Wilson Store
412 Main Street
Leonard Wilson’s Store was built in 1858 near the Reidville Male Academy, and was owned and run by Mr. Leonard Wilson, a teacher at the academies. It was a general store that sold dry goods and supplies, a hardware store, a Masonic and Eastern Star Lodge, and a barber shop.
The store is a two-story brick frame building. The stucco façade of this building hides the brickwork beneath.
At one time, the building was owned by a local magistrate, Mr. H. M. Coggins, nicknamed “Yank”; thus, the store was known as “Yanks Store.” Today, the building is privately owned and houses a martial arts studio and a beauty salon.
Gaston House
651 Lightwood Knot Road
The Wakefield homestead was built in 1860 by Anthony P. Wakefield, a large landowner in Reidville who donated the land for the Reidville Academies. In 1905, the property was sold to Robert White Gaston, a cotton farmer and noted educator. After the Male and Female Academies were turned over to the Spartanburg public school system in 1905, Mr. Gaston served as chairman of the public-school board of trustees until 1925. The original house built by Mr. Wakefield was moved to quarter the farm laborers, and the current Gaston House farmhouse was built on the original foundation in 1912.
The two-story farmhouse is built in a Classic American Four-Square design with exterior siding installed over the original clapboard, a balcony, an attached kitchen, original windows, and columns on the porch and balcony. The house is built on a rock foundation with a wood frame, and has nine fireplaces on two chimneys.
Today, the house is a private residence.